{"id":20176,"date":"2018-07-07T23:39:13","date_gmt":"2018-07-08T04:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=20176"},"modified":"2018-07-08T13:28:35","modified_gmt":"2018-07-08T18:28:35","slug":"erik-jones-gets-first-victory-in-action-packed-daytona-free-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/07\/erik-jones-gets-first-victory-in-action-packed-daytona-free-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Erik Jones gets first victory in action-packed Daytona free-for-all"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 In a wild war of attrition that went to two overtimes, Erik Jones<\/strong> outdueled Martin Truex Jr.<\/strong> on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway<\/strong> to seize the first victory of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> career.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

In a Coke Zero Sugar 400 that went eight laps beyond its scheduled 160, Jones passed the reigning series champion on the backstretch of the final lap and held on to win by .125 seconds. Jones battled back from damage sustained in a multicar wreck on Lap 65, an accident that cost him a lap.<\/p>\n

The final circuit was the only one Jones led.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about that race, boys and girls?\u201d Jones shouted to the fans in the grandstands after his celebratory burnout in front of the flag stand. \u201cMy first Cup win, My first win at Daytona, my first superspeedway win\u2014what an awesome day, man!<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much smoke in the car from that burnout, I can hardly breathe, but what an awesome finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ Allmendinger ran third after a nine-car wreck ended the first overtime attempt with Truex approaching the finish line just short of the end of the white-flag lap. That wreck provided the coup de grace for Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Trevor Bayne.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Only 20 of the 40 cars that started the race were running at the finish, and only 13 finished on the lead lap. Kasey Kahne came home fourth after leading 17 laps, and Chris Buescher ran fifth, matching his finish in the season-opening Daytona 500.<\/p>\n

With a push from Kahne, Truex got the lead after the final restart on Lap 167 but couldn\u2019t hold it. The outside lane was more organized as the final lap unfolded, and Jones got a strong run through Turns 1 and 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (Jones) got a big run getting into (Turn) 1 and through the center, and I just didn\u2019t block him good enough in the middle of 1 and 2,\u201d Truex said. \u201cHe got to my right rear quarter\u2014just barely\u2014enough to slow me down off of 2, and then the race was on from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust missed that block a little bit. I\u2019ve got to get better at my mirror-driving. I\u2019ve never really been good at that, and unfortunately, that\u2019s part of this racing here, but I\u2019m really proud to get to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Truex had posted only one other top-five finish\u2014a second in the 2016 Daytona 500\u2014in 26 previous starts at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, applies the winner’s sticker in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Two massive wrecks in Stage 2, both involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr., eliminated the majority of the contending cars and opened the door for a new winner.<\/p>\n

On Lap 54, Brad Keselowski was running behind leader William Byron when his No. 2 Ford turned off the front bumper of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.\u2019s Fusion, slammed into the No. 41 of Kurt Busch and ignited a Turn 3 wreck that involved 24 cars and wiped out all three Team Penske entries, along with Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and pole winner Chase Elliott.<\/p>\n

But Keselowski didn\u2019t blame Stenhouse. He pointed the finger at Byron, who moved down the track to put a late block on the No. 2 and forced Keselowski to check up.<\/p>\n

\u201cRicky was doing the best he could to give me a good push and had a great run to take the lead, and the car in front of me (Byron) just threw a late, bad block,\u201d Keselowski said. \u201cI made the mistake of lifting instead of just driving through him, and that\u2019s my fault.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to wreck more people, and then they\u2019ll stop blocking me late and behind like that. That\u2019s my fault. I\u2019ll take the credit for my team, and we\u2019ll go to Talladega, and we\u2019ll wreck everybody that throws a bad block like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops\/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, and Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, race during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Byron didn\u2019t stay up front for long. He was leading again on Lap 65 when Stenhouse tapped the left rear of series leader Kyle Busch\u2019s Toyota and sent the No. 18 Camry spinning into Byron\u2019s Chevrolet. Both Byron and Busch were knocked out of the race in that accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to side-draft the 18 (Busch) in the wrong place,\u201d a subdued Stenhouse said on his team radio.<\/p>\n

Byron lost a good chance to improve on his 21st position in the standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe No. 17 car (Stenhouse) just kind of, I guess, hooked the No. 18 into me,\u201d Byron said. \u201cIt seemed like he was being really aggressive, and that\u2019s the second time we\u2019ve kind of been on the wrong end of something with him. <\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunate for us, but we had a good race going. We needed to really have a really good day, because of the points position we\u2019re in, but that is just part of speedway racing, I guess. But it stinks to be on that side of it. But at least we led some laps (12), so that was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Stenhouse won the first and second stages, garnering his first playoff points of the season, before sustaining serious damage in a Lap 124 wreck. He finished 17th, one lap down\u2026 Harvick\u2019s No. 4 team did yeoman work to repair his car after it suffered extensive body damage in the Lap 54 accident. Harvick led the field to green on Lap 162 to start the first overtime, but he fell victim to the nine-car wreck before that circuit was completed\u2026 Despite a 33rd-place finish, Kyle Busch retained the series lead by 57 points over Harvick.<\/p>\n

