...200 feet at a time. the corolla. toyota. let's go places. what has happened to america's once glorious super highways? where are my speedy throughways? my bustling roundabouts? howdy folks it's me, colonel harland sanders. hungry? stuck in traffic? don't eat those bucket seats! eat a bucket of kentucky fried chicken with my summer meal. if your seat belt is clickin', it's time for my chicken. it's finger lickin' good. welcome back to the coke zero 400, powered by coca cola. ended up being a gorgeous morning in daytona beach, florida. tonight's coverage provided by our partners at smithfield foods. most laps led tonight goes to the 88 dale earnhardt, jr. there are only 29 laps to go. so the 66 laps that dale earnhardt jr. has led will give him the most laps. paul menard was talking about how ridiculous that 88 is. listen in. >> the 88 is ridiculous, fast. >> all night he's been able to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. >> we come to daytona and we talk about the draft. that is absolutely true. but every once in a while, and i've been fortunate to have this car, we had it in 2014 you'll show up and you'll have the car that doesn't need as much help. the 88 seems to have it tonight. that car has been untouchable. >> are you happy with everything including the amount of fuel he has? >> it's a little too tight in traffic. we had to put more tires on there. definitely have enough fuel to make it the distance. dale had been doing a good job, and this team is on cue tonight. so hopefully he can pull it off. >> with justin alexander, and his driver paul menard 14th in the chase standings. we heard him say the 88 is just ridiculously fast. how do you get by him? >> right now we're just kind of riding right there single file. but it's going to take a little help with guys behind us. but we feel we can do it at the end. >> thank you. >> we've heard from quite a few people that thought the 88 is untouchable. but again, we're at daytona. paul menard 140 starts since his last win. the green flag back in the air. dale earnhardt, jr., paul menard. they go down the back stretch. >> there's no words to describe how big of an advantage the 88 has on this restart. this time though what kind of run is the 27 going to have here? >> he's going to block the 6, now blocking the 27. he's going to control the tempo here. somebody is going to have to make something happen if they're going to beat him. it will be hard to do. >> dale earnhardt, jr., moves to the highland as he watches that line begin to move. a great run by david ragan in the 55 moving up to the fifth position. >> he made that move but nobody went with him, so that is going to hurt him. that is what is so hard about daytona. i'm trying to pass and do the right thing, but he would have been better off trying to stay in line. >> that's the frustrating part. you have to have help but at the same time it gets so frustrating, riding in line behind a car that everybody talks is the fastest car, and some folks want to gang up and try to beat him. >> clint bowyer looking for a win in 2015. casey mears, sam hornish, jr. in the top five. >> think about it you've got menard in second bowyer hornish, all these guys not only want to win, they desperately need a win. it would give them an opportunity to win a championship. >> the 4 of jeff gordon slides in behind the 6. he's moving to the front, as that bottom line begins to pick up momentum. >> they're forcing the issue. they can't allow dale jr. to command the top of the racetrack. they have to continue to force the second line, or the laps are going to be gone. if you're fifth on back, you won't have a chance. >> the top line starting to gain some speed, but it's got to move. what's happening with the at&t team marty? >> clint bowyer is up in the third position. he was up front and dropped to the back of the field. had a loose wheel at one point and now is back to the front. he's been able to make his way back up to the top three and has a shot to win it, too. >> i know he's gotten up to the top third, but with 24 to go i've yet to see him make a pass for the lead. when it comes time to win the race the lead is different than the rest of the field and the guys that have led all day has been the injury. >> that's pretty much been dale earnhardt, jr. with 37 laps. it has been a dominant performance for the 88 team. >> i don't like what he's doing. i think he's got to run the bottoms in the corners. having two rows now three rose, so -- rows. you're not going to gain if you're three wide. >> you've got to run the bottom bottom, bottom. and in the straight away, get to the corner and run away from the outside line. >> it kills the momentum behind you. they can't push you. >> the 24 of jeff gordon in the middle of three wide as is denny hamlin. that inside line led bit trevor bane. how about matt dibenedetto, the 83. the draft, the great equalizer. >> it is. >> paul menard a great run here at daytona. best finish at this track was a sixth and one win that came at the indianapolis motor speedway. >> jeff if you're the 88 i want to know would you rather have menard hornish, bane guys looking for their first win, are they going to be more or less timid? when we were at talladega, we heard blaney say he didn't dare pull out because he didn't have anybody to go with him. >> i think trevor now, they're single file on the bottom. can this bottom line work? the bottom line right now, they need to keep running the bottom in the corners. that's really what is it going to boil down to momentum of the bottom line. >> in the back of your mind as a crew chief, do you question if you've