Kasey Kahne’s day at the Daytona 500 took a hit after a piece of a rotor on his car broke off with less than 20 laps to go. Kahne had been running well all day, staying on the lead lap and in the thick of things at Daytona International Speedway. Kahne headed to the garage to fix the problem before returning to the track to finish the race.
The caution was the 14th of the race, easily eclipsing both the Daytona 500 and Daytona International Speedway record. It’s been a day filled with yellow flags and laps behind the pace car, an unfortunate side-effect of spin-outs and engine troubles plaguing the field.
As for the race itself, Ryan Newman has the lead, followed by Denny Hamlin, David Ragan, Clint Bowyer and Trevor Bayne. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still running strong, sitting in 10th place and in prime position to make a late run. Tony Stewart sits in ninth, just ahead of Earnhardt Jr.
The Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, are running neck-and-neck, sitting at sixth and seventh with the race winding down. Now is the time we’ll see cars pairing off in the two-car draft in an effort to get the biggest run-up to the finish line on the tri-oval. Earnhard Jr. and Regan Smith have formed a formidable tandem all day, and are a pair to keep an eye on.
With time winding down, it’s crunch time as the field jockeys for position. For more on the race, check out our Daytona 500 StoryStream.
Note: An earlier error about Kahne's trouble was corrected. Kahne was able to finish the race in 25th.