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Kyle Busch won a dramatic pre-season victory on Tuesday night at the Busch Clash, avoiding an accident between favorites Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, to kick off the NASCAR Cup Series season with the annual show held for the first time in the Daytona International Speedway course.
Busch led only the last of 35 laps at No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, winning the Clash for the second time. The exhibition race marked the first victory with new team leader Ben Beshore.
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Defending Cup Series champion Elliott came in second, moving away from contact with Blaney in the final chicane. Joey Logano finished third, with Tyler Reddick and William Byron completing the top five in order.
“I kind of felt like there was an interesting opportunity developing there,” said Busch of the situation in Blaney-Elliott. “When this started to happen, I expected them to break long enough that I could get there, get past them and win. It never ends until you are finished with these kinds of things. “
Elliott fell backwards at the start because of unapproved adjustments to his Chevrolet No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports. He prevailed in the series’ only other appearance at the 3.61-mile Daytona circuit, winning a race for points on the track last August as part of his current streak of four road victories.
Elliott was strong again, leading four laps and chasing Blaney for the final circuit victory. But the two cars made contact and Blaney suffered the worst of the damage to the outer retaining wall.
The race was not segmented in stages, but a competition warning after the 15th lap divided the race into two parts. Kevin Harvick spun twice in that early part, first taking his Ford No. 4 around the bus stop chicane after a dirt gauge was kicked onto the racing surface. His second off-course tour came after a confused restart, complicated by Blaney’s attempt to return to the race line after passing Curve 1.
Martin Truex Jr. led on two occasions, but encountered problems at all times, shortly after going forward. He was the leader in the competition’s precautionary range, but skipped the last chicane on the track during the caution period while looking for the pace car to enter the field. His No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota restarted the race at the rear of the pack after the penalty. “I don’t know why I did it,” said Truex. “Terrible work, sorry.”
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He apologized again after hitting the outer retaining wall, spinning out of the other chicane and suffering heavy damage. He finished 20th in the 21 car field.
All 42 previous editions of the unrated event were played in the 2.5 mile oval of Daytona.
NOTE: Kyle Busch’s 18th Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota passed post-race technical inspection on Tuesday after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Clash on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Brad Keselowski’s Penske Ford team number 2, which finished 17th, did not have a lug that was not safe.
Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service