On a day that saw a weather delay and a couple of crashes involving multiple vehicles, Michael McDowell emerged as the winner of the 63rd annual Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

It was McDowell’s 14th time competing in the race and his 385th start; however, it's the first time ever he won the tournament–having been a longshot candidate to win before the contest.

The 36-year-old was able to escape a crash involving Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch in Lap 200. He led for the first time in the Daytona 500 race after the multiple car pileup before winning for Front Row Motorsports and squeaking by Chase Elliott for the victory.

His win ended a Daytona 500 race that began nine hours earlier, but was delayed by rains and saw drivers involved in multiple crashes. The first crash happened in Lap 14 and took out 16 out of the 40 cars competing in the race.

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Then, thunderstorms delayed the race and forced the 30,000 fans at the Daytona International Speedway to seek shelter from the rains. The venue typically allows more than 100,000 fans, but that number was reduced due to social distancing–although it remains one of the biggest sporting events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The final lap saw a stunning crash involving several cars, whose drivers were all able to get out safely. That was when Michael McDowell was able to take the lead for the first time and set the stage for the dramatic finish in Daytona 500.

McDowell became the 40th driver to win the Harley J. Earl Trophy and around $1.5 million. He is also just the eighth to win his first Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.