Media Center Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Erik Jones, Coach Joe Gibbs and Chris Gayle – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS_MENCS_Jones_Gayle_Gibbs_70818.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr. and A. J. Allmendinger – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS_MENCS_TruexJr_Allmedinger_070718.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Medal of Honor Recipients – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS_MENCS_Medal_of_Honor_Recipients_070718.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Josh Turner, Pre-race concert performer – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS_MENCS_Josh_Turner_070718.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – Coke Zero Sugar 400<\/b><\/p>\n

Daytona International Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Daytona Beach, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, July 07, 2018<\/b><\/p>\n

               1. (29) Erik Jones, Toyota, 168.<\/p>\n

               2. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 168.<\/p>\n

               3. (24) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               4. (28) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               5. (25) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               6. (19) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               7. (31) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 168.<\/p>\n

               8. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               9. (10) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               10. (2) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               11. (34) * Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               12. (16) * Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 168.<\/p>\n

               13. (35) * DJ Kennington, Toyota, 168.<\/p>\n

               14. (22) Bubba Wallace #, Chevrolet, 167.<\/p>\n

               15. (21) David Ragan, Ford, 167.<\/p>\n

               16. (39) Ray Black II(i), Chevrolet, 167.<\/p>\n

               17. (6) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 167.<\/p>\n

               18. (40) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 166.<\/p>\n

               19. (5) Kevin Harvick, Ford, Accident, 162.<\/p>\n

               20. (20) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Accident, 162.<\/p>\n

               21. (33) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 162.<\/p>\n

               22. (9) Clint Bowyer, Ford, Accident, 162.<\/p>\n

               23. (4) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 162.<\/p>\n

               24. (37) * Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 162.<\/p>\n

               25. (36) Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 161.<\/p>\n

               26. (8) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 155.<\/p>\n

               27. (26) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 155.<\/p>\n

               28. (30) Paul Menard, Ford, 152.<\/p>\n

               29. (14) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 123.<\/p>\n

               30. (27) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 68.<\/p>\n

               31. (38) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 65.<\/p>\n

               32. (18) William Byron #, Chevrolet, Accident, 64.<\/p>\n

               33. (15) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 64.<\/p>\n

               34. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 54.<\/p>\n

               35. (32) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Accident, 54.<\/p>\n

               36. (3) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 53.<\/p>\n

               37. (23) Kurt Busch, Ford, Accident, 53.<\/p>\n

               38. (17) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Accident, 53.<\/p>\n

               39. (11) Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 53.<\/p>\n

               40. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 53.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  130.435 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 13 Mins, 12 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.125 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  10 for 46 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  25 among 16 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Elliott 1-10; R. Stenhouse Jr. 11; C. Elliott 12; R. Stenhouse Jr. 13-42; Kyle Busch 43; B. Keselowski 44-52; W. Byron # 53-64; R. Stenhouse Jr. 65-69; R. Newman 70; R. Stenhouse Jr. 71-81; A. Bowman 82; A. Allmendinger 83; T. Dillon 84-86; C. Bowyer 87-88; M. McDowell 89-107; R. Stenhouse Jr. 108; J. Johnson 109-112; M. McDowell 113; J. Johnson 114-119; R. Stenhouse Jr. 120-122; K. Harvick 123; M. Truex Jr. 124-137; K. Kahne 138-154; K. Harvick 155-161; M. Truex Jr. 162-167; E. Jones 168;.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  R. Stenhouse Jr. 6 times for 51 laps; M. McDowell 2 times for 20 laps; M. Truex Jr. 2 times for 20 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 17 laps; W. Byron # 1 time for 12 laps; C. Elliott 2 times for 11 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 10 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 9 laps; K. Harvick 2 times for 8 laps; T. Dillon 1 time for 3 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 2 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap; E. Jones 1 time for 1 lap; R. Newman 1 time for 1 lap; A. Allmendinger 1 time for 1 lap; A. Bowman 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 17,18,42,24,9,41,31,2,3,88<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,34,88,95,13,48,42,3,6,31<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 In a wild war of attrition that went to two overtimes, Erik Jones outdueled Martin Truex Jr. on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway to seize the first victory of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. In a Coke Zero Sugar 400 that went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[287,180,16],"class_list":["post-20176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-erik-jones","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/356629-e1531024297271.jpg?fit=640%2C427","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-5fq","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20176"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20189,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20176\/revisions\/20189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}