The Daytona 500 proved to be one of the more entertaining races in recent memory. Amid the initial race being postponed due to inclement weather on Sunday and needing to restarted on Monday, a slew of nasty crashes that caused some of the biggest names in the sport, like Jimmie Johnson, to drop out, and a down-to-the-wire finish, the 2020 installment of the race led to an array of emotions for its viewers.
Among the most talked about things from the race was the conclusion, which saw the race needing to go to overtime. The additional laps saw many confused, many frustrated at the length of the race and others who were anxiously on the edge of their seats.
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“I need every NASCAR race to go to overtime. That was wild. #Daytona,” one user tweeted.
“I was today years old when I found out NASCAR had overtime,” another wrote.
NASCAR overtime is the longest thing I’ve ever watched
— nick pellegrino (@nickpellegrin0) February 18, 2020
For those unfamiliar, the rules of overtime call for two additional laps. If a wreck occurs on the first of those two laps, a restart will occur. In the case of Monday’s race, a second overtime was needed due to a crash. When all was said and done, it was Denny Hamlin who came out on top for his second straight win in Daytona and his third overall.
You may see plenty of big ones into the wall late in the race but we’ve seen an exciting overtime run & excellent close racing to the finish! What a great time to start the new NASCAR season despite heavy rain stopping the early part of the #Daytona500 last night.
— Matthew Nicholas (@MrMattNicholas) February 18, 2020
The day saw numerous crashes, including a spinout from William Byron that led to him dropping out and taking last place. There was also a “Big One” on Lap 181 that saw Brad Keselowski’s car causing quite the scene, even taking out Jimmie Johnson in what would be his final Daytona 500 before retiring after this season.
In overtime, there was a scary scene for Ryan Newman, who was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital.
“This was among the more out there #DAYTONA500 finishes I’ve seen. Ugh. Way too many wrecks — including in overtime,” the tweet read. “Hoping Ryan Newman is O.K.”
