DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ā Alex Bowman never saw how āthe big oneā started. He just knew he was involved.
He was surprised to learn he triggered it.
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Bowman sparked the crash that involved nearly two dozen cars and knocked six former NASCAR champions out of contention in the Daytona 500 on Monday night.
Bowman was bump-drafting Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron on the backstretch with nine laps to go when Byron lost control, turned into Brad Keselowski and pretty much wrecked the field.
āI canāt even see far enough (ahead) to see that Byron hitting Keselowski is what started it,ā Bowman said. āI knew I had William in a spot that I didnāt want to have him in. But weāre all just sort of sandwiched up there.
āI was lifting to try to get off him once he was aimed the wrong place. But weāre all just shoving each other. Thatās what speedway racing has kind of become. If it my fault, I didnāt mean to crash anybody by any means.ā
Byron and Bowman were the biggest beneficiaries of the melee. They escaped with little damage to their cars and went on to give Hendrick a 1-2 finish in āThe Great American Race.ā
The damage was epic for everyone else, even for a race that is known for spectacular crashes and mangled cars in every direction.
āSome of those situations where you get to be that ping-pong guy between two cars, youāre a little bit along for the ride,ā Bowman said.
Bowmanās ride was hardly as detrimental as it was for at least 20 others. Defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney was knocked out along with fellow former champs Chase Elliott, Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.
Three-time Daytona 500 champ Denny Hamlin as well as the past two winners of NASCARās season opener, Austin Cindric and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., also were involved.
āSpeedway racing again,ā Logano said. āItās a lot of fun until this happens. It was pretty interesting with a lot of pushing and shoving there at the end. ā¦ The pushes are stupid the whole time. The whole thing, everybody just gets more and more intense.
āYou know itās going to happen. Anyone can see it happening. You just know it. It happens every year. With 10 to go. thereās going to be a caution. You just hope youāre not in it and you canāt ride around. ā¦ Itās usually the people that start the wreck that stay alive. Thatās the frustrating part.ā
The race was mostly a green-flag affair until drivers started bumping, banging and making moves down the stretch. Bowman was trying to be a good teammate and work with Byron to get to the front. They eventually did, just not the way anyone else wanted.
āOnce you get that few laps left in the race, itās gridlock, so youāre pretty much doing your best to push,ā Cindric said.
And everyone lives with the results, which is what Bowman will do. He had a chance to pass Byron on the last lap before another wreck brought out a final caution. NASCAR froze the field and declared Byron the winner by a few feet.
āIād rather be second than crash,ā Bowman said. āI would have liked to just race for it. ā¦ Itās awesome to see us get a 1-2 finish, but being this close to winning the Daytona 500, it certainly hurts. But 30th probably hurts worse.ā
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing