Joey Logano held off Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on a restart of the final two laps and collected his first ever Daytona 500 victory at the 2015 version of the race. After leading for much of the way in the final 20 laps, Logano seemed headed for a final lap showdown with contenders Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt, Jr. – but a minor crash in Lap 197 by Justin Allgaier at the back of the pack stopped the field dead in their tracks while the track crew cleaned up Allgaier’s debris. With the restart, Logano immediately went out in front, held the position and pulled away at the end despite Jeff Gordon losing control in the final lap and taking a few cars with him in a final lap crash.
With his first Daytona 500 victory, the 24-year-old Logano becomes the second-youngest Daytona 500 winner in race history [behind then-20-year-old Trevor Bayne in 2011].
