The 2019 edition of the legendary Daytona 500 was made all the more special with the debut of the Ford NASCAR Mustang. Drivers Joey Logano and Michael McDowell finished fourth in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang and fifth in the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang, respectively, giving Ford’s prized pony an auspicious start to official competition.
The race itself was quite eventful with just 14 cars ending the race on the lead lap in the wake of three wrecks, two red flags, and two NASCAR Overtimes in the final 10 laps. Of those, five were Mustangs. Brad Keselowski finished in 12th place, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished in 13th place, and Ryan Newman finished in 14th place.
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“It was intense, as you would expect with the Daytona 500 on the line and I had a great push by the 47 of Ryan Preece, and I thought that was cool,” said Logano. “We grew up racing quarter-midgets against each other in Connecticut and it just shows that dreams can really come true. I’m proud to be racing with him in the Daytona 500.”
Logano also had an eventful performance the week prior at the Clash at Daytona exhibition race, where the reigning and defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion finished in third place. Logano qualified sixth for the race, while Clint Bowyer qualified for the eighth spot and Keselowski qualified ninth.
The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series marks the first time in history that the Ford Mustang has competed at NASCAR’s highest level.
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