Danica Patrick's Nascar Career Ends In Crash As Austin Dillon Wins ...

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Nascar This article is more than 7 years oldDanica Patrick's Nascar career ends in crash as Austin Dillon wins Daytona 500This article is more than 7 years old

• Dillon in No3 car 17 years to day after Dale Earnhardt Sr’s death
• Bubba Wallace, first black driver at Daytona in 50 years, is second

Associated PressMon 19 Feb 2018 00.06 GMTLast modified on Wed 21 Feb 2018 15.47 GMTShare

Austin Dillon put the No3 back in victory lane in the Daytona 500 as Danica Patrick’s career ended with a crash.

Dillon drove the iconic car number made famous by Dale Earnhardt to the win 17 years to the day the the Nascar legend was killed in an accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500. The win also comes during the 20th anniversary celebration of Earnhardt’s only victory in “The Great American Race.”

Dillon wasn’t a factor in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet until the final lap in overtime when he got a push from Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr that helped him get to leader Aric Almirola. Dillon spun Almirola then whizzed on by to give Childress, his grandfather, a famous victory.

Wallace, the first black driver in the Daytona 500 field since 1969, finished second in a 1-2 finish for Chevrolet and Childress’ engine program. Denny Hamlin, the 2016 winner, finished third in a Toyota.

“My grandfather has done everything for me and everybody knows it,” Dillon said. “There’s a lot of pressure on me to perform because I’ve had a little bit of everything. But I like that pressure, the same with the No3, there’s a lot of pressure behind it, but I’m willing to take it and go with it.

Another BIG one. #DAYTONA500 https://t.co/q5ThlqQpPF

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 18, 2018

Patrick’s final race in Nascar ended in a multi-car crash not of her own making in the Daytona 500, but the 35-year-old said she was proud to have broken down barriers in her motor-racing career.

Ryan Blaney, who led a race-high 118 laps, faded to seventh after giving the win away in regulation. He wrecked Kurt Busch, the defending race winner, trying to reclaim his lead and the contact damaged Blaney’s Ford.

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