got it completely full the last time you were on pit road? because we were on the edge of having enough fuel or maybe not having enough fuel to go the entire way. >> my brain is confident that we have enough fuel. my stomach knows every mistake. but you have to stand with your decision, be confident, work the numbers. the biggest concern at daytona is if you're wrong and you one out of gas in front of 40 roar cars, it's not just going to hurt your finish, it can end your night in a big finish. >> we're hearing that the 48 of jimmie johnson is definitely good on fuel. >> that's right. he said we're good on fuel don't worry about that the rest of the run. maybe the driver can take the fuel equation out of his head. johnson pitted at lap 111. bayne in front of him pitted two laps either. >> that's under green. but when the yellow comes out, they'll be saving gas again. even though they're not worried about fuel here on the green, when they get under caution -- >> that bottom lane at some point he's got to make a decision do i need to come down here and block traefer blaine. >> 18 laps of racing to go. dale earnhardt jr. out in front. paul menard looking for his first win in 2015. he runs second. now junior moves to the bottom of the racetrack. >> we spoke about this earlier. he's looking in the mirror more than he's ever looking out of the windshield. that's where he's driving. he knows what is in front of him. his whole key is to keep those lines organized. >> you're driving, that's what you got to do. you've got to drive and block and do everything that you can to keep that momentum. >> the pack is coming up on the 26 of jeff burton. burton drops down below the double yellow line to allow the pack by. that allows dale earnhardt, jr. to continue monitoring his mirror trying to stay in front of the 6 of trevor bayne. >> we're hearing dale earnhardt jr. talk about his car getting tight. >> steve, he's feeling something. it is the car tightening up. he tried to correct it by having the fans on and the crew chief asked him, do you got your fans on? >> oh! >> a little bit of contact between the 48 and the 6. they straighten it out, but the 6 got hideways there in front of the entire pack. >> when you have a car that's led almost 80 laps it's going to be easy -- >> he haslet's see if he can hold these guys off. >> 48 tries to make a move. bayne did a good job. never lost momentum. nobody had to brake. >> is there any place worse than that? >> you guys don't care if it doesn't handle good there. that's what you see. >> earlier in the race cars one through four were playing nice together. i know now they're trying to work together but with 14 to go, they're trying to win the race. trevor bayne on the outside there. >> 14 laps to go from daytona. denny hamlin trying to get that line to move in front of the 88. a lot of tries but no one has succeeded. how about the 51. justin algear, he's fourth back on the inside line. he's broke into the top ten. >> this is what i came to daytona to see. look at this. 13 to go. dale jr. leading. this is racing at its finest. >> and around goes the 55! david ragan sliding through the grass. right now it's a one-car incident. >> didn't hit nothing. come on. >> he was in the 15th position. he got sideways and into the grass. all four tires look to still be up. >> i got a flat tire. just check the body. went all through the grass. >> back on the back stretch. just in front of three wide and he goes sideways. >> looks like maybe kurt busch was trying to help. definitely was behind the 55. he actually comes up and comes across the car in the middle. the 41 was about a car length back. so he just changes lane. we've talked about how far away that is. the 55 goes to the right. it's really lucky there was just one car incident. >> at daytona, we see a lot of wrecks on the back straight away because everybody is jockeying for position. >> more of that grass here at daytona. kyle busch has talked about it. they'll have to clean that in front of that racecar. free pass goes to joey lagano. that will put 29 cars on the lead lap, closing in with 12 laps to go. ♪ ♪ ♪♪ a lot of people have helped get me here. my sister has always had my back. my buddies sonny and sean... the crew pushing me to be faster. amy reminding me to enjoy the moment. fans of course. and nationwide -- who i've personally been with for 25 years. it's never been just me out there. nationwide is on your side. welcome back to the coke zero 400. under ten laps of racing to go. tonight's aerial coverage provided by our partners at smithfield foods. the 88 under this caution. this is what he had to say. >> the car is real tight, whatever it is. i just hope it doesn't get worse. it's got to be perfect for the last ten laps. >> you're doing a great job up there. >> those are the communications that no offense, jeff but you could have just told me after the race because there's not much he can do about it. as a crew chief, i'm hoping maybe a flap has broke loose. but it's time to go at daytona. >> you've got to love it. it's just like we want it. >> you might feel a vibration, but you're going to win this race. dale earnhardt, jr. is your race leader. jimmie johnson will restart second. denny hamlin jeff gordon in his final laps at daytona international speedway. nine laps to go. green flag back in the air. another great race start by dale earnhardt, jr. >> picking the line. he gets in front of him. until the next line moves. kevin harvick goes to three wide in the middle. >> all right three wide back there for the sixth position. dale earnhardt, jr., eight laps of racing to go. >> that