Matt Kenseth wins the 2012 Daytona 500 early Tuesday -- the traditional Sunday start delayed until Monday night by rain with the very first crash coming on the first lap with Jimmy Johnson knocked out and Danica Patrick with a damaged car. With three-fourths of the race completed, it was delayed 2 hours and 5 minutes by a fiery crash involving Juan Pablo Montoya's car crashing into a jet dryer on the track during a caution. Then the best was saved for last with Kenseth holding off a hard-charging Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming off turn 4 in a green-white-checkered finish.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Matt Kenseth staved off a late charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. off turn 4 of the final lap to win his second Daytona 500 early this morning in a crash-marred race that included Juan Pablo Montoya crashing into a jet dryer that resulted in a fiery explosion that delayed the last 40 laps of the race for 2 hours and 5 minutes.

This was one of the most bizarre Daytona 500 races ever, the first not run on a Sunday because of rain, with the race finally starting just after 7 p.m. Monday and not finishing until nearly 1 a.m. Tuesday. Nearly half the cars didn't make it to the finish line with Jimmy Johnson lasting all of two laps.

The final lap was worth the long wait for the throngs of Daytona 500 fans screaming at the top of their lungs for Earnhardt to chase down Kenseth. Only in the 500 could such a final script be written.

And while Junior's fans cried in their beer on the way out, at least he had their hopes up down the stretch. Jimmy Johnson didn't make it out of the first lap, caught up in a wreck that also forced Danica Patrick in her first 500 start to settle for also ran early on.

Jeff Gordon blew a motor midway through the race and Tony Stewart, looking for his first 500 win, got caught up in the final crash in the closing laps that collected seven cars.

Only 22 cars finished the race. And while Earnhardt at least swung out from his third position off the final turn, Kenseth teammate Greg Biffle stayed content to stay in line behind the leader.

Earnhardt said he was surprised Biffle didn't make a move.

Earnhardt hooked up with Biffle and pushed the No. 16 Ford after a restart on lap 201, but the pair could not make headway against Kenseth who moved to the front of the field and stayed there.

Earnhardt expected Biffle to pull out and make a move, but the move never came.

"I was waiting and waiting," Earnhardt said. "It looked like he might have been trying to make a move on the back straightaway, but nothing materialized there. Then we came off (Turn) 4, and I kind of waited till the last minute for him to have his opportunity to try to pass Matt, and nothing was happening, so I just pulled out and went around him."

Earnhardt made the slingshot move around Greg Biffle to run second in the 54th running of the Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway. Biffle came home third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton, as a late caution necessitated two extra laps beyond the scheduled 200.

Paul Menard, Kevin Harvick, pole-sitter Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Mark Martin completed the top 10.

Kenseth had plenty of power at the finish, despite problems with the cooling system that plagued him early in the race.

"We had a lot of problems -- it was spewing water," said Kenseth, who notched the 22nd NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of his career. "I have to give a lot of credit to (engine builder) Doug Yates and the guys at the engine shop. We had great horsepower.

Kenseth added: "I could get a pretty good start on the bottom and either Denny or Dale Jr. could push me for a while and then they just couldn't stay attached and I would get away from them just in time to get in front of Greg, and the two of us together could make some unbelievable speed. I have to thank Greg. We worked together really good all day long. He had a really fast car all day as well."

A multi-car wreck on Lap 188 thinned the herd considerably, taking out a handful of competitive cars. Jamie McMurray spun wildly near the entrance to Turn 1, and the chain-reaction collision wiped out the cars of Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola and damaged the machines of Edwards and Tony Stewart.

Another melee on Lap 196 set up the overtime. After contact from Joey Logano's Toyota, the Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. caromed into Stewart's Chevrolet, turning the defending Cup champion sideways and igniting a pinball-style wreck that also involved Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman.

A strange weekend that saw the first weather postponement in the history of the Daytona 500 got downright bizarre during a round of pit stops under caution late in the race. Juan Pablo Montoya brought his No. 42 Chevrolet to pit road under caution on Lap 160, complaining of transmission issues. His car fell victim to a strong vibration when he returned to the track, and Montoya slid out of control at the entrance to Turn 3 and slammed into a jet dryer, which was against the outside wall, blowing the track.

The collision ignited the jet fuel in the dryer and set both vehicles ablaze. Montoya and the driver of the service vehicle both escaped the wreckage, but the latter -- Duane Barnes, from Michigan International Speedway -- was taken to nearby Halifax Medical Center for further evaluation.

