DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It was worth the wait.
After a five-hour rain delay, the 2021 Daytona 500 came to a dramatic finish just after midnight Monday morning, with Michael McDowell winning The Great American Race as cars burst into flames behind him.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Fiery finish
Joey Logano led the majority of the final stage, and led going down the backstretch on the final lap before teammate Brad Keselowksi turned him into the wall.
Keselowski made a move to pass Logano, but Logano blocked. The two slammed the wall, leading to a giant fireball erupting in Turn 3.
More:Daytona 500 live updates: Joey Logano leads Daytona 500 with 25 to go
McDowell, who drives the No. 34 Ford, avoided the mayhem, and went three-wide with Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon coming out of Turn 4.
At the time the caution was flown, McDowell was declared the winner. This is his first Cup Series victory.
2. McDowell's Daytona triumph
McDowell has been in the Cup Series for 14 years.
"Daytona 500? Are you kidding me!?" he screamed into the microphone after the race. "We're the 500 champions. I can't believe it ... I just have to thank God. I've had so many years of grinding it out and waiting for an opportunity like this."
3. Big One strikes early
The annual Daytona Big One didn't wait around this year.
Christopher Bell got into the back of Aric Almirola, who was running second, on Lap 14, sending Almirola's No, 10 Ford up the track and into pole-sitter Alex Bowman.
Those two went hard into the backstretch wall and then came spinning back into the field, taking out multiple big-name drivers.
Matt DiBendetto was involved. So was William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman and Erik Jones.
In all, 18 cars were wrapped up in the mess.
"We were just getting pushed too hard too early," said Almirola, who dominated his qualifying race last week and appeared to have a fast Ford. "It’s a long, long race. The 20 (Bell) just came with a big run and hit me really hard in a bad spot."
4. Weather halts the 500
In typical Daytona fashion, Mother Nature led the early laps of Sunday's race.
One lap after The Big One, the skies opened up around the Speedway, soaking the high banks and sending the cars to pit-road.
They would remain there for the next five hours, withstanding strong storms and wind gusts until drivers were called back to their cars shortly before 9 p.m.
The race finally resumed just after 9:30 p.m. — five hours and 40 minutes after the initial delay.
Drivers Chase Briscoe, of Stewart-Haas Racing, and Ross Chastain, in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Chevy, left the track during the lengthy delay for a snack.
So did Tyler Reddick, who sat down inside Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and ate some chicken pot pie.
Briscoe went across the street in his firesuit to the Panda Express, while Chastain went to a local McDonalds.
5. A tribute to Earnhardt
Before the weather and the wreck, the estimated crowd of 30,000-plus paid tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt, who died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
As the field crossed the stripe for the third lap, fans in the grandstands and the infield held up the No. 3 for the entire lap. Earnhardt's No. 3 was also displayed on the infield jumbo-tron.
Unfortunately, the lap wasn't finished without drama.
Derrike Cope and Bubba Wallace got tangled coming to Turn 3, resulting in Cope blowing a tire and hitting the wall.
Cope, the 62-year-old who won the 1990 Daytona 500, was making his final 500 start. He finished 40th.
