It rained on NASCAR’s parade, but fortunately for Matt Kenseth, his No. 17 Ford was at the head of the line.
The Wisconsin product and 2003 series champion ended a winless streak that dated back to the final race of the 2007 season by being in the right place at the right time on lap 152 to win the rain-shortened Daytona 500 Sunday, passing Elliott Sadler on lap 146 when he zigged and Sadler zagged entering Turn 2.
“It’s gonna be really wet out here because I’m crying like a baby,” said Kenseth, whose first Daytona 500 win also was the first for legendary owner Jack Roush.
“Winning the Daytona 500 is definitely a dream moment. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.”
Kevin Harvick finished second and Sadler’s teammate, A.J. Allmendinger, was third. It was just the fourth rain-shortened Daytona 500 in the race’s 51-year history, and first since Michael Waltrip won NASCAR’s signature event in 2003.
FIN CAR DRIVER 1 17 Matt Kenseth 2 29 Kevin Harvick 3 44 A.J. Allmendinger 4 33 Clint Bowyer 5 19 Elliott Sadler 6 6 David Ragan 7 55 Michael Waltrip 8 14 Tony Stewart 9 43 Reed Sorenson 10 2 Kurt Busch 11 1 Martin Truex Jr. 12 0 David Reutimann 13 24 Jeff Gordon 14 42 Juan Montoya 15 7 Casey Mears 16 5 Mark Martin 17 47 Marcos Ambrose 18 99 Carl Edwards 19 34 John Andretti 20 16 Greg Biffle 21 78 Regan Smith 22 96 Bobby Labonte 23 21 Bill Elliott 24 66 Terry Labonte 25 36 Scott Riggs 26 11 Denny Hamlin 27 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 28 31 Jeff Burton 29 9 Kasey Kahne 30 8 Aric Almirola 31 48 Jimmie Johnson 32 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 33 12 David Stremme 34 7 Robby Gordon 35 82 Scott Speed * 36 39 Ryan Newman 37 26 Jamie McMurray 38 98 Paul Menard 39 83 Brian Vickers 40 41 Jeremy Mayfield 41 18 Kyle Busch 42 28 Travis Kvapil 43 20 Joey Logano *
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