Stenhouse Wins Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

AP Photo/Sean Gardner

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won his second consecutive restrictor plate race in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup race at Daytona International Speedway.  His Roush Fenway No. 17 Ford led 16 laps and finished ahead of fellow Ford driver Clint Bowyer in a wild and wreck-filled race.

When race leader David Ragan slid up the track to throw a block on rookie Ty Dillon on an overtime restart with two laps remaining, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. capitalized by pulling to Ragan’s inside then completing the pass to win the Coke Zero 400 Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

It was Stenhouse’s second win of the season, with his previous victory coming in May at Talladega Superspeedway, the other restrictor-plate track on the Monster Energy Cup Series schedule. Stenhouse, in his fifth full year in NASCAR’s premier division, had never won a race before this season.

“This validates what we did at Talladega,” Stenhouse said.

Clint Bowyer finished second, with Paul Menard third, Michael McDowell fourth and Ryan Newman fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Ragan, Brendan Gaughan, AJ Allmendinger, rookie Erik Jones and Chris Buescher.

Had Ragan won, he would’ve essentially clinched an unlikely spot in playoffs. Afterward, the driver for the small Front Row Motorsports team, which us usually competitive at Daytona and Talladega, admitted his mistake cost himself a potential third-career victory.

“I zigged when I should have zagged,” Ragan said.

A race-record 14 cautions slowed the race for 51 laps. The most notable incident involved Dale Earnhardt Jr., who couldn’t escape a spinning Kevin Harvick and slammed into the backstretch wall on Lap 107. Earnhardt was seeking to win in his last announced start at Daytona after announcing his retirement from full-time competition in April, but the damage proved unrepairable and he finished 32nd.

Earnhardt had also hit the wall earlier in the race, falling two laps behind. But after repairs he rallied to get back on the lead lap and was running inside the top 10 when Harvick crashed directly in front of him. Earnhardt will need a victory in the remaining nine regular season races to earn a playoff berth.

"I wish we had had a good finish tonight if not a win,” Earnhardt said. “We were working up in there and having a good time and being aggressive and wearing out the sides of that race car. It just wasn't to be.”

The crashes came frequently with more than two dozen cars involved, some multiple times.  Fist stage winner Brad Keselowski led the most laps at 35, and Matt Kenseth led second most at 24, but neither finished the race whole and finished the night in the garage.

Ryan Blaney, who had a very stout Wood Brothers Ford was caught up in an accident on Lap 154 which ended his night.  The youngster was a victim of someone else’s problem which seemed to happen over and over, another problem with restrictor plate racing.  At the end, there were few cars running.  One still running was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 

“I kept my Talladega car and told them to build another one,” Stenhouse said.  “They built one that was really fast.  I had a 4th of July party planned, but it just got a little bigger.”. 

“You’re banging and beating.  Both sides,” Bowyer said.  “Man, this bridesmaid deal sucks.  I want to win, but I’m proud of everyone on this Mobil 1 Ford team.”

Ford now has eight wins while Chevrolet has seven and Toyota two. 

The NMECS now heads to Kentucky for the next race.  The race will be held on Saturday night, July 8th, and will be the second consecutive night race on the schedule.

