NASCAR at Daytona 2021 Results: Kyle Busch Wins Busch Clash in Thrilling Finish

Timothy Rapp @@TRappaRTFeatured ColumnistFebruary 10, 2021

Kyle Busch (18) takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Daytona Clash auto race Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Kyle Busch won the Busch Clash at Daytona on Tuesday in dramatic fashion, crossing the finish line first after a late crash involving Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott.

It looked as though Blaney might get the checkered flag first after a dramatic pass on Elliott with just two laps to go.

FOX: NASCAR @NASCARONFOX
BLANEY GETS BY ELLIOTT FOR THE LEAD. What a battle. https://t.co/RhZaYrCYyL

But the two close friends shockingly wrecked on the final lap, allowing Busch to reap the rewards after a dramatic conclusion.

FOX: NASCAR @NASCARONFOX
Just ... WOW. Chase Elliott sends Ryan Blaney around and Rowdy is there! RETWEET TO CONGRATULATE KYLE BUSCH ON HIS WIN IN THE BUSCH CLASH AT DAYTONA. Wow. https://t.co/s5hylL5mlQ

Elliott, the reigning Cup Series champion, finished second in the race, with Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron rounding out the top five. Blaney dropped all the way to 13th.

Blaney and Elliott are good friends off the track, and it didn't sound like there were any hard feelings after the dustup:

FOX: NASCAR @NASCARONFOX
Talking with Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney after a dramatic finish to the 2021 Clash at Daytona. https://t.co/tgRp8lqvqp

Davey Segal @DaveyCenter
Not that it matters, but @Blaney is credited with a 13th place finish. 💭 "Am I gonna make the same move if I'm in the same position two weeks from now? Hell yeah." Said he would do it differently, but going for a win is what they do. https://t.co/Ace8ziDPg2

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Jeff Gluck @jeff_gluck
Blaney said if he had to do over again, he'd protect a little differently in the final chicane. @dustinlong asks what specifically he'd do. Blaney: "Just block a different way so he couldn't have gotten to a certain point beside my car."

PRN @PRNlive
"I hate that it happened too. We were just racing hard," says Ryan Blaney. #NASCAR

"I feel like I'd be mad at myself for not at least trying," Elliott said of his efforts to get around Blaney at the end of the race in an interview on FS1. "Obviously I don't mean to wreck anybody, much less...especially him. Some guys I wouldn't mind, but he's not one of them. Hopefully he's not too mad at me. Feel like you've gotta go for it here at an event like this."

That wreck might have been the major storyline from the event—an invitational exhibition at the Daytona road course that included 21 drivers and didn't have any points on the line—but there was still the small matter of Busch winning the race.

"I just knew to keep my head down and keep focused ahead, seeing if I could hit my marks and get close enough to have a shot if something like that were to materialize," Busch, the 2019 champion who won only one race last season, said of the dramatic finish. "Fortunately it did for us. ... It's awesome to start off the year with a win. Non-points win, but would love nothing more than to be right here this Sunday."

FOX: NASCAR @NASCARONFOX
First trophy of 2021 goes to Kyle Busch! https://t.co/NWyzuRrJj8

The Daytona 500 is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox. Qualifying for the race will kick off on Wednesday night, and then the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night. It's a busy week of racing at Daytona, with Busch opening the proceedings in the most eventful way possible.