three wide racing is what the 88 wants to see. he can block one lane. but when you get three wide it numbs how much run they're going to get on the leader. >> the 51 is trying to get up and slow them down it's getting really tight there. >> three wide for the fourth position now. denny hamlin on the inside. tony stewart trying to make something happen. a big push by stewart. here comes the 40, landon cassill trying to move forward. seven laps to go. dale earnhardt, jr. in front of jimmie johnson trevor bayne on the highland. denny hamlin on the low line. >> not only does junior have to block, but jimmie johnson does too. he's leading that second group. so if he can block at the right time that might can push him past junior. >> you have no commitment. jimmie johnson has no commitment from denny hamlin. if he touches the brakes hamlin is going to pull out of line. it's hard to be second or third and try to organize a run. >> again, it's three wide behind him. >> only six laps of racing to go. jeff gordon running in the fifth position. >> which line does he go to? harvick on the outside of him. >> around goes the car behind him. that's the 9, a very close call for sam hornish, jr. now the caution comes out. >> i think we've seen every restart, the 88 leaves the line with a huge advantage. he gets them two wide. he can block the top and bottom. there's a lot of opportunity for the 88. the biggest concern he has right now is will they get organized? i think the best thing for him, there is a wide variety of teammates behind him. i would be more concerned if i saw two or three joe gibbs' cars. >> i'll tell you something else too, starting side by side can that power slow earnhardt down? can johnson get a good enough restart to side draft him? then it's going to turn into who does the best job of pushing the car in front. >> incredible amount of damage to the front end of the 9 of sam hornish, jr. they'll have to clean up the dirt on the track. >> a look back at what happened. the wild ride that sam hornish, jr. had. >> we've seen this time and time again. makes contact with the grass. luckily it lands on all fours. the 9 goes to make a move wasn't clear of the 1. >> tore the splitter off when it grabbed the grass initially. once again, hit hard up into the air, a wild ride for sam hornish, jr. >> he's still driving it. look at those hands. still driving it. >> and listen i know i make it sound simple that he drives across the 1, but he's not changing lanes to get out of the way but to try to make something happen. all the way back in 13th these guys are still looking for an advantage. >> a twisted car and twisted t on the hood for sam hornish, jr. he'll go to the ambulance and get a ride to the care center. chad knaus has to be feeling a nervous. >> i'm not sure if he can get by dale earnhardt, jr. key question can you get by the 88 car? >> i don't know. we'll have to see. real proud of the performance on the 44 and 88 tonight. been the two best cars out there tonight. so the hats off to the guys at the shop. it's been good man. we'll have to see what happens with the restart. wish rick was here with us. >> is it only right that the two fastest cars are going to be decided between those two guys? >> lane selection is going to be important, and obviously we get another caution, a green-white checker, everybody is going to get tight on fuel. >> a lot of variables still to play out here. kelly? >> trying to get denny hamlin his first win here at daytona. what do you need to make a move? >> he's done a great job, he has made his way to the front a couple of times. we need a little help on our back bumper. but i think we've got a shot. >> we know you came in for fuel but how closely is this race playing out according to your plan? >> i think everybody is good to go on fuel. but we will see how many green-white checkers we get. >> he was a little concerned about a vibration. how were you able to analyze the feedback? >> at this point, we're going for the win. if that vibration is still there at the end and we cross the checker first or 20th it doesn't matter we're here to get first. he's going to have to do the best with what he's got. it's nothing to worry about. >> looking okay on fuel? >> yes, we'll be good on fuel. >> going to watch the 88 try to win here tonight. >> he's a comfortable crew chief. nothing to worry about. that vibration, nothing to worry about. >> what do you want the poor guy to say? i've been in that seat. it's going to have to be okay. >> a look back an how this race unfolded tonight. early on lap three, the 38 just off the nose of clint bowyer. he goes sideways. ten cars collected in that multicar crash. >> kyle busch's bad luck continues. >> bryan scott got up underneath the 19. >> matt kenseth trying to get in there and gets pulled off the back and around he goes. >> definitely the biggest incident tonight. >> they've been on pit road 12 times and currently 15th. so to the a bad night for kyle busch. >> this restart is going to determine who wins this race. look at dale earnhardt, jr. this restart before this one, he has his hand out the window. watch. he starts waving his hand. that's the signal to denny hamlin to go. what you want to happen is you want the 11 car in that case to go just a millie second before you, then you go. that gets you out in front of everybody. >> still conserving fuel. the green-white checker situation. nascar will make three attempts to finish under green flag conditions. if they come around and get the white flag if the leader gets the white flag the next flag will end the race will it be a checker or a caution. >> so this