Denny Hamlin came out on top on Sunday in the Daytona 500. He won the 61st running of it by holding off reigning Cup Series champ Joey Logano and teammate Kyle Busch. The 38-year-old previously won the Daytona 500 three years ago, in 2016.

Hamlin Takes Top Honors At Daytona

Despite his first winless season and turmoil within the Joe Gibbs Racing team, Hamlin held on. In overtime, he was able to maintain his composure and block out Logano and Busch for the checkered flag.

But the win took on a deeper meaning, one bigger than Hamlin. The No. 11 driver made sure to dedicate the win to J.D. Gibbs, who served as the team president from 1997 to 2015. Gibbs passed away in January at 49 after a four-year battle with a degenerative neurological disease.

After his win, Hamlin proclaimed “This one’s for J.D.”

The elder Gibbs reflected that sentiment. “What happened here is really unreal,” he said. “I’m just thrilled. I think J.D. had the best view of everything,” he added.

After J.D. Gibbs died, Hamlin tweeted “His car. His number. His signature above my door. I will always be grateful for what His family did for mine and the opportunity he gave me 14 years ago. Now more than ever #doitforJD.”

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This isn’t a new story, though. Just last year, the race took on a special meaning as well. Austin Dillon won it all while driving the No. 3 car, made famous by Dale Earnhardt Sr., 20 years after his only Daytona 500 win.

After the race, Hamlin continued a Joe Gibbs Racing tradition. When the team first won the Daytona 500 in 1993, they took the trophy to Steak N Shake. On Sunday, Hamlin would do the same.

Martin Truex Jr. beat out Brad Keselowski at Sunday’s Kobalt 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in Las Vegas, but it was another duo of drivers who made most headlines.

After the race, Kyle Busch approached Joey Logano near the pit. A furious Busch, who finished 22nd, squeezed out of his No. 18 Toyota and began walking toward Logano, who backed away, and one of his crew members immediately stepped between him and Busch to confront the latter.

Busch attempted to land blow after blow on Logano, but was unsuccessful and only left with a bloody cut on his forehead.

“Not a lot of talking,” Logano said. “Just a lot of swinging. We usually don’t have any issues.”

Were any punches landed? “None to me,” Logano said with a smile.

Busch claimed Logano, who finished fourth, blocked him when both cars were dueling for position and attempting to pass the slowed car of Keselowski, Logano’s Team Penske teammate, on the final lap of the race. Logano got loose and into the rear of Kyle Busch’s car, causing Busch to spin onto pit road at the end.

“He tried to pin me down into the corner underneath Brad (Keselowski) and we about crashed on entry and I was still trying to gather it up out of center and I was going to spin out so I’m trying to chase it up and he was there,” said Logano. “I would say nothing intentional but obviously he thinks that.”

Logano doesn’t have the best relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing, especially with Busch’s teammate Matt Kenseth, who was suspended in 2015 for intentionally wrecking Logano at Martinsville.

“I don’t run from conflict,” Logano later told reporters Sunday. “You just talk about it, but [Busch] wasn’t in a talking mood. He was in a fighting mood, I guess. Typically, you can handle this stuff like men and talk about it. You don’t have to fight, but whatever.

“Kyle and I have always raced really well together.  We’ve never had an issue, but I guess that’s over.”

Following the altercation, Busch clearly said he wasn’t done with Logano: “That’s how Joey races, so he’s gonna get it,” the Toyota driver said, visibly still infuriated.

With 24 laps remaining, Keselowski went low to pass Truex after having looked at the back of Truex’s No. 78 Toyota for nearly 100 laps. Three laps later, Keselowski increased his lead to more than half a second.

With 17 laps left, Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Ford blew its engine into Turn 1, leaving a trail of smoke billowing out the back.

Keselowski, who was attempting to defend his 2016 Kobalt 400 victory, said something on his car broke on the final lap. He also won last week’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I felt like the race didn’t play into our hands,” Truex said. “We got a little bit lucky there. That’s why you fight until the end.”

Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford blew a tire just past the start/finish line on Lap 70. He crashed into the wall hard, his cabin filled with smoke. After being released from the infield medical area, Harvick said, “I’m fine. Blew a tire.”

Harvick elaborated just minutes later while sitting in a golf cart in the infield: “It started vibrating about four or five laps before it blew out, and I was just trying to ride it to the end of the stage … the worst part was the medical response; it took them forever to get to the car. I thought we made that better, but obviously we haven’t … it either just cut the tire, or came apart and melted the bead.”

Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Keselowski and Chase Elliott, were among the top five in the first stage.

LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 12: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, leads Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

For NASCAR driver No. 22 Joey Logano, if there is someone in front of him who is not letting him get in first place because of blocking, he will take matters into his own hands.

With five laps to go during the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, Logano had hit No. 20 Matt Kenseth in the back causing Kenseth to lose control on Turn 1. After a green-white-checkered flag signifying two more laps, Logano went onto win for Team Penske in his Ford Fusion car and becoming the Contender Round of the Chase because of his back-to-back wins that started with his win last week in Charlotte. The victory was Logano’s fifth of the season and the 13th of his career in the Sprint Cup Chase.

“It was good, hard racing,” Logano said. “We were racing each other really hard, and I got in the fence twice on the straightaways. He raced me hard, and I raced him hard back. That’s the way I race. If I get raced like that, I’ll race the same way.” Kenseth, on the other hand, believed Logano’s late hit was an intentional one. “I was very disappointed that he would do that. Yeah, I was running the lane he wanted to run in, but, my goodness, isn’t this racing? Strategically, I don’t think it wasn’t the smartest move on his part. He’ll probably sleep good tonight — I hope he enjoys that one. It’s not what I would have done, but he had a decision to make and that’s the one he made.”

The race has led to some Chase standings becoming more precious as the elimination race next week at Talladega Superspeedway will be underway.

Photo: KANSAS CITY, KS – OCTOBER 18: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 18, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)

Joey Logano and the Penske Racing #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford took the spoils of victory at the 57th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday. It’s the 24-year-old Connecticut native’s 9th career victory and 6th trip to victory lane since last April, but his first in NASCAR’s biggest race.

Logano charged up to the front in the late portion of the race and was at the head of the pack with 10 to go. As some of NASCAR’s biggest stars were going 3-wide behind them, Logano was able to pick and choose which lane to go on to help keep him in front. However, a late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish, NASCAR’s two lap overtime, to finish the race. As the front four tamed themselves to go single file on the final lap, Austin Dillion spun Jeff Gordon, running his final Daytona 500, to cause a multi-car accident on the backstretch. The caution flag waved to freeze the field before defending series champion Kevin Harvick and defending 500 winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could mount a charge, ensuring Logano his biggest win of his career. Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.

“I was so nervous pretty much the whole race,” Logano told reporters in victory lane. “We worked so hard in the offseason and this is my weakest race track, the superspeedways, and we worked so hard at them. I couldn’t be more proud.” He was also overwhelmed by the fact he had won the crown jewel of NASCAR’s schedule. “That is really amazing,” he exclaimed. “The Daytona 500. Oh my God. Are you kidding me?”

The exciting finish capped off a wild week in NASCAR. On Friday, Kurt Busch was suspended indefinitely after a ruling on a domestic violence charge brought up by his ex-girlfriend was made against him in Delaware. The next day in the XFINITY Series race, his brother Kyle was injured in a hard crash coming out of the tri-oval. Kyle Busch will likely miss several months with a leg injury, but avoided any other serious injuries. Regan Smith replaced Kurt in the #41 car and Matt Crafton did the same for Kyle in the #18, and both came away with solid top 20 finishes.

But the main storyline of the week was the fact that this was going to be four time champion and three time 500 winner Jeff Gordon‘s final Daytona 500. Gordon, who will be retiring from full-time racing at the end of this season, led a race-high 87 laps on the day. Unfortunately for him, his day ended badly after slipping in the pack and then being caught up in the final wreck. He would have to settle for a 33rd place finish.

Still, Gordon was all smiles after the race when talking with reporters. “I obviously enjoyed the first half more than the second half,” he said, “[but] this is an amazing week and an amazing day. I’m just in this different place that is so foreign yet so incredible, just soaking it all in.”

Meanwhile, Logano continues to rack up an impressive resume early on in his career. He was in NASCAR’s championship round last season and could’ve won the Sprint Cup Series title had it not been for a costly final pit stop. The Daytona 500 victory might be a sign of his momentum from last season carrying on to this year. Logano has also virtually locked himself into this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff, as a race victory all but guarantees a spot in the 16 driver showdown.

The victory was also legendary owner Roger Penske’s second win at the “Great American Race.” He also has won 15 Indianapolis 500’s as an owner.