Unofficial Race Results for the 59th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola, Daytona International Speedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Status
1) 6, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fifth Thrid Bank Ford, 163, , , 40, 4, 17, 5, Running
2) 11, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford, 163, 4, , 42, 1, 4, , Running
3) 24, Paul Menard, No. 27 Moen/Menards Chevrolet, 163, , , 34, , , , Running
4) 23, Michael McDowell, No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet, 163, 6, , 38, , , , Running
5) 22, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Velveeta Shells & Cheese Chevrolet, 163, , , 32, , , , Running
6) 30, David Ragan, No. 38 Shriners Hospital for Children 95th Anniversary Ford, 163, 10, 5, 38, 1, 4, , Running
7) 32, * Brendan Gaughan(i), No. 75 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet, 163, , , 0, , , , Running
8) 27, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 163, , , 29, , , , Running
9) 17, Erik Jones #, No. 77 Sport Clips Toyota, 163, , , 28, 2, 9, , Running
10) 29, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Coffee Mate Chevrolet, 163, , , 27, , , , Running
11) 36, Corey LaJoie #, No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota, 163, , , 26, , , , Running
12) 12, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 163, , 3, 33, 1, 4, , Running
13) 28, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Incredible Bank Ford, 163, , , 24, , , , Running
14) 8, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald's $1 Any Size Soft Drink Chevrolet, 163, 7, , 27, , , , Running
15) 31, Darrell Wallace Jr.(i), No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 163, , 9, 0, , , , Running
16) 34, Ty Dillon #, No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet, 163, , 8, 24, 1, 7, , Running
17) 20, Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 Subway Toyota, 163, , , 20, 2, 11, , Running
18) 4, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 UniFirst Chevrolet, 163, , 7, 23, 2, 12, , Running
19) 26, Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Hnrng the Qt Prfssnl Ford, 163, , , 18, , , , Running
20) 16, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 163, , , 17, , , , Running
21) 33, * Elliott Sadler(i), No. 7 Golden Corral Chevrolet, 163, , , 0, , , , Running
22) 2, Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Patriotic Chevrolet, 162, , , 15, 1, 4, , Running
23) 14, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Liberty National Life Insurance Company Ford, 160, , , 14, 1, 2, , Running
24) 18, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 157, , 2, 22, 3, 16, , Accident
25) 10, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford, 154, , , 12, , , , Accident
26) 9, Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 154, 3, 10, 20, 1, 9, , Accident
27) 13, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DEWALT Flexvolt Toyota, 154, 9, 1, 22, 5, 21, 1, Accident
28) 15, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 153, 8, 4, 19, , , , Accident
29) 21, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, 153, , , 8, , , , Accident
30) 37, * Reed Sorenson, No. 55 RoyalTeakCollection.com Toyota, 147, , , 7, , , , Running
31) 3, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, 113, 1, , 16, 4, 35, 1, Accident
32) 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 106, 2, , 14, 1, 1, , Accident
33) 5, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's Ford, 105, , 6, 9, 3, 7, , Accident
34) 25, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Bass Pros Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota, 73, , , 3, , , , Accident
35) 7, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 71, 5, , 8, , , , Accident
36) 19, Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet, 70, , , 1, , , , Accident
37) 39, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 hulu Chevrolet, 57, , , 1, , , , Engine
38) 40, DJ Kennington, No. 15 Xchange of America/LordCo Toyota, 14, , , 1, , , , Engine
39) 35, Cole Whitt, No. 72 RTIC Coolers Chevrolet, 9, , , 1, , , , Engine
40) 38, * Ryan Sieg(i), No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota, 7, , , 0, , , , Engine
 (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (*) Non-franchise team

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 17 Mins, 12 Secs. Total Race Length - 163 Laps - 407.5 Miles
Average Speed: 123.986 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.213 Seconds
Race Comments: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway, his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Before the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field. 
 Caution Flags: 14 for 51 laps: Laps: 11-12 (Fluid from No. 72 in Turns 1 and 2 [None]); 16-19 (No. 15 Spin in Turn 4 [None]); 42-46 (Stage 1 Conclusion [33]); 60-63 (Fluid from No. 33 in Turn 4 [42]); 72-76 (No. 1, 3, 10, 18, 22, 27, 41, 42, 78, 95 Incident in Turn 2 [88]); 82-85 (Stage 2 conclusion [42]); 91-94 (No. 75 Incident in Turn 2 [88]); 99-101 (5, 6, 24, 95 Incident on the backstretch [18]); 107-110 (No. 4, 5, 19 and 88 Incident on the backstretch [18]); 118-120 (No. 2 Incident in Turn 4 [None]); 122-124 (No. 5 and 38 Incident on the backstretch [None]); 130-132 (No. 32 Incident on the backstretch [None]); 154-157 (10, 17, 20, 21, 41, 43 Incident on the frontstretch [Red 8:41] [None]); 159-161 (No. 11 and 77 Incident on the backstretch [None]).
 Lead Changes: 33 among 16 drivers: D. Earnhardt Jr. 0; C. Elliott 1-4; B. Keselowski 5-28; K. Harvick 29-30; B. Keselowski 31-33; K. Harvick 34; B. Keselowski 35; D. Earnhardt Jr. 36; B. Keselowski 37-43; E. Jones No.  44-47; D. Hamlin 48; E. Jones No.  49-53; D. Hamlin 54-67; M. Kenseth 68-69; T. Bayne 70-71; M. Kenseth 72-78; D. Hamlin 79; M. Kenseth 80-81; K. Harvick 82-85; R. Stenhouse Jr. 86-91; D. Suarez No.  92-101; M. Kenseth 102; J. Johnson 103-106; C. Bowyer 107-110; R. Stenhouse Jr. 111-117; M. Kenseth 118-126; R. Blaney 127-135; K. Kahne 136-137; D. Suarez No.  138; K. Kahne 139-148; R. Stenhouse Jr. 149-150; T. Dillon No.  151-157; D. Ragan 158-161; R. Stenhouse Jr. 162-163.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Brendan Gaughan, No. 75 
Coors Light Pole Award: Dale Earnhardt Jr, No. 88 190.973 mph
Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Ryan Newman, No. 31 21 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yates Engines, No. 17 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Chris Buescher, No. 37 crew chief Trent Owens, -0.665 seconds
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Erik Jones, No. 77