James: It's business as usual at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There were no points, barely any fans in the stands and just less than half the field of a typical Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

But it was business as usual and midseason form Sunday in the annual season-opening Clash exhibition at Daytona International Speedway.

Joey Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 winner, made a pass around an accident on the final lap to win. One of the principals ended up analyzing things at the infield care center and the other next to a damaged race car on pit road. Team Penske won its fourth consecutive Cup plate race. Oh, and don’t try to block Brad Keselowski.

“It is the Clash. It’s not the 500,” said Keselowksi, who wrecked into a sixth-place finish after then-leader Denny Hamlin attempted to block him on the final lap. “I guarantee he knows and everyone else who’s watching today, that I’m going to make that move again and you better move out or you’re going to end up wrecked.”

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Keselowski wasn’t fuming and neither was Hamlin. Plate racing seemingly is engineered to create mayhem and this was a benign example considering recent history at the track. It’s just business at restrictor-plate tracks, where drafting and blocking are key.

“There was obviously nothing intentional from anyone, especially from my end,” said Hamlin, the defending winner of the Daytona 500 and the Clash. He led 48 of 75 laps, but finished 13th. "So, last lap of an all-out race, this is usually what you’re going to get.”

And Logano was in a perfect spot to exploit it.

“Denny had to make the block, but I saw it was coming way too late and wasn’t going to work,” Logano said. “So I immediately went to the top because I saw that they were going to crash, and we were basically in the right place at the right time.”

Hamlin had himself capitalized on the crucial last-lap moment in the Daytona 500 last season, when he swooped under an unsuccessful block attempt by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth.

Sunday, Logano and Keselowski were able to chase down JGR’s four-car train at the front by finally drafting with each other in the latter stages and preparing for the frantic final sequence.

“Once we got in line we were able to, what I call leap-frogging, you’re able to kind of grab one at a time,” Logano said. "Brad was doing a good job of getting a run, getting outside of them, pull them back, and I was able to follow Brad through.”

Follow James on Twitter @brantjames

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