DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 20 -- There was so much crashing toward the wild finish of Sunday's Daytona 500 that NASCAR officials had to tack on three extra laps, technically making it the Daytona 507.5, to haul off the debris and still give fans the high-speed finish they came to see.
Those extra miles of stock-car "overtime" were worth every penny of admission, as Jeff Gordon fended off a furious charge by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch to win his third Daytona 500 and his 70th victory at the sport's highest level.
Scott Wimmer (22) is at the front of a crash that includes Kevin Harvick (29), Kasey Kahne (9), Brian Vickers (25), Jamie McMurray (42), Jeremy Mayfield (19).
(David Graham -- AP)
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| _____ Daytona 500 _____
• Jeff Gordon clinches his third Daytona 500 title, edging Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sunday.
• Final Results
• Hendrick Motorsports overcomes tragic plane crash to remain favored team in Daytona.
• Michael Waltrip edges teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the early qualifying race and Tony Stewart wins the nightcap.
• The Daytona 500 has served as the personal playground lately for Team Earnhardt.
_____ Multimedia _____
• Audio: washingtonpost.com's Mike Snyder reports after Jeff Gordon's tight victory Sunday.
• Photos
• Joe Gibbs talks about the parallels between football and NASCAR and the challenges and rewards of both.
• Audio: Gibbs talks about his future in auto racing and pro football. (Jan. 26)
_____ On Our Site _____
• Interactive guide to NASCAR's 36-race Nextel Cup series, including photos, schedules, profiles, statistics and more.
• Previous winners
_____ Live Online _____
• The Post's Liz Clarke was talking racing' Friday. Read the transcript.
_____ Flashback _____
• Six years after his father won NASCAR's grandest race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. roars to victory in the '04 Daytona 500.
• Gallery
_____ Nextel Cup Basics _____
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Gordon streaked across the finish 0.158 of a second ahead of Busch, who had whipped his Ford around Earnhardt Jr. to stymie the final charge of the defending champion and hands-down fan favorite.
Gordon celebrated with a prolonged burnout that shrouded the giant superspeedway's frontstretch in clouds of exhaust from his 800-horsepower engine, then roared on to Victory Lane, where he thrust his arms in the air and dove into the arms of car owner Rick Hendrick.
"I am so stoked!" Gordon shrieked. "The DAYTONA 500! Yes!"
It was a stunning achievement for a team that had lost seven top executives, including its president, general manager and chief engine builder, in a plane crash en route to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last October. And it was the sweetest possible solace for Hendrick, whose brother, only son and two nieces were among the 10 killed.
Gordon immediately dedicated his victory to the families of those lost, saying it was the most fitting way to honor their contributions and commitment to the sport they loved.
Hendrick, whose drivers have now won five Daytona 500s, spoke about the photograph that he treasures most of his late son, Ricky: It is of Ricky, then a small child, sitting on his shoulders at Daytona when Geoff Bodine won the team's first Daytona 500 in 1986.
"There is a lot of fire in our hearts," Hendrick said. "Every time we race now, I think about all those people."
Emotions ran strong in every corner of the mammoth superspeedway in the aftermath.
Tony Stewart vented his wrath during the so-called "cool-down" lap by slamming repeatedly into the Chevrolet of fifth-place finisher Jimmie Johnson, whose last-lap roughhousing he objected to. Stewart led the most laps (107 of 203) and had the car to beat but got shuffled back for a seventh-place finish.
After being hauled in for a lecture by NASCAR President Mike Helton, the two drivers shook hands and forgave each other.
Stewart's top 10 finish was the day's sole highlight for car owner Joe Gibbs, whose rookie driver, Jason Leffler, crashed out to end up 36th. His veteran driver, Bobby Labonte, came home last, 43rd, after his engine blew up just 14 laps into the race.
Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace, competing in their final Daytona 500 before retiring at season's end, finished sixth and 10th respectively -- hardly what they wanted, but they ran with dignity after forging a pre-race pact to help each other in the aerodynamic draft if they could.
