Hamlin wins a brutal 500

Denny Hamlin won the 62nd Daytona 500, but the juxtaposition of him celebrating in the tri-oval grass while injured rival Ryan Newman was tended to by medical crews after somersaulting across the finish line was as stark as the brutality of superspeedway racing sometimes gets.

The opening round of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series came down to a fearsome shootout in overtime, going way beyond the planned 500-mile distance, and finished a day later than scheduled. Toyota’s 2019 Daytona 500 winner Hamlin – who led a race-best 79 laps for Joe Gibbs Racing – was up against a phalanx of Fords, led by 2008 winner Newman and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

Blaney pushed Hamlin on the opening lap of the two-lap sprint to the chequered flag. Hamlin blocked Newman’s first attack, but Blaney linked up with Newman, shoving him past Hamlin through the final corners. But then Hamlin took on the role of‘pusher’, shoving Blaney off the final turn as Newman weaved to block his run.

Blaney’s momentum was too strong