"Something failed in the rear of the car, and the car just spun into the jet dryer," Montoya said after a visit to the care center. "I left the pits and felt a really weird vibration, and I came back in and checked the rear end and (they) said it was OK, and I got into the back straight and we were going in fourth gear but wasn't going that fast.

Montoya continued, "Every time I got on the gas, I could feel the rear squeezing. When I was telling the spotter to have a look how the rear was moving, the car just turned right."

NASCAR red-flagged the race as safety vehicles arrived on the scene and track workers attempted to put out the fire.

"There's going to be a big speed bump heading into Turn 3," crew chief Steve Letarte told Dale Earnhardt Jr., fearful that the blaze would melt the asphalt.

"I will be shocked -- shocked -- if we can get this race restarted."

Letarte was wrong. Safety workers cleared the scene by hoisting the remains of the jet dryer on a tow truck with a boom to prevent further damage to the asphalt. After a stoppage of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 29 seconds, the event resumed just before midnight.

The race was barely one lap old when contact from the front bumper of Elliott Sadler's Chevrolet turned the No. 48 Chevy of five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson hard into the outside wall near the exit from the tri-oval. Unable to avoid the wreck, David Ragan plowed into the side of Johnson's car.

Neither Johnson nor Ragan was able to continue; they retired from the race in the 42nd and 43rd positions, respectively.

The cars of defending race winner Trevor Bayne, Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch were severely damaged in the melee and all three headed to the garage for extensive repairs and later returned to the track.

"The steering's off," Patrick said, as she brought the No. 10 Chevy to pit road. Her crew repaired the rear suspension, but Patrick was 62 laps down when she reappeared on Lap 66. She wound up 38th in her Sprint Cup debut.

Here is a lap-by-lap rundown of the race: 

Lop 202 -- Matt Kenseth holds off a late charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final stretch for the victory.

Lap 196 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 10: Another multi-car accident takes place in almost the same place as the last one. Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Landon Cassill, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and others are caught up in the accident.

Lap 195 -- The top 10, 12 cars are single file, setting up for the finish. Who makes the first move?

Lap 194 -- GREEN FLAG: Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are the front five as a light fog descends on the track. Earnhardt pushes Kenseth to the inside initially, but Kenseth drops down to pick up teammate Biffle. Earnhardt fades to fourth, behind Hamlin.

Lap 188 -- Tony Stewart was in the middle of the accident, but might have escaped without damaging his car too severely.

Lap 187 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: There's a multi-car accident on the front stretch involving Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, Aric Almirola and others.

Lap 186 -- The front four are single file, and Kevin Harvick has a drafting partner in teammate Jeff Burton on the outside. That line hasn't worked most of the night, however.

Lap 179 -- Aric Almirola, who was involved in the genesis of the accident, is on pit road.

Lap 176 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears are involved in a mishap in Turn 1.

Lap 174 -- Still no change up front, but Denny Hamlin on the outside looks like he might be making some progress.

Lap 170 -- The first seven cars are single file, with the outside line still stalled.

Lap 169 -- The outside line is not the place to be right now.

Lap 167 -- Matt Kenseth has teammate Greg Biffle right behind him, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in third.

Lap 166 -- GREEN FLAG: Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton are the top five on the restart. Here we go! Kenseth clears for the lead between Turns 1 and 2. They get through the accident site in good shape.

Lap 165 -- Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Tony Raines and David Gilliland are forced to pit. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch are also in to top off their fuel supplies.

Lap 164 -- Casey Mears appears to have run out of fuel. Lap 163 -- Pace-car driver Brett Bodine feels a slight bump through the accident site. Race director David Hoots says the race will go green in two laps.

Lap 162 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't think the high side of the accident site in Turn 3 is ready for racing conditions.

Lap 161 -- Kasey Kahne and Michael McDowell enter pit road.

Lap 160 -- 11:57 p.m. ET -- The red flag is being withdrawn, and card are beginning to roll off the backstretch. We might just finish this thing after all! 11:56 p.m. ET -- Engines have been re-fired.

RED FLAG: The jet dryer and track are still in flames. Dave Blaney is the leader, with Landon Cassill in second place, Tony Raines third and David Gilliland fourth.

Juan Montoya's car has hit one of the jet dryers, and the truck is engulfed in flames in Turn 3.

Lap 159 -- The leaders are on pit road. Several take two tires only.

Lap 157 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: David Stremme blows an engine and then spins in front of a small pack of traffic. Fortunately, he is the only car involved. Lap 154 -- Incredibly, the first 15 cars are separated by less than a second.

Lap 153 -- Elliott Sadler's car is very slow going into Turn 1.

Lap 151 -- Those first five cars are back in a nose-to-tail formation.

