This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup series season-opening race faced a rare postponement until Monday afternoon, but Denny Hamlin survived the weather and the wrecks, rising to the top to edge out Ryan Blaney in one of the closest Daytona 500 finishes in history. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started the race from pole on Sunday and led the first 20 laps until rain forced the delay. Initially, the Toyota drivers dropped to the rear to save fuel and avoid trouble. That move put them in prime position for the second stage, though. Once the race moved to less than 50 laps remaining, things became more of a matter of survival, though. Multiple multicar crashes left few of the favorites on track with undamaged cars, and the night ended with a scary crash that sent Ryan Newman to the hospital.
Hamlin, like last season, now heads to the second race of the season with one foot already in the playoff battle. He made it all the way to the finale in 2019 only to lose the championship to teammate Kyle Busch and he won't want to suffer the same fate twice. Joe Gibbs Racing was the dominant team that season and Hamlin has got them off on similar footing this season, too.
UPGRADE
Denny Hamlin – Hamlin and the Toyota contingent made a conservative start to the Daytona 500 by dropping to the rear and conserving fuel in the first stage. That enabled them to make up track position for the start of stage
The 2020 NASCAR Cup series season-opening race faced a rare postponement until Monday afternoon, but Denny Hamlin survived the weather and the wrecks, rising to the top to edge out Ryan Blaney in one of the closest Daytona 500 finishes in history. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started the race from pole on Sunday and led the first 20 laps until rain forced the delay. Initially, the Toyota drivers dropped to the rear to save fuel and avoid trouble. That move put them in prime position for the second stage, though. Once the race moved to less than 50 laps remaining, things became more of a matter of survival, though. Multiple multicar crashes left few of the favorites on track with undamaged cars, and the night ended with a scary crash that sent Ryan Newman to the hospital.
Hamlin, like last season, now heads to the second race of the season with one foot already in the playoff battle. He made it all the way to the finale in 2019 only to lose the championship to teammate Kyle Busch and he won't want to suffer the same fate twice. Joe Gibbs Racing was the dominant team that season and Hamlin has got them off on similar footing this season, too.
UPGRADE
Denny Hamlin – Hamlin and the Toyota contingent made a conservative start to the Daytona 500 by dropping to the rear and conserving fuel in the first stage. That enabled them to make up track position for the start of stage 2. Hamlin leveraged that track position to get out front and confidently lead the pack to win the second stage and was the strongest car in the field through the rest of the distance, capturing his third Daytona 500 in a too-close-to-call finish with Ryan Blaney in what was the second-closest finish in Daytona 500 history – both of which were won by Hamlin. Hamlin has never won at Las Vegas, but he does have seven top-10s from 16 career starts. He started second in this race last season and finished 10th.
Ryan Blaney – Blaney didn't reach the heights his teammates did last season, but he outlasted them at Daytona to finish second in an agonizingly close finish for the Penske Racing driver. He was one of the top Ford cars in the draft through the race distance and overcame contact that doomed his teammates to make his way into the battle for the win, battling door to door with Hamlin and Ryan Newman for the win and missing out by just a fraction of a second. Blaney will make adjustments to improve upon last season and now has his first top-five of the year in his pocket. At Las Vegas he has three top-five finishes in the last four races and started from pole there in 2018.
Chase Elliott – Elliott came from 25th starting position to work his way to the front and lead the field to the first stage finish of the 2020 season. The stage victory comes with important points for Elliott in his effort to advance further in the playoffs than he was able to last season. He did nicely to avoid the biggest crash of the race only to get caught in a later wreck that caused his machine heavy damage. Not being able to race for the win was a disappointing end to a promising week at Daytona for the Hendrick Motorsport driver. Elliott finished ninth and fourth in the two visits to Las Vegas last season and he has a highest finish at the track of fourth.
Kevin Harvick – Harvick's push for another visit to the championship finale started well despite an initially frustrating Daytona 500. Rear-fender damage in the second stage stunted Harvick's chances, but he and the team persevered to return in the final laps. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was mired in the back after the initial contact, and teammates dropping back to assist helped change his fate. He couldn't move through the field as easily afterward but avoided the carnage to minimize the impact. Harvick will be looking forward to the schedule moving back to the traditional 1.5-mile ovals this week and especially Las Vegas. He has two prior wins at the track and started and finished inside the top four in both races at the track last season.
Joey Logano – Despite throwing the block that took out his teammates in the prior week's Busch Clash, Logano was able to push his way forward again in the Daytona 500. He rebounded on Thursday by winning his qualifying race and then raced at the front throughout the main event. Logano also found himself involved in the biggest crash of the race but survived to have a shot at the lead before getting shuffled back and involved in a late crash. Logano, had he survived, could have been one of the drivers vying for the win just a handful of laps later. Instead, he is left with the majority of drivers waiting to get back to work this week in Las Vegas where he is the defending race winner.
DOWNGRADE
Kyle Busch – Busch had a car that could have won this year's Daytona 500, but his chances came unraveled in the final miles. He voiced concern in the first stage when the Toyota contingent seemingly lost touch with the lead draft. That move put the Joe Gibs Racing cars in a commanding position for the rest of the race. Busch was taking advantage of that track position, but while racing for the lead he suffered a mechanical failure with just 20 laps remaining in the race. His chances for the win literally went up in smoke. Like many others, his quest for another championship needs to get back on track this week in Las Vegas. He has one win at the track and three top-10s from the last five starts.
William Byron – Byron got off on the right foot in Thursday's qualifying races for the Daytona 500 by winning his race, but then was the first contact casualty just before the finish of the first stage while running inside the top five. The Hendrick Motorsports driver appeared poised for a top afternoon with plenty of stage points in hand but contact in the draft with Stenhouse put him nose first into the inside wall with little to show for his effort. This could still be a good season for the young driver, however. He finished seventh in his last start at Las Vegas, picking up stage points in both segments of that race. He'll need to do that again this week to make up ground lost in Daytona.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stenhouse started from pole and led every lap in the 2020 Daytona 500 until rain stopped the proceedings. His Chevrolet engine was one of the most powerful throughout the distance, and he consistently raced at the front of the field. He started the final stage aggressively, pushing other cars hard and making moves forward. While racing with less than 40 laps remaining, he made another aggressive move on Ryan Blaney that proved to be his downfall. He swerved to pass the Penske driver but crossed the yellow line and was ordered to pit road for a pass-through penalty. That was a wasted opportunity, and a wreck later added insult to injury for Stenhouse as he should have been in position to race for the win.
Erik Jones – Jones was one of the Toyotas who played his cards conservatively early in the Daytona 500. He raced with his teammates throughout most of the distance until an unfortunate series of events ruined his chances of fighting for the win. With less than 30 laps remaining, Jones was racing in the lower line as Stenhouse slowed to enter pit road. Jones was caught unaware and ran into the back of the No. 47 and sustained significant damage that dropped him out of the pack for repairs. He now must focus on a quick turnaround in Las Vegas where he has just one top-10 finish from 2018. He finished 13th and 36th at the track last season.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Christopher Bell – Bell had his first taste of NASCAR Cup series racing in this Daytona 500 and earned himself plenty of accolades in doing so. The rookie was a consistent and smooth racer in the draft and found himself running inside the top five throughout much of the distance. He was one of the few cars that avoided the carnage and was left to race at the front in the final miles. This year's rookie class comes with high expectations and Bell is delivering right out of the gate. His visit to Las Vegas will be just his second Cup race, but he does have three top-fives from four Xfinity starts at the track. Look for this rookie battle to rage and entertain all season.
