Daytona Beach, Florida. Brilliant Quebec racing driver Jacques Villeneuve took 22nd place in the Daytona 500 at NASCAR on Sunday, while Austin Sendrick beat his rivals with his new car.
Cendrick wins the Daytona 500, Villeneuve 22
A former F1 champion and Indianapolis 500 race winner, Villeneuve started the race in 40th and last place. He finished three laps behind the leader.
The 50-year-old hasn’t competed in the Daytona 500 yet.
Cendrick splendidly led the race at Daytona International Speedway, and the Ford drivers, who had synced their strategy throughout the week, executed the plan to perfection Sunday night.
“We discussed it for weeks after the race last year where our team was first and second and finally crushed on the last lap,” said Penske Team Principal Roger Penske. I told them, “Listen guys, the best driver will win, but I believe in working together.”
“They stuck to the game plan and Austin won.”
Ford drivers pushed each other across 500 miles and all assembled for the eventual overtime restart.
Cendrick led the group into the final round in the top lane, keeping a good lead. He then positioned himself in the bottom lane in front of his Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney. The two worked together on the last lap of the race.
Blaney tried to take the lead on the last lap while Bubba Wallace took the bottom pass with the same goal. Cendrick took the outside lane to snag Blaney, but had to contain Wallace in the final race.
It was Cendrick’s first Career Cup win. The 23-year-old has been promoted from the Xfinity Series circuit to replace Brad Keselowski in the second Ford.
Wallace finished second in the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career. Three Ford cars followed, led by Chase Briscoe, Blaney, and Eric Almerola, respectively.
Kyle Busch finished sixth, as he was the only Toyota driver, with the exception of Wallace, to break into the top ten.
Chase Elliott finished 10th overall and is the only Chevrolet driver in the top 10.