Lap 150 -- Fifty laps to go. The top five is currently Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Casey Mears and Kevin Harvick.

Lap 147 -- The intensity is picking up big time. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has moved into second place behind Matt Kenseth.

Lap 145 -- The single file up front is gone. Joey Logano begins the lap as the leader, but Matt Kenseth moves to the high side to take the advantage coming off the last corner. Lap 143 -- Denny Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano shuffles into the lead.

Lap 142 -- Denny Hamlin is still the leader, but he's got company from Matt Kenseth and a big pack of traffic just behind him.

Lap 138 -- Denny Hamlin has taken over the lead from Greg Biffle.

Lap 136 -- Marcos Ambrose gets shuffled out of position to the high side.

Lap 134 -- The first 11 cars are single file, but they won't stay that way as the laps begin to wind down even more. Lap 133 -- Greg Biffle gets help from Denny Hamlin to take the lead from Mark Martin coming off Turn 4.

Lap 132 -- GREEN FLAG: Mark Martin, David Stremme and Tony Stewart are the leaders because they did not stop with most of the lead pack. Regan Smith is fourth. Let it rain now and give Martin the trophy!

Lap 131 -- The rest of the leaders are on pit road. Elliott Sadler pits again, and cars scramble to avoid him.

Lap 130 -- Although pit road is still closed, Jeff Burton gives up fourth place to take on fuel and tires. He will have to start from the rear of the field. Elliott Sadler also pits.

Lap 129 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Just as Tony Stewart pits, the caution comes out for Clint Bowyer's stalled car in Turn 2. Stewart will more than likely assume the lead when the race goes back to green.

Lap 127 -- Clint Bowyer is off the pace big time. He was running in fifth place. He misses pit road, and is coasting around the apron of the track, reportedly out of gas.

Lap 126 -- Aric Almirola is lurking back in sixth place. Could tonight be the night the No. 43 winds up back in Daytona's victory lane?

Lap 124 -- Look for pit stops to be starting shortly.

Lap 120 -- Denny Hamlin still holds the point, followed closely by Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer.

Lap 119 -- Tony Stewart is sandwiched between Brad Keselowski and a third car in traffic.

Lap 116 -- The inside line has been the place to be tonight. at the moment, the first 10 cars are single file to the low side.

Lap 112 -- Brad Keselowski is pulling the outside line even with fourth-place Jeff Burton.

Lap 110 -- Carl Edwards reports that his fuel pressure seems to be fluctuating. He's currently in 21st place.

Lap 108 -- The top five are currently Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer.

Lap 104 -- Denny Hamlin has Martin Truex Jr. just behind him in second place.

Lap 101 -- In other news, the race is now official. Tony Stewart briefly takes the lead going down the backstretch, but Denny Hamlin jumps under him between Turns 3 and 4 to go to the top of the leader board.

Lap 100 -- Halfway. Martin Truex Jr. gets a huge boost from Denny Hamlin to take the lead going into Turn 3, and scores the $200,000 bonus. He also led at the halfway point last year.

Lap 98 -- Three laps from halfway, and there's a line of single-file traffic behind leader Greg Biffle.

Lap 94 -- Greg Biffle is still the leader, but there's one heck of a show going on just behind him!

Lap 93 -- The inside and outside lines are door to door, with Greg Biffle slightly out front going into Turn 1.

Lap 92 -- GREEN FLAG: Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne are your leaders when the race pace quickens. Kasey Kahne is trying for a hole shot straight up the middle with help from teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 90 -- Elliott Sadler is on pit road, but don't look for many other takes with a $200,000 bonus up for grabs in 10 laps.

Lap 89 -- Terry Labonte comes onto pit road after getting very briefly stuck in the wet grass of the tri oval.

Lap 88 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Terry Labonte gets turned off the nose of Marcos Ambrose coming off Turn 4.

Lap 87 -- Greg Biffle slips down in front of Terry Labonte, the two-time Cup champion, to retake the lead.

Lap 86 -- GREEN FLAG: Terry Labonte is the leader after not pitting. Greg Biffle is to his outside in second place on the restart. Labonte holds the spot all the way around the track.

Lap 85 -- Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard top off their fuel supplies.

Lap 82 - The leaders are back on pit road.

Lap 81 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Jeff Gordon's engine detonates going into Turn 3. He briefly had flames trailing from behind his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Lap 78 -- Martin Truex Jr. had Denny Hamlin behind him for a moment, but Hamlin jumped up top to the lead the group on the high side.

Lap 76 -- Martin Truex Jr. is leading the charge to the outside, and he takes the lead from Greg Biffle.

