Michael McDowell Daytona Odds as Ford Driver Pulls Off Stunning Upset
On 2/15/21 at 4:47 AM EST
Michael McDowell pulled off one of the great upsets in the history of the Daytona 500, taking the checkered flag on Sunday after a chaotic race that included a major crash on the final lap.
McDowell s triumph was not only his first taste of success in the Great American Race, but his first-ever NASCAR Cup series win at the 358th time of asking. I just can t believe it, the No. 34 Ford driver told Fox Sports Jamie Little after the race. So many years just grinding it out hoping for an opportunity like this.
The weather was not the only problem for teams and drivers who were considered to be contenders for victory in Nascar s most important race.
A big wreck 14 laps into the race took out a number of big name drivers, including Martin Truex Jr, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto, Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney. In all, 16 cars were involved.
Almirola, Bowman, Daniel Suarez, David Ragan, Anthony Alfredo, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney Newman and Jones would not return while several others suffered significant damage.
The wreck began when Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing bump-drafted Almirola and spun him out near the front of the field.
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A dream comes true at Daytona
by Bob Priddy, Contributing Editor
(NASCAR) Michael McDowell finally wins a NASCAR Cup race in his 358th start and he picks the NASCAR’s biggest race to do it.
McDowell drove between the two leaders of the Daytona 500 as they crashed on the final lap of the rain-delayed race to finish ahead of last year’s series champion Chase Elliott. McDowell, driving for one of the most prominent small-budget teams in the sport, had only three previous top-five finishes in his dozen years as a fulltime driver in the series.
A 100-1 underdog when the race began Sunday afternoon, McDowell won for the first time in 358 Cup starts when the checkered flag finally flew about 15 minutes after midnight.