Daytona Beach, FL – Matt Kenseth overcame overheating issues oval before holding off Greg white-checkered finish to win Monday night's Daytona 500, a race delayed 30 hours due to rain and another two hours following an explosive crash on the track late in the race at Daytona International Speedway.
With 40 laps remaining, Juan Pablo Montoya's car slammed into a jet drying vehicle while the race was under caution. Montoya was traveling at a high rate of speed on the backstretch while rejoining the field, but Montoya lost control and slid into the back of the jet dryer located in turn three. The vehicle, which had jet fuel on board, burst into flames. There were no injuries.
NASCAR halted the Daytona 500 for an extensive track cleanup effort.
Dave Blaney was leading the way when the race was stopped, but Blaney had to pit when it resumed, allowing Kenseth to take over the top position for good.
Two multi-car crashes occurred on the tri-oval during the closing laps, with the last one setting up the two-lap overtime finish.
Kenseth pulled away from Biffle, his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, and Earnhardt Jr. coming out of the final turn on the last lap. He beat Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line by 0.2 seconds. Biffle finished a close third.
Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five.
Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion, also won the 2009 Daytona 500, a race shortened due to rain.
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