Racing lines: How a rookie blasted his way to a Daytona 500 win Car News

Cindric led the field on the inside lane in a two-by-two formation, with Blaney’s other Penske Ford leading the long draft on the outside. Blaney deliberately left him late to make his move, only to have Cindric block him and push him against the wall. This allowed Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr (another big name; eat your heart out, Talladega Nights) space for a run to victory, but Cindric had the elbows again and so Wallace missed by 0.036sec.

Blaney wasn’t happy, but he was still incredibly calm. When asked if he lost by means or by foul, he simply replied, “I don’t know.”

“I wanted to win the race for Roger Penske, whether it was me or another car,” he added. “That’s what I was doing. I didn’t want to move too soon, because that throws a big chance out the window. Congratulation to [Austin], I imagine. I have to throw a block in this situation.

There was never any question of the outcome being contested (no one leaves a major American motor race without 100% knowing who won), and it just goes to show that Tom Cruise’s gloriously cheesetastic film Days of Thunder got it right called it all those years ago when Robert Duvall’s old crew chief scolded, “No, no, he didn’t slam you, he didn’t shove you, he didn’t shove you… He didn’t shove you.” rubbed. And rubbing, son, is running.

Wallace falls painfully short

Penske’s Daytona birthday story was as American as Mom’s apple pie. But Nascar came within about three feet of a much bigger story that really would have sent shockwaves through its deep roots. Because Bubba Wallace happens to be the only black pilot in his ranks with a full-time seat. And in the wake of his post-George Floyd Black Lives Matter race car livery, helping get the Confederate flag banned from Nascar tracks and the noose found hanging in his garage (which may have been nothing more only a doorknob!), his victory would have transcended the sport. But that was not to be the case.