"I’m not questioning Brad’s ability" – Harrison Burton on Daytona 500 coming together with Brad Keselowski

The 2022 Daytona 500 was one of a kind. With the race being one of the most dangerous in motorsports, it would be incomplete without scary incidents from different drivers.

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Harrison Burton was among the drivers who found themselves in Daytona’s ugly scenes. His car went airborne before turning upside down after Brad Keselowski pushed him, eliminating him from the race on the 62nd lap.

While explaining what happened and how strongly he was pushed by Keselowski, Burton said:

“Obviously, I’m not questioning Brad’s ability, but I think he just got a little wide on my right side and kind of shot me on side there. We were working good together up to that point.”

Burton was not the only one to finish the race earlier than expected as Denny Hamlin followed him after he was involved in the same crash. Wrecking was the order of the day as 25 out of 40 cars found themselves spinning in the tracks. On Twitter, Fox posted a video highlighting Burton's turn with the caption:

“Harrison Burton gets upside down at Daytona. He’s okay.”

Despite so many predictions, no one saw this one coming as, after 200 laps around Speedway, rookie Austin Cindric was the man of the day, clinching his first trophy in the Daytona 500. Driving the Ford Mustang car #2 for Team Penske, Cindric edged Bubba Wallace Jr. who had accelerated to the finish line.

Speaking to Jamie Little, Cindric celebrated his championship and appreciated his teammates, saying:

“Oh, my God. I’ve got so many people to thank. First and foremost, Roger Penske, happy birthday. Oh, my gosh. Appreciate Ryan being a great teammate. Obviously, he wants to win this one, but I’m so pumped for Discount Tire, Menards, Ford. Everybody works so hard with this Next Gen car, through this whole process, and damn, I am so excited.”

Bubba Wallace Jr., driving car #23 for 23XI Racing, gave it his all, but Cindric managed to hold him to finish in second place, which was equal to his previous best finish in 2018.

This year’s event, however, was somewhat enhanced, as the first caution went into lap 35 with stage 2 ending without any caution. In 2021, the first caution was issued on the very 3rd lap.

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2022 Daytona 500 marked official debut of Next Gen car

Sunday, February 20, not only marked the kick-off of the NASCAR Cup Series season, but it also marked the official debut of the Next Gen car. The pressure was high on NASCAR following the changes they had made earlier to the rules and the cars. Despite multiple wrecks, the event was a success with a full-house audience filling the Speedway.

The win was not the closest margin in NASCAR’s history but it was quite close. Being a rookie, Austin Cindric earned his first win in the Daytona 500 and his first Cup Series win, becoming the ninth driver in NASCAR history to earn his first Cup Series win at the Daytona 500.