Crazy Denny Hamlin Daytona 500 statistic comes to light

Denny Hamlin had a disappointing end to his 2022 Daytona 500 appearance. A melee right at the end of Stage 1 on lap 41 saw his race come to a premature end.

With his retirement from the race, however, a new statistic has come to light that goes on to show the 41-year-old’s prowess behind the wheel. Hamlin’s 2022 outing at Daytona was the first time he has been a spectator in the Great American Race. In simpler terms, this was his first DNF in 17 starts at the Daytona 500.

Denny Hamlin has been to the Daytona International Speedway 16 times before Sunday’s appearance and has won the event three times. He was the champion of the Great American Race in 2016, 2019, and 2020. His worst finish was in 30th position on his debut in 2006, however, he had not crashed out even once, until this weekend. His is an impressive streak, considering how crash-prone races in Daytona can be.

Hamlin was caught up in an eight-car melee near the end of the opening stage. Brad Keselowski aggressively pushed Harrison Burton, eventually causing the debutant to lose control. Burton then turned sideways into Kyle Busch and William Byron Jr., collecting both in the process. Burton's bad luck didn’t just stop there, as his car went airborne and was flipped onto its roof before getting hit again, landing the right way up.

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“Insistent on pushing it at all costs” – Denny Hamlin slams Brad Keselowski for causing opening stage melee

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was not at all happy with his performance on Sunday’s Daytona 500. He was, however, more displeased with how fellow driver Brad Keselowski caused the chaos on the track that took Hamlin out.

Speaking after the race in an interview, Hamlin said:

“Once we had that restart, the [car#] 6 got back in the mix, and he was pushing the [car#] 21 and [car#] 21 was trying to hang on, but, you know, he was out of control for a few laps. Not his fault, he was getting shoved. But the [car#] 6 just kept pushing really, until finally we wrecked… Brad was just insistent on pushing at all costs.”