restart is not only key for them to do the best job they can to have the 6 and 11 on their bumper. but when you go back three or four rows, the energy can go away. >> that last run, dale did wave on the 11 and he definitely did push. >> so they're watching the broadcast. chad knaus saw our replay and said dale earnhardt, jr. is signaling the car behind him to go. >> another reason is his arm is not long enough to reach out the right side. here they come. dale earnhardt, jr. on the inside. green-white checker. green flag back in the air. >> kurt busch in the 41 trying to force his way up the middle three wide. it's go-time. just two laps of racing to go at daytona. >> the 88 got a good start. he's going to have to block. >> the only other car to get by the 88 tonight has been the 48. now denny hamlin running second. side by side for third. kevin harvick in the 4 jimmie johnson in the 48. dale earnhardt, jr. back to the bottom of the racetrack to block. white flag in the air. one more time around daytona. side by side for second. two-car length lead for dale earnhardt, jr. one and two down the back stretch they go. junior blocking the lower line. does that give the advantage to the 48? junior jumps up in front of jimmie johnson. to the bottom of the racetrack, dale earnhardt, jr. trying to stay in front of the pack. they work their way through three and four. dale earnhardt, jr. to the bottom of the track. junior will win in daytona! and the big one happens behind them. >> oh, my gosh! into the catch fence. all the crews getting out to that car to assist these drivers. thumbs going up with all the crew members and the crowd roars. lock at the catch fence. >> crew members pulling austin dilan out. he's walking. the damage to the 4 of kevin harvick. what an incredible sight to see austin dilan walking away from that 3 car that is demolished. >> what an unbelievable impact. watch this replay. man. when he gets in the catch fence, the car comes to a complete stop. i've never seen a car stop that quickly before. >> again they're going upwards of 190 miles per hour. you see where that car got up into the air and into the catch fence. as you mentioned, it came to a stop right there. >> the cabling is still in tact. >> there is the engine. what an incredible sight to see the thumbs going up from the crew members that were checking in on austin and then for him to walk away from that accident. crews continue to check on all of the drivers that were involved in this incident. let's take another look. dale earnhardt, jr. crossing the start-finish line, winning the race. but then the accident takes place behind him. >> the 11 gets stuck in the middle there and comes across and he spins back in gets the 3 airborne and he gets projected right off the other cars up into the fence. >> he went from the bottom of the racetrack and into that catch fence. >> runs in the back of the 24 gets up on the 11 now on top of the 55. watch the car stop. it goes from i don't know what 180, 190 miles per hour, i'm just guessing, to a complete stop. that is unbelievable. that's 3500 pounds. that stock car is extremely heavy. you see the 2 is spinning. makes more contact with the 3. >> 11 and 4 get together. here we are at the start-finish line. >> it just pushes the 3 up into the air enough that it rolls over the top of the car and that momentum continues to move him into the catch fence. ride along with kevin harvick. >> come on, come on. oh we got a terrible wreck. hold it steady. >> he sees the 11 start to spin. it's just line after line of cars pushing everyone through there. >> take another look at this realtime. >> they are attending to three fans in the grandstands. some debris did get through that fence. one of the most amazing things i've seen tonight, and we've seen a lot of incredible things but one of the most amazing things is when that crew pulled austin dillon out of the three, and austin dillon is able to walk out of that accident out of that crash, and then acknowledge the fans by waving to them. a lot of cars involved as they crossed the start-finish line. >> all those crew members running out of the car. i know nascar doesn't like that but you have to appreciate the compassion those teams showed to get there as quickly as they could. >> that sign there, when those crew members put the thumbs up and they knew. they were all looking going, i know we're not supposed to be out here. but that looks so incredible. hang on. this is going to be a wild ride. that's tony stewart going underneath the 3. and here was the response from austin dillon after he got out, pulled the helmet off. the crowd was roaring at this point in time. >> yeah, this has to be the best sight of the night. this is the scary part of racing. somewhat he's remove thing is his head and neck restraint, that's another safety innovation that's been required by nascar for a few years now. >> almost overshadowed is the winner of this race dale earnhardt, jr. once again in victory lane. we go to marty. >> he has pulled into victory lane. lit be a little bit of a newted victory lane celebration. but dale earnhardt, jr. back in victory lane at daytona. junior, i know your first reaction wasn't hey, we won you were worried about austin and everyone else. >> that scared the hell out of me. you're looking in the mirror the whole time, and i saw him get turned. that was terrifying to watch. you know a wreck like that has a potential for someone to get injured. you're worried about everybody in the grandstands. you just don't want to see that happen. it was touch and go there for several moments. we're so thankful i'm more thankful