DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The real clash at Daytona — when Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski wrecked on the final lap — was just the opening Joey Logano needed to get Ford to victory lane again at a superspeedway.
Logano stole a win in the Clash at Daytona on Sunday, driving around the crashing leaders to land NASCAR's first trophy of Speedweeks. It was Ford's fourth consecutive win at a restrictor-plate track, and with four additional cars in the fold thanks to Stewart-Haas Racing's move from Chevrolet, the manufacturer might just be the one to beat heading into the season-opening Daytona 500.
"One car alone was not going to win this race," Logano said. "Didn't have a shot just because the [Joe Gibbs Racing] cars and the Toyotas were way too committed to each other. It's going to take a lot more than one guy to beat them."
Hamlin led much of the 75-lap exhibition event, which was postponed a day because of rain, but lost control while trying to block Keselowski just after taking the white flag for the final lap.
"It's a momentum builder, that's what this is," said Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion.
Kyle Busch took second, following by Alex Bowman and Danica Patrick. Bowman drove the No. 88 Chevrolet in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who felt Bowman earned the opportunity because he filled in for Earnhardt (concussion) last year.
