NASCAR Cup Series

Before we turn our focus to Atlanta Motor Speedway and beyond, here's some thoughts I had on Sunday's Daytona 500.

Brad Keselowski overcame a rough and tumble afternoon to score a respectable 12th-place finish in the Daytona 500 Sunday evening at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the Discount Tire Ford was involved in three separate incidents during the afternoon but overcome to altercations and the resulting cosmetic damage to his Mustang to finish on the lead lap. Keselowski leaves Daytona 11th in the MENCS driver standings, -20 points behind the leader.

Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing's No. 3 Dow Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Team Earn 16th-Place Finish in Daytona 500 Despite Stage 3 Wreck

After leading a total of 16 laps and finishing fifth in stage two, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. overcame adversity to earn a 13th-place finish in his Fastenal Ford Mustang in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

After battling back from being a lap down, Paul Menard and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang were racing among the leaders in the closing laps of the Daytona 500 only to be involved in a multi-car crash that ended his night.

In his debut with Roush Fenway Racing, Ryan Newman had to battle through some adversity in a wild Daytona 500, but brought home his No. 6 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Ford Mustang 14th in Sunday’s Great American Race.

Following Sunday's Daytona 500, Joey Logano and Michael McDowell had a brief exchange on pit road where Logano explained that he believed that had the two linked up, Ford driver to fellow Ford driver, they could have contended for the win instead of Logano finishing fourth and McDowell finishing fifth.

It doesn't seem like that long ago where suspense was the name of the game in terms of the Daytona 500. Looking back at the 1998 Daytona 500 where Dale Earnhardt was leading late in the going, the CBS booth's tense commentary as the laps wound down was nothing short of memorable as the fans were on the edge of their seats watching Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, and Rusty Wallace all slice and dice for position while trying to oust that black No. 3.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Busch pushed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to his second Daytona 500 in four years. However, the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion is not sure if Hamlin would do the same for him.

In a race that featured two big wrecks, two Red Flags and a long winless streak broken, Denny Hamlin won the 61st Daytona 500 for the second time in his 15 year career and 32nd time he has found victory lane.