DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Matt Kenseth scored his second stage victory of the season, winning an eventful second stage of Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and David Ragan.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the stage in 31st place after an early incident.
There was a 10-car wreck on Lap 70 triggered when Kyle Busch, who apparently had a tire going flat, spun in traffic. The pileup included Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Danica Patrick, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Michael McDowell.
Truex, Logano and Dillon were eliminated from the race.
It was a break for Earnhardt, who gained a lap on the free pass.
Running sixth after starting from the pole position, Earnhardt thought he had a tire going flat when he eased off the accelerator entering Turn 1 on the 52nd lap. Menard’s No. 27 Chevrolet made contact with the left rear of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet, which rocketed up the banking and scraped along the wall.
Earnhardt lost two laps in the pits for repairs.
Hamlin, who pitted for a loose wheel under green on Lap 12 but managed to stay on the lead lap, took his first lead on Lap 48, passing Erik Jones after both stayed on track to claim the top two spots during the yellow ending the first stage.