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Earnhardt Jr. Wins At Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the rain- delayed Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, a race that concluded with a horrifying crash on the frontstretch, injuring several spectators in the grandstands.

Sunday's 400-mile race at Daytona had been scheduled to start at about 8:10 p.m. ET, but rain forced postponement for three and a half hours. It got underway at 11:42 p.m.

 width=When the checkered flag waved at 2:41 a.m. ET, Earnhardt had crossed the finish line in first, just ahead of Jimmie Johnson, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, but behind them a huge accident ensued with Austin Dillon's car flying upside down and then slamming into the catch fence.

Dillon's No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet ripped a section of the fence along the frontstretch before it landed back down on its roof on the track. Brad Keselowski's car then plowed into Dillon's vehicle, spinning it around several times.

The engine block from Dillon's car was completely torn away and came to a rest on the infield grass, as it was smoking.

Dillon was not injured during the incident, as he walked away from his battered car and waved to the crowd after crew members and safety workers quickly helped him get out of his vehicle.

Earnhardt started on the pole and dominated by leading 96 of 161 laps. Saturday's qualifying was canceled due to severe weather in the area. Earnhardt earned the top starting position since he was the fastest in Friday's opening practice.

An accident involving Sam Hornish Jr. on the backstretch in the closing laps forced the ninth and final caution and set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Earnhardt led the way for the last restart and held the position for the final two laps around this 2.5-mile superspeedway, beating Johnson to the finish line by 0.122 seconds.

Hamlin finished third, followed by Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.

Jeff Gordon placed sixth in his 46th and final start at Daytona. Ryan Newman, Trevor Bayne and Clint Bowyer completed the top-10.

A seven-car wreck occurred in turn 2 on lap 86, and then an 11-car incident happened in turn 4 on lap 105. Aric Almirola, who had won last year's rain- delayed and shortened race, was involved in the third major crash.

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