Kenseth wins the Daytona 500, nabs No. 300 for Roush

Kenseth takes the checkers.

The Daytona marathon is over. From fire to rain and crashes on lap 3, the 54th annual Daytona 500 saw it all.

Victorious at the end of the marathon race, lasting until after 1am eastern time, Matt Kenseth. The now 2-time Daytona 500 winner (previous win was in 2009) also claimed the 300th win for Roush Fenway Racing.

In victory lane Kenseth said, "We had great horsepower, pretty unbelievable speed and it just came down to whoever was in the front at the end. They enjoyed their day more because they couldn't hear me on the radio often."

Fire, Rain and Wrecks - OH MY! 

Rain postponed the start of the Daytona 500 but fire nearly ended it. A fiery crash, under caution red flagged the race with only 40 laps remaining.

Under caution after David Stremme lost his engine, Juan Pablo Montoya reported a vibration in his car. All the sudden he lost handling and crashed straight into a jet dryer. A giant fireball was seen and the track was engulfed in flames.

Credit: Ford Racing

Montoya escaped his car without injuries and the driver of the jet dryer and been taken to the nearby Halifax Medical Center for evaluation.

Wrecks took out many drivers early - a lap 3 accident collected Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick, Trevor Bayne, Elliott Sadler and David Ragan. Patrick, Bayne and Sadler all returned to the race after repairs.


Race Results:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Greg Biffle
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Jeff Burton
6. Paul Menard
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Carl Edwards
9. Joey Logano
10. Mark Martin
11. Clint Bowyer
12. Martin Truex Jr.
13. Marcos Ambrose
14. Bobby Labonte
15. Dave Blaney
16. Tony Stewart
17. Kyle Busch
18. Terry Labonte
19. Tony Raines
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. Ryan Newman
22. Landon Cassill
23. David Gilliland
24. Regan Smith
25. Casey Mears
26. David Reutimann
27. Elliott Sadler
28. Joe Nemechek
29. Kasey Kahne
30. Michael McDowell
31. Jamie McMurray
32. Brad Keselowski
33. Aric Almirola
34. AJ Allmendinger
35. Trevor Bayne
36. Juan Pablo Montoya
37. David Stremme
38. Danica Patrick
39. Kurt Busch
40. Jeff Gordon
41. Robby Gordon
42. Jimmie Johnson
43. David Ragan

Stay tuned to Skirts and Scuffs tomorrow evening for all our individual team recaps for more detailed stories.