DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Christopher Bell led 20 laps and finished third in Sunday’s 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway. Driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, Bell was the only Toyota driver to finish in the top 10.
He was ecstatic with the result.
“If you would have told me pre-race that I was going to run third, I would have jumped up and down and been smiling ear-to-ear,” Bell said. “I’m very happy. I’m very, very thankful that I could get this Rheem and DeWalt Toyota Camry a good solid finish, but just so close to a crown jewel. I feel like if it would have stayed green, I would have been on offense — but who knows.
“I’m very proud and thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). That’s really cool. I’m very happy for him.”
• A.J. Allmendinger made his return to full-time Cup Series racing and the Daytona 500 with a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger lost a lap early, but worked his way to a sixth-place finish.
“I’m really pleased with the finish we had. Any time you get to start the season with a top-10 in the Daytona 500, it’s a big deal,” Allmendinger said. “Felt like our car handled very well, just tough racing, very track-position oriented. When we got out front, we just lacked a little bit of speed to stay up there; that was the toughest thing.
“But overall, our guys did a great job and fought hard through the day, and you just have to be there at the end. We had a shot to win the Daytona 500. That’s pretty freaking cool. I wish we could have done it, but all you can ask for is having a real opportunity and we did tonight. That’s pretty special.”
• Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson made his first NASCAR Cup Series start in three seasons in the Daytona 500.
Driving for the Legacy Motor Club, which he now holds major ownership stake in, Johnson started 39th and ran near the front of the pack before being involved in a 13-car accident during overtime.
Johnson will also compete in a handful of other NASCAR Cup Series this season.
“All in all, just a great day,” Johnson said. “I hate that we didn’t get to the finish line, but we got a lot closer than I thought. If I would have taken a bet before the race started, I would have thought some issues [would happen] earlier than that, but we had a great day.
“The Carvana car was awesome. Very, very proud of this race team. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the finish line.”
• NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Riley Herbst finished 10th in his Cup Series debut. Driving for Rick Ware Racing, Herbst was involved in several incidents, but at the end of the day brought his Ford home 10th after starting 38th.
• Ryan Blaney was involved in mid-race accident that badly damaged his Team Penske Ford, but the third-generation racer battled back from two laps down to finish eighth.
P8 with this absolute dime piece. Couldn’t be prouder of the 12 group for working on it so hard. Can’t wait to get back after it in Fontana. Thanks @MenardsRacing @FordPerformance and everyone who came out! pic.twitter.com/sWgJbpd3Aq
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) February 20, 2023
• Zane Smith, who won Friday night’s Truck Series race for the second consecutive year, made his Cup Series debut, finishing 13th for Front Row Motorsports.
• Rookie-of-the-year contenders Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs finished 24th and 25th, respectively.
• Multi-time Indianapolis 500 starter Conor Daly finished 29th in his Daytona 500 debut.
• Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick will be credited with a 12th-place finish in his final Daytona 500 start. The driver of the No. 4 Ford was among those collected in a seven-car accident with 17 laps remaining, but the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion soldiered on and finished the race.
Harvick, 47, who announced he would be retiring from competition at the end of the 2023 season, has had a strong career showing in NASCAR’s premier race. He won the 2007 Daytona 500, finished runner-up in 2009 and 2015, has nine top-five finishes and led 284 laps in his 22 career starts.
• There were 204 green-flag passes for the lead — most all-time in a race at Daytona Int’l Speedway, easily eclipsing the previous record mark of 177 set in 2014 Daytona 500.
There were 21 different race leaders — tying the 2010 mark for second most all-time. The 52 lead changes were fourth all-time; and most since 2011 (74).