Denny Hamlin wins Daytona 500 again. 4 things we learned from NASCAR’s biggest race

Denny Hamlin won his second consecutive Daytona 500 on Monday, barely edging Ryan Blaney across the finish line.

Ryan Newman was the leader until he was clipped by Blaney on the final stretch. It flipped Newman’s car, creating a fiery crash. Newman was taken to the hospital shortly after.

Here are four things we learned from NASCAR’s season-opening race.

A rough start for Joe Gibbs Racing despite Hamlin’s finish

Big names, including Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, all exited in the final stage following a 19-car crash. Joe Gibbs Racing, which typically has multiple drivers in the top 10 at the finish, felt the impact of the multi-car wrecks. JGR racers Busch, Truex Jr. and Jones were all out by overtime laps, leaving Hamlin as the only Toyota out front.

It was Ford cars against Hamlin in the last laps. Hamlin, Newman and Blaney jockeyed for the lead position in the final laps. Newman was bumped by Blaney from behind in the final stretch, which caused Newman’s No. 6 to spin out and his car to overturn. Hamlin then edged past Blaney for the victory.

This was Hamlin’s third Daytona 500 win, but he is one of the few JGR drivers with a victory at the race. He has contributed three of JGR’s four Daytona 500 wins. The team achieved its first in 1993 with Dale Jarrett.

Don’t sleep on rookies like Christopher Bell

In his first race as a Cup Series driver, Bell ran in the top ten in the final 16 laps to avoid a crash that took out over half the field. He remained a contender until an accident in overtime forced him to pull out after completing 205 laps. Still, the rookie earned 15 points for his Toyota team, Leavine Family Racing.

Ross Chastain was another recent Xfinity Series driver who proved to be a dark horse in the race. Chastain did not fair as well as Bell, however. He was involved in multiple multi-car wrecks, the last of which took him out in Lap 201, but the No. 77 driver ran in the top 10 for most of the second stage. At the halfway point, Chastain was in fourth place. He finished in fifth to close the second stage.

Chastain is a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series. He drove an the No. 77 Chevrolet car for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Other dark horses remaining in overtime included Chris Buescher (third place), David Ragan (fourth place), Brendan Gaughan (seventh place) and Corey LaJoie (eighth place). John Hunter Nemecheck had the highest finish of the rookies (11th place).

Also a rough start for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Although Stenhouse Jr. ran the fastest in the qualifying round to win the pole, he struggled in the race that mattered. He spun out on the fourth turn after being bumped by Erik Jones on the 173rd lap. Prior to that wreck, Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 ride was penalized for passing below the yellow line.

Stenhouse Jr. was one of the drivers knocked out earliest despite leading all 20 laps Sunday before the restart.

Teams pass on stage points early

At Monday’s restart, JGR ran in the back of the pack in an effort to conserve fuel early. In contrast, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson pushed up front by Lap 47. They remained in the lead to close the first stage, with Elliott, Bowman, Almirola, Logano and Johnson placing in the top five, respectively.

As JGR sat tight, those in the top 10 were also content to finish the stage without making a move for more points, although there was an opportunity to do so while running two-wide. No Toyota drivers ran in the top 10 to close Stage 1. By Stage 2, however, JGR (led by Hamlin) made its move. The fuel-conservation strategy proved effective for Hamlin, but made little difference to his teammates caught up in the wrecks.

Daytona 500 results