Kurt Busch Wins Dramatic Daytona 500 for Ford

Kurt Busch led only one lap of Sunday’s Daytona 500 race, but it was the final one as he piloted his Ford Fusion to an unusual victory at this year’s accident-marred inaugural NASCAR event. It was the first time the Daytona winner led only a single lap.

On the last lap Bush passed polesitter Chase Elliott and leader Kyle Larson, who both ran out of fuel, and held on to beat fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney to take the checkered flag. Larson and Elliot, who finished 12th and 14th, respectively, drove Chevrolet Impalas.

Busch started on the fourth row in the eighth position and didn’t move into the top five until there were 30 laps to go—after his rearview mirror fell off—in the 200-lap race. His win was the first at Daytona for the Stewart-Hass team, which switched from Chevrolet to Ford in the offseason. It also was the first Daytona win for co-owner Tony Stewart, who failed to do so in 18 years as a driver.

AJ Allmendinger raced to third place as the top Chevy finisher. He was followed by Aric Almirola (Ford) and Paul Menard (Chevy) to round out the top five. Michael Waltrip—running in his in his 30th and final Daytona 500—was the top Toyota driver, finishing eighth in his Camry.

Only 15 cars were running on the lead lap at the end of the race. Menard and Martin Treux Jr., who finished 13th in his Camry, also ran out of fuel, and 15 of the 40 starters were involved in race-ending crashes.

Several new rule changes have been implemented for the newly named Monster Energy NASCAR series, including dividing races into three segments—two 60-mile stages and the final 120-mile run. Drivers racing in the top 10 positions at the end of each segment now receive points toward the season championship, while individual lap leaders no longer do.

Bush’s younger brother Kyle won Daytona’s first stage and Kevin Harvick won the second.

Critics argue that the new format encourages more aggressive driving earlier in the race. The younger Bush crashed near the end of the second stage. Another crash took out 10 drivers, including reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson in his Impala.

Unlike in previous years, damaged cars are not permitted to return to the track if they can’t be repaired in less than five minutes on pit row. There were eight caution flags over the course of this year's race.