DAYTONA BEACH, Fla — Denny Hamlin was the one to beat on Sunday night. The two-time defending Daytona 500 champion had swept both stages and led 98 laps up until the final pit sequence. The problem was, the final pit stops went awry and Michael McDowell, not Hamlin found victory in Daytona.

Let’s dive deeper on how.

It all goes back to the pit stop with 28 laps remaining. The Toyota’s pit last among the three manufacturers. They exited pit road on top. When they blended back on track, they were tight enough. Hamlin, had too big of a lead over teammate Kyle Busch and neither were close enough to use each other as drafting help. The Ford train was coming and blew right by them with 25 laps-to-go.

Hamlin, was at the back of the train in 13th and would have a difficult time coming back.

The pack would go single file and run at the top of the banking all the way around until a few to go. There just wasn’t enough energy built up for the Chevrolet’s or Toyota’s to make any ground up. They knew it would take a lot for them to break up the five Ford’s up front.

If you go to the bottom line, you need enough cars to build some energy. There just wasn’t enough of them to do so.

“The top was just so fast,” said second place finisher Chase Elliott. “It didn’t seem to matter who got down low; you couldn’t really make anything go. We all kind of tried at certain points in time; it just didn’t work out. Close – we finished one, so I’m pretty pleased with that.”

Hamlin agreed.

“I figured the Chevys would make a move from two or three to go, because they are not going to win on the last lap from fifth or sixth, he said after scoring his seventh top five in his last eight Daytona 500 starts. “I was able to gain some positions. I think I was 12th and everybody was running single file, so it handcuffed me. I couldn’t really do anything. I hoped once I got to eighth as long as they make a move with two to go, I’m in the energy – in the area where I can make something happen. Dominant car, just a dominant car. Just one of those things that execute too good.”

But, the Ford’s weren’t going to just let Joey Logano win this either.

Logano, led from Lap 176 on but his teammate Brad Keselowski wanted to win. He had never won this race before and said that this was a nagging victory left on the table. With a shot to win in the end, you have to take it. Remember what both said during their Daytona 500 media days?

“You typically go to Daytona and even Talladega expecting to crash,” said Keselowski. “The odds are more favorable for carnage than a win.”

That’s why the aggression really ramps up in the final laps. You have to. There’s too much at stake.

“The only race that’s bigger than this is the championship race and that’s only for four cars,” said Joey Logano. “This is the biggest race for 40 cars. Everyone is out there racing extremely hard towards the end of the race.

“The pushing and shoving becomes very aggressive which that has been consistent over the years but with the rules package change, especially with the spoiler on the back of it, we’ve seen over the past couple of years that the shoving has become really aggressive and the blocks have been harder to pull off successfully,” Logano continued. “The runs are bigger. That’s all a recipe for disaster for the end of these things. The key is to be up towards the front when it matters the most.

“At the end of the race, it’s kind of like the championship. No one remembers who finished second. No one knows who finishes second in the Daytona 500 last year. That’s just what this race is about.”

Keselowski was hungry. He said if you’re there at the end, you have to go for it. With respects that you’re more likely to get caught up in a crash, if you have a shot to win in the closing laps, you have to be overly aggressive. Combine that with him needing this win, you get the perfect storm.

“Just haven’t been able to hit some of the marks that I’ve wanted to hit in respects to winning another championship, winning a Daytona 500 and my home track up in Michigan,” Keselowski said this past January via a media zoom call with Team Penske. “Those are certainly buckets I look to check off and fill up those buckets. I was still really proud of winning the Coke 600. I’m one crown jewel away from having them all which is really cool and special and means a lot to me personally. That’s definitely on that list to get Daytona to come together and not get wrecked.”

So, he backed up off Kevin Harvick’s bumper with two to go to get some drafting help from behind via McDowell.

Keselowski, let Logano and Harvick get far out there off Turn 2 and used a big time push from McDowell to blow by Harvick. He was second with McDowell now in tow coming across the white flag.

On the backstretch, Keselowski made his move. Logano went to block.

“I had a big run down the backstretch,” Keselowski said. “Went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and ended up really bad. Don’t feel like I made a mistake but can’t drive everybody’s else car. Frustrating.

“The Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position, and right then, we were in position. It’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package and had the run, made the move, and it didn’t work out.”

Logano said he saw the strategy Keselowski was going and he was doing it back. He didn’t want Keselowski to keep backing up, so he was doing it too.

“(Keselowski) kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him to keep the runs from being too big and just, I guess he got to the back of (McDowell) and it ended up being a really big run coming at me and it seemed like we all just collided in one spot. 

“It’s a real bummer that none of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won and I’m really happy for McDowell. I hate that we didn’t win. I feel like we had a great shot being where we were and leading on the last lap, but if we couldn’t win I’m really happy to see McDowell win this thing.”

McDowell, said that he was going to help Keselowski there until the crash occurred.

“My plan was to stick to (Keselowski),” McDowell said. “I knew he would go for a race-winning move and my plan was to let him make that move and then coming off of (Turn) 4 try to get to his outside or inside. I knew I didn’t want to make my move too early, so I was committed to (Keselowski’s) bumper and when he made the move, the hole opened up.

“It’s just unbelievable.”