2010 Daytona 500 Recap

Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500 in a nail-biting finish!

photo credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

“It’s unbelievable. I can’t really put it into words the way it feels,” an emotional McMurray said. “I’m trying to be genuine and as sincere as I can and not sound cliché. As a kid growing up, this is what you dream of, of being able to win the Daytona 500.”

After two attempts at a ‘green-white-checkered’ finish that saw Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle swap the lead, McMurray shot to the front for the final 2 laps. It’s the least amount of laps lead in history by a Daytona 500 winner, but it’s always the final lap that counts the most.

“Coming off of turn four, seeing the checkered flag, knowing there’s not going to be another ‘green-white-checkered’, you’re going to be the Daytona 500 champion, I can’t explain to you,” McMurray said. “It’s very emotional. I don’t know that I’ve cried like that. I’ve kept trying to compose myself. I couldn’t get it back.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemingly came from nowhere to chase McMurray to the finish. Earnhardt moved from 10th to 2nd during the race’s final 2 laps. It’s a new rule change this season to allow a total of 3 attempts at a ‘green-white-checkered’ finish rather than just one.

“I looked in my mirror and saw the 88,” McMurray said. “I’ll be honest, I was like, Crap, this guy has won a lot of races here. His family has an incredible history here. You know, I believe everything happens for a reason. I just was like, I hope this isn’t his turn to win the Daytona 500, I hope this is mine. You can’t tell when you look out of the back of the car how fast they’re closing. You can’t tell the rate they’re closing. I was looking at the start/finish line, my mirror, the start/finish line, thinking, I don’t think he’s going to be able to beat me to it.”

Earnhardt had to settle with a second-place finish.

“I really don’t enjoy being that aggressive,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “But if there was enough room for the radiator to fit, you just kind of held the gas down and prayed for the best. It was a lot of fun. It went by so fast, I couldn’t really tell you the process. But I just remember going down the back straightaway and getting in between Greg, and I don’t remember who was on the outside of me. We all kind of wiggled through that whole deal. Jamie got away from us. I didn’t even know where I was. Then we got into three. I was counting in my head how many laps we ran. I knew we were coming to the checkered, I was running second, this is awesome, but it kind of sucks at the same time. It was frustrating to come that close. But, hell, we were running 22nd at the first ‘green-white-checkered’.”

Greg Biffle helped give McMurray the push he needed to take the lead.

“I’m so happy for him,” Biffle said. “I went straight to Victory Lane after I got done with my interviews. I felt like I was a big part of getting him up there. He spun his tires like crazy. I was against his bumper all the way through second gear, third gear, and fourth gear. I pushed him across one and two, which I hadn’t pushed anybody all night. I just really eased his bumper and stayed locked on him. I was able to stay against him down the backstretch and we just took off. It was pretty cool. I feel like I’m one of the guys that helped him get his first Daytona 500. You know, I was trying to get out front. Like I said, I think I really made a mistake by trying too early. I maybe should have stayed behind him till maybe going down the back or something. But I’m really happy for him.” Biffle finished third.

After leading 37 laps in the race, Clint Bowyer wound up fourth. David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, defending race winner Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya round out the top-10.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

There were 9 cautions for 40 laps and 52 lead changes among 21 different drivers: M. Martin 1-4; K. Kahne 5; M. Martin 6-12; J. Montoya 13; D. Earnhardt Jr. 14-17; K. Harvick 18-21; E. Sadler 22; K. Harvick 23-34; Kurt Busch 35-44; A. Allmendinger 45-47; Kurt Busch 48-49; J. Logano 50; R. Gordon 51; Kurt Busch 52-70; A. Allmendinger 71; K. Harvick 72; A. Allmendinger 73-79; D. Hamlin 80; Kurt Busch 81; G. Biffle 82-83; Kurt Busch 84; G. Biffle 85-94; Kyle Busch 95-97; J. Gordon 98-99; C. Bowyer 100-106; G. Biffle 107; C. Bowyer 108-109; G. Biffle 110; C. Bowyer 111-112; D. Ragan 113-114; C. Bowyer 115-118; T. Kvapil 119; B. Said 120; C. Bowyer 121-126; K. Kahne 127-129; E. Sadler 130; C. Bowyer 131; E. Sadler 132-135; C. Bowyer 136-137; K. Harvick 138-144; E. Sadler 145-147; M. Truex Jr. 148-150; K. Harvick 151-153; J. Montoya 154; K. Harvick 155-164; S. Speed 165-168; G. Biffle 169-175; S. Speed 176-183; G. Biffle 184-185; C. Bowyer 186-198; G. Biffle 199-202; K. Harvick 203-206; J. McMurray 207-208

21 different race leaders set a new record for the most leaders in a Daytona 500 race.

Jamie McMurray leads the point standings by 15 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The race was delayed by two long red flag periods, so officials could patch a pothole between Turns 1 and 2. Track president Robin Braig addressed the issue afterward.

photo credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

“We’re the World Center of Racing. This is the Daytona 500. This is not supposed to happen. And I take full responsibility,” said Braig. “I represent 300 full-time staff members. I represent a hundred operation people. I don’t represent the NASCAR safety workers and the input that NASCAR helps us when that track rolls up. We take full responsibility. But we can come back from this. We know how to fix it. Like I say, we own 12 racetracks. We had some other racetrack people out there from Homestead. We know how to do it right. I apologize for it. This is hallowed ground. We understand that. We accept the responsibility.”

The first red flag came out just after the half-way point lasting an hour and forty minutes. After around 40 laps, the epoxy used didn’t hold causing another red flag for repairs which slowed the day down by another forty-four minutes. The race ended under the lights.

“The delay in the repairs was caused by the unusually cold ambient temperature,” Braig said. “After this event, we will evaluate these effects from the weather and will make the necessary adjustments.”

Onward and forward, catch the Sprint Cup Series back in action next Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.