In a season-opening Daytona 500 that saw some serious crackups, it was Denny Hamlin coming out on top.

As the Associated Press notes, the "Great American Race" turned out to be a wreck-fest, with Paul Menard triggering a 21-car accident shortly after a restart with 10 laps remaining.

Menard turned Matt DiBenedetto, who literally hit the wall and started a chain-reaction that took down more than two dozen cars.

Defending Daytona champion Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez were among those involved.

The crackup brought out a red flag to stop the race for a lengthy cleanup.

It was the second win for Denny Hamlin in four years, taking the checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing just a month after Joe Gibbs' oldest son died at 40, following a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease.

Kyle Busch finished second, followed by another JGR teammate, Erik Jones. Joey Logano was fourth.

 

 

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