that everybody is okay to be standing here in victory lane that's for sure. >> the car looked so dominant especially on restarts. how key was that? >> the guys in the engine shop did such a great job on this motor. they put it together this car is one we won at talladega with. it's going to get retired one of these days. one thing nationwide mountain due, kelly blue book mickrosoft i want to thank all of them. but i'm just so thankful the drivers are okay. we got down there at the end of pit road and jimmie johnson said, how wild was that and how scary was that? we weren't even really shaking hands about the win or nothing. you hate to see that. just so thankful that nobody is hurt because a very close call there. >> the vibration on that last run, how worried were you? >> when you really run good you hear all the noises and everything. you just don't pay attention to it. we had a tire going flat on the first run of the day. it was making the car tight. i didn't really have a vibration, but it was weird being tight leading the race. but we didn't work on the balance of the car too much put tires on it and it started going straight. the ten hit the wall over there and we drove through it on caution and i immediately had a vibration on the restart. so i wanted to run the wall in case it did blow out, but i had to start protecting the bottom some. the car was a little tight on the balance side. but still very fast. had to block a lot, but had to pick my lanes and you've got to run real real hard and defend every single position. you've got to run them all real hard to win here. >> dale earnhardt, jr., more happy to be in victory lane but happier that all the drivers were okay in the wreck. >> the crew behind dale earnhardt, jr. were the first ones to austin dillon. as we look at austin number three. the tow truck going to take whatever's left of that car back to the garage. we look at the grandstands. again, the safety personnel attending to three, we've heard three fans in the grandstands. look at the catch fence and what is left of it. the steel cables going through, making sure that -- trying to keep as much of that car inside the racing area as they could on the track. here's the end of the race once again. >> that's an unbelievable impact. we talk about how soft walls are there, but the catch fencing, as it gives it needs to give to a point, but it just kind of grabs austin. >> an explosion when that car hilts that fence. you could almost feel it. that's tony stewart. the car will go right over the top of tony. >> never seen a car stop like that. to go that fast to essentially zero. that's what scared me is how quickly he stopped. we talk about the angle of impact on walls. when a car stops that quickly, the driver has to be feeling that. it honestly scared me. i thought about his dad, his mom, mike dillon that's the first thing that was going through my mind. >> the reinforced catch fences after kyle larson got into that fence in an x finty race they tried to reinforce it. that car, 3500 pounds. it was able to sheer off two of the poles on the front stretch. we're hearing from nascar the safety and the health services there are attending to three fans in the grandstands, but they're attending to them with minor injuries is what we're hearing. >> that's wonderful news. as you see, the car stays mostly impact as far as the driver compartment is concerned. but there's a lot missing off that car. the entire engine is missing. it's great to hear they're tending to minor injuries and the car, even as damaged as it is the driver compartment is in tact, it kept its integrity around the driver. you see the solid sheet steel next to the driver stayed in tact. >> the 2, 11 and the 6 all involved in this accident have been to the care center and checked and released. and that might be the best sight we saw all evening and into the morning. one of the drivers that was involved in this incident, and was in the infield care center standing by with mike massaro. >> denny hamlin just taking his first glance at the replay. what did you see? >> the 4 was trying to push me to the line and he had us jacked up. we crossed the line i thought, or we were close. yeah, he's trying to help. at some point you have to hit the concede button. austin took one heck of a ride. >> and the catch fence, there's going to be talk about the catch fence. did it do what it it was supposed to do? >> yeah, it looks so. i rode in the ambulance with austin and he said he felt fine. so i think everyone has gone well. i think this track has done a good job stepping up. we're -- any time you get these cars turned around backwards at these speeds there's going to be lift. it's just part of physics. so i think everything did its job. >> glad to see you're okay. >> thank you. >> jimmie johnson finished second, but it's hard to talk about racing after seeing a wreck like that. all the talk of the safety improvements very real. what did you see from the 48? >> yeah it's part of our sport. i just thought the 3 was backwards, and to see the replay there and to see the contact of the front of the 11 car, the fact the car just climbed altitude like it did, i've never seen anything like that and then how fast it stopped. happy to know that austin is okay and that the fans are. just a scary moment. i saw it all take place in the mirror and i thought something really bad happened. >> what does it say about the safety, about the fact that he got out and is okay? >> it's remarkable. the car is ripped in half. the engine is laying out there. we've done a nice job protecting the drivers and hats off to everyone involved.