Mark Martin Ford

David Ragan takes maiden NASCAR Sprint Cup win amid Daytona crash fest

David Ragan claimed his maiden NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in a close and wild finish on Saturday night at Daytona.

The Roush Fenway racer was hooked up all race long with his team-mate Matt Kenseth, who pushed him for most of the race in their two-car tandem as the technique prevailed once again on the new smoother surface of the 2.5-mile oval.

Ragan led the field on the second attempt at a green-white-chequered finish after contact between Joey Logano and Mark Martin ignited a multi-car accident involving at least 11 cars, causing the fifth and final caution of the night.

As the green flag waved for the last time Ragan and Kenseth were quick to gain momentum, with Logano pushed by Red Bull's Kasey Kahne looking to be their main challengers. However the Ford duo were unstoppable in the end as others lost momentum and chaos unfolded behind them in two separate incidents that involved at least 15 cars between them after the white flag was displayed.

Ragan's first victory gave Ford's Roush-Yates engines a Daytona sweep this year, following Trevor Bayne's victory in the season-opener, where Ragan's team-mate Carl Edwards finished second. It was also revenge for Ragan, who back in February got penalised for jumping the penultimate restart while trying to quickly pair up with Bayne at the front of the field in the decisive stages of the race.

"There's no better place to win your first race than Daytona, it couldn't be any better," said Ragan after his maiden Cup victory was achieved at the 163rd attempt.

"We've been so close so many times and finally we're here. Daytona means a lot. It is a special race and we're very fortunate that first win here.

"Matt pushed me to the finish line. The Roush Yates horsepower was great. There's not a better night to win. This is awesome."

Daytona 500 winner Bayne and former points leader Edwards were among the first to be out of contention for victory, Bayne getting turned around while trying to draft with Penske's Brad Keselowski as soon as lap four and eventually retiring with massive front-end damage, while Edwards spun and crashed backwards against the inside wall on lap 23 as a result of contact with his team-mate Greg Biffle, who was committed to pushing him all race long as Kenseth was with Ragan.

Edwards' car was badly damaged in the incident and fumes from the exhaust caused extreme heat inside the #99 Ford. He finished the race several laps down as his team tried to repair damage in the pits and isolate the driver from the heat and the gases as much as they could. Edwards' 37th place finish has lost him the lead in the points, with Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick moving up to first in the standings after finishing seventh.

Mark Martin takes 50th pole of his career at Daytona - NASCAR news ...

NASCAR veteran Mark Martin edged Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne in qualifying for Saturday's Coke Zero 400, claiming the 50th pole position of his career.

The 52-year-old, never a winner at Daytona, beat the benchmark set earlier in the session by the Wood Brothers rookie by 17 thousandths of a second, with a lap of 49.433 seconds at an average speed of 182.086 mph.

Martin's pole was the tip of the iceberg for Hendrick Motorsports as all the team's cars qualified in the top 10 and will be lining up one behind another on the outside as Martin's pole allows him to choose which lane he wants for the start of the race. Jeff Gordon will line up fourth, Daytona 500 polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr sixth and reigning champion Jimmie Johnson eighth.

"I really didn't expect to get the pole," said Martin, a polesitter at Daytona for the fourth time in his Cup career. "When I ran it could have been first or 21st. I had no idea. They didn't tell me what my first lap was, that it was actually the quickest of the first laps so I had no idea. You just go out and do your thing. At Talladega we went out and we thought we had a shot at the pole and we didn't.

"Evidently they tweaked things just right this time just to get that last little bit of speed out of it, more than anyone else."

Clint Bowyer was third fastest, underlining the speed of the Richard Childress Chevrolets that looked quick working in tandem, even trying a four-car train during Friday's practice. In contrast the Penske Dodges were not quick on their own in qualifying (25th and 26th) after running among the fastest while in tandem during Friday's 45-minute session.

Roush Fenway's David Ragan was fifth while TRG's Andy Lally was seventh, making it three Roush-Yates powered Fords in the top seven. Richard Petty Motorsports' Fords had topped practice with the tandem of Marcos Ambrose and AJ Allmendinger, the latter qualifying ninth ahead of RCR's Paul Menard.

Ironically Stewart Haas' Tony Stewart will start Saturday night's event - which he has won three times in the past six years - right beside Red Bull's Brian Vickers in 19th following their clash at Sears Points last week.

Although running on pace while in tandem on Friday, the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas were unusually slow in qualifying, ending up down in 36th, 37th and 38th on the grid.

Tony Raines and JJ Yeley failed to make the field.

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