Nearly 20 years to the day, the fabled No. 3 Chevrolet was back in victory lane at Daytona International Speedway.
In 1998, Dale Earnhardt won his first -- and only -- Daytona 500.
Sunday, Austin Dillon, the grandson of Earnhardt’s team owner Richard Childress, became the ninth consecutive different winner in the last nine Daytona 500s and the fourth straight first-time winner in the annals of the Great American Race.
“So special, I can’t thank everyone enough,” a tear-filled Childress told Fox Sports.
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Chris Buescher.
“Hell of an ending tonight,” Wallace told Fox Sports. “A P2 in my first Daytona 500? I’ll take it.”