Lap 74 -- Jeff Burton is back to sixth place, and he has Martin Truex Jr. to his outside.

Lap 72 -- Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano are single file up front.

Lap 69 -- Matt Kenseth had a big problem on the stop, his car spouting a huge geyser of water.

Lap 68 -- GREEN FLAG: Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch are the leaders on the restart. The rest of the top 10 are Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray and Joey Logano. Ambrose has a front bumper full of Biffle as they charge into the lead in Turn 3.

Lap 66 -- Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and several others pit, mostly for fuel only. Danica Patrick is back on the track.

Lap 65 -- Remember folks, there's a $200,000 bonus up for grabs at the halfway point. How will that impact strategy now, if at all?

Lap 64 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: There's debris being reported in Turn 2.

Lap 63 -- Jeff Gordon wrestles the advantage away from Jeff Burton.

Lap 62 -- Jeff Gordon is now the leader.

Lap 61 -- Tony Stewart is on pit road, basically by himself. He had tried to stop earlier, but was blocked from entering pit lane.

Lap 60 -- Jeff Gordon, Dave Blaney, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and others are pitting.

Lap 59 -- Most of the rest of the leaders roll down pit road.

Lap 58 -- Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, David Reutimann, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano and a few others are getting fuel and tires.

Lap 57 -- Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray and Juan Montoya are in for service.

Lap 56 -- Clint Bowyer, Bobby Labonte and Michael McDowell are pitting.

Lap 55 -- Leader Jeff Burton should be coming in for service in another three laps or so.

Lap 54 -- Paul Menard and Denny Hamlin drop onto pit road. Menard was third, Hamlin seventh.

Lap 51 -- Greg Biffle and Paul Menard are still tucked on the bumper of leader Jeff Burton. The first several cars in line are single file.

Lap 49 -- Denny Hamlin is still at the head of the outside line, but he's dueling for sixth place at the moment.

Lap 45 -- Denny Hamlin jumps out of line going into Turn 3, but he can't make the move for the lead stick just yet.

Lap 44 -- The leaders are beginning to mix it up a little bit. Jeff Burton moves his way to the lead with help from Greg Biffle.

Lap 39 -- There are currently 35 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 38 -- There's a pack up front, split single- and double-file. Kevin Harvick leads another pack further back. Harvick is shown in 29th place, nearly six seconds behind the leader.

Lap 37 -- Here comes Trevor Bayne down pit road.

Lap 35 -- Aside from Denny Hamlin, any of the rest of the top six could be considered a surprise winner of the Daytona 500.

Lap 33 -- It's now the first six cars in single file -- Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Jeff Burton and Marcos Ambrose.

Lap 32 -- According to Fox's broadcast, the last 10 Daytona 500s have had 10 different winners.

Lap 28 -- Trevor Bayne is about to return from the garage. He's currently shown in 39th place, 25 laps down.

Lap 26 -- It appears that the frontrunners are content to log some laps for the time being.

Lap 25 -- The top seven are Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, Marcos Ambrose and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 23 -- Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. are back running neck and neck in their battle for seventh place.

Lap 21 -- Martin Truex Jr. and Greg Biffle were the first cars side by side, but Truex clears going into Turn 1.

Lap 20 -- The first several cars in line are now single file, but they're all over each other further back in the field.

Lap 19 -- Denny Hamlin has pulled clear of the field, and he has Paul Menard in tow.

Lap 17 -- GREEN FLAG: Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard did not pit, and they are the leaders on the restart. Hamlin grabs the top spot in the scramble.

Lap 14 -- The leaders are hitting pit road. It beats hitting each other! Whoops ... not so fast there. A.J. Allmendinger receives damage in a mishap on pit road and has to be pushed to the garage.

Lap 13 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Ryan Newman loops his car on the backstretch. He does not appear to have made contact with anything.

Lap 12 -- Carl Edwards pushes Greg Biffle into the lead in Turn 3.

Lap 11 -- Regan Smith -- the dark horse! -- has picked his way to the front! He's now the leader.

Lap 10 -- The entire field remains door to door, just like the pace laps.

Lap 7 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth lead the field to the restart. Biffle clears for the lead coming back around to the stripe.

Lap 5 -- All drivers have climbed from their cars unassisted.

Lap 3 -- David Ragan and Trevor Bayne were also swept up into the accident.

Lap 2 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Wow. Jimmie Johnson, Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch and others are involved in a crash going into Turn1. The wreck was triggered when Elliott Sadler shoved Johnson coming out of the tri oval.

