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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Monday Racing Roundup: Earnhardt Jr. Wins Late at Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. endured a weekend of rain, a three-hour-plus pre-race delay, and nine caution flags to win the Coke-Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway early Monday morning.

The race ended at 2:41 a.m. and concluded with a large crash featuring Austin Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet going airborne and smashing into the catchfence near Turn 1 after he crossed the start-finish line. Dillon walked away from the wreck, the fourth major crash of the night. After being released from the infield care center, Dillon said he suffered a bruised tailbone and forearm.

Polesitter Earnhardt dominated the night, leading 96 laps in his No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet. He also had the convincing support of the fans remaining at the track following the 154-minute rain delay. The delay was a harbinger for the race itself, which included four multi-car crashes and those nine caution flags that covered 43 of the scheduled 160 laps before the green-white checkered finish. It was Earnhardt’s fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup career victory on the 2.5-mile track.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," a somewhat subdued Earnhardt said after the race. "We have such great motors and good cars. We ran very fast. I had to block a lot, get a lot of pushes from everybody. I had to run real hard to win this race here. We got shuffled back a few times."

Driver Paul Menard could have been speaking for everyone at the speedway when he said on his radio during the race that Earnhardt’s No. 88 was "ridiculously" fast. Earnhardt consistently outran the competition on re-start after re-start.

Earnhardt’s crew raced onto the track after the last-lap crash to check on Dillon’s condition. The catch fences at Daytona International Speedway were reinforced following an accident in 2013 during a NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

Denny Hamlin finished third, with Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch rounding out the top five. Harvick leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 63 points over Earnhardt.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Kentucky Speedway this week where it will debut its new aerodynamic package

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race on July 26 at IMS in the Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard. 

NASCAR XFINITY Series: Austin Dillon wins at Daytona

Austin Dillon led just nine laps Saturday night, including the one that mattered most.

Dillon, grandson of legendary team owner Richard Childress, outlasted Elliott Sadler and Chase Elliott during a green-white-checkered finish to claim the crash-filled Subway Firecracker 250, the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

"This is Daytona, man," Dillon said during the post-race celebration. "There are so many family memories here. … I’m just happy for my grandfather. He told me once when we were here in Victory Lane with Dale Earnhardt that you’ll have this opportunity one day. It means so much to be here."

A multi-car crash on Lap 96 of the 100-lap race took out Brian Scott, who led 84 laps and was in front when the crash started. Scott moved to the outside line to block Elliott Sadler, but was spun out, collecting several cars. Dillon slipped through the crash, then stayed ahead of Elliott after the final restart.

Dillon scored his third XFINITY Series win of 2015 and fifth of his career, putting a smile on his grandfather's face.

"It’s cool any time you win here at Daytona," Childress said.

The XFINITY Series comes to IMS on July 25 for the Lilly Diabetes 250.

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