DAYTONA BLEACH, Fla. -- Kurt Busch survived a wild 500 miles at Daytona International Speedway to win the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
Busch was able to win his first Daytona 500 in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford after 17 tries. He was finally able to make it to Victory Lane thanks to a last lap pass on Kyle Larson.
Lessons learned the hard way today, let's get to Atlanta!
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) February 27, 2017
He was able to hold off Ryan Blaney, who finished in second. AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top three. Busch had not led a lap the entire race, and 17 other drivers had led laps before Busch.
The winning move for @KurtBusch! #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/n3Qayp165Q
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 26, 2017
"The more it becomes unpredictable it becomes at Daytona, the more predictable it becomes in its unpredictability," Busch said in victory lane.
"The more I run this race, the more I've learned to throw caution to the wind and let it rip," Busch said. "The performance of this team has been incredible. My rearview mirror fell off with 30 to go, and I knew I had to drive defensively. I couldn't even see the cars behind me, just heard my spotter in my ear, once we made that pass. It's just unbelievable to have all this teamwork to get us in victory lane."
“I ran this damn race 18 years and couldn’t win it,” team co-owner Tony Stewart said. “Finally won it as an owner. What an awesome job those last couple laps. It’s probably the most patient race I’ve ever watched Kurt Busch run.”
It was the 29th career win for Busch. He won the 2004 Cup Series and had multiple second place finishes in previous Daytona 500 races before Sunday.
The race included eight cautions and multiple wrecks. Only five cars were left without damage. There were 37 lead changes.
Chase Elliott, a native of Dawsonville, Ga., led 37 laps of the race. He looked poised to win the race, but he ran out of gas with three laps remaining. Elliott finished in 14th after starting the race at the pole position. He had been involved in two wrecks, but was able to do quick repairs and continue racing.
Lessons learned the hard way today, let's get to Atlanta!
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) February 27, 2017
“It was a disappointing finish to a good day,” Elliott said in a statement. “Just one of those things you can’t do anything about. I’m happy with how the NAPA team performed, and we are going to learn from it. I’m proud of how hard everyone worked all week. We’re looking forward to getting back at it in Atlanta.”
Elliott did not speak to the media after the race. He Tweeted that no media approached him.
Larson also finished ran out of gas in the final laps of the race. He finished in seventh.
Kyle Busch won the first stage of the race, and Kevin Harvick won the second stage of the race. Both were taken out by wrecks.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., a fan favorite who returned to NASCAR after missing much of last season, was involved in a wreck and could not repair his car within the new repair time limit.
