2016 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 |
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| Date | February 21, 2016 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Mostly sunny skies with a temperature of 74 °F (23 °C); wind out of the east/southeast at 5 mph (8.0 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 157.549 mph (253.551 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |
|
Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Time | 45.845 | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 95 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 6.1/11 (Overnight) 6.6/12 (Final) 11.4 million viewers |
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| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) | ||
The 2016 Daytona 500, the 58th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on February 21, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race in a photo finish over Martin Truex Jr.. The top-five was rounded out by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.
Chase Elliott won the pole for the race and led three laps before crashing out early in the race and finished 37th. Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch won the Duel races. Unlike Busch, Earnhardt Jr. crashed out with 29 laps to go and finished 36th.
Hamlin led a race high of 95 laps on his way to winning the race. There were six caution flag periods for 31 laps and 20 lead changes among 15 different drivers.
This was the 27th career victory for Hamlin, first of the season, first at Daytona International Speedway and fifth win at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. He left Daytona Beach with a five-point lead over Truex Jr.. Toyota left with an eight-point lead over Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings.
The Daytona 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
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