Lap 1 -- GREEN FLAG: At long last, the race gets under way at 7:14 p.m. ET. The first few rows remain door to door through Turns 1 and 2. Jamie McMurray is off the pace, looking for a partner. Greg Biffle clears for the lead.

Final Race Results:

1. (4) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 202. 2. (5) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 202. 3. (2) Greg Biffle, Ford, 202. 4. (31) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 202. 5. (9) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 202. 6. (37) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 202. 7. (13) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 202. 8. (1) Carl Edwards, Ford, 202. 9. (12) Joey Logano, Toyota, 202. 10. (22) Mark Martin, Toyota, 202.

11. (30) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 202. 12. (26) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 202. 13. (7) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 202. 14. (32) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 202. 15. (24) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 202. 16. (3) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 202. 17. (14) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 202. 18. (43) Terry Labonte, Ford, 202. 19. (41) Tony Raines, Ford, 202. 20. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 202. 21. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 202. 22. (39) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 202. 23. (33) David Gilliland, Ford, 201. 24. (6) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 200. 25. (36) Casey Mears, Ford, 199. 26. (38) David Reutimann, Toyota, Accident, 196. 27. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 196. 28. (34) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 194. 29. (20) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Accident, 189. 30. (11) Michael McDowell, Ford, 189. 31. (19) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 188. 32. (23) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, Accident, 187. 33. (27) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 187. 34. (15) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 177. 35. (40) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 164. 36. (35) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Accident, 159. 37. (42) David Stremme, Toyota, Engine, 156. 38. (29) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 138. 39. (28) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 113. 40. (16) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, Engine, 81. 41. (17) Robby Gordon, Dodge, Engine, 25. 42. (8) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 1. 43. (25) David Ragan, Ford, Accident, 1.

Race Statistics:

Average Speed: 140.256 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 36 Mins, 2 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.210 Seconds. Caution Flags: 10 for 42 laps. Lead Changes: 25 among 13 drivers.

Lap Leaders:

G. Biffle 1-9; R. Smith 10-11; G. Biffle 12-14; P. Menard 15-16; D. Hamlin 17-40; J. Burton 41-57; J. Gordon 58; T. Stewart 59-60; J. Burton 61-67; G. Biffle 68-76; M. Truex Jr. 77-81; G. Biffle 82; T. Labonte 83-85; G. Biffle 86-99; M. Truex Jr. 100-101; D. Hamlin 102-129; G. Biffle 130; M. Martin 131-132; G. Biffle 133-138; D. Hamlin 139-143; J. Logano 144-145; M. Kenseth 146-157; G. Biffle 158; D. Blaney 159-164; M. Kenseth 165-202.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):

D. Hamlin 3 times for 57 laps; M. Kenseth 2 times for 50 laps; G. Biffle 8 times for 44 laps; J. Burton 2 times for 24 laps; M. Truex Jr. 2 times for 7 laps; D. Blaney 1 time for 6 laps; T. Labonte 1 time for 3 laps; P. Menard 1 time for 2 laps; J. Logano 1 time for 2 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 2 laps; M. Martin 1 time for 2 laps; R. Smith 1 time for 2 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 1 lap. Top 12 in Points: M. Kenseth - 47; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 42; G. Biffle - 42; D. Hamlin - 42; J. Burton - 40; P. Menard - 39; K. Harvick - 37; C. Edwards - 36; J. Logano - 36; M. Martin - 35; C. Bowyer - 33; M. Truex Jr. - 33.

This was Kenseth's 22nd victory in 437 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Kenseth is the ninth driver to win multiple Daytona 500s. His first Daytona 500 victory came in the rain-shortened 2009 event.

Fast Facts:

Kenseth's win is Roush Fenway Racing's 300th NASCAR national Series victory (126 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; 124 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series; 50 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series). . . Kenseth also won his Gatorade Duel at Daytona race. The last driver to win both a Duel and the Daytona 500 was Dale Earnhardt Jr., in 2004. . . This was Kenseth's second victory and 12th top-10 finish in 25 races at Daytona International Speedway. . . Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 25 races at Daytona International Speedway. . . Greg Biffle (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 19 races at Daytona International Speedway. . . Martin Truex Jr. won the $200,000 bonus for leading the race at the halfway point. . . The top four drivers when Juan Montoya hit the jet dryer were Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Tony Raines and David Gilliland, none of whom had come to pit road with the rest of the lead-lap cars. Irreparable damage to the track or an ill-timed rain cell could have made a winner of Blaney. . .  Edwards and Kyle Busch had to restart from the rear when the race resumed for removing tear-offs from their windshields under the red flag.