The 58th (2016) Daytona 500

Toyota first entered the NASCAR Cup Series ranks in 2007, and the manufacturer won its first race with Kyle Busch at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2008. It took nine-odd years, but it finally reached the mountain top in 2015, when Busch became the first Toyota driver to win the series championship.

Even with the title, there were plenty of wins that had long eluded Toyota. For starters, it had yet to win a manufacturers championship; Chevrolet was in the middle of a dynasty, as it had won 13 titles in a row starting in the 2003 season.

For individual race wins, no Toyota driver had ever won the Daytona 500. The closest the make came was in 2014, when that year’s polesitter, Denny Hamlin, finished second to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

But as the days ticked down for the 58th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21, 2016, Toyota had an ace up its sleeve.

And it worked better than anyone dared imagine.

For now, the heavy favorite heading into the Great American Race of 2016 was Hendrick Motorsports trio Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and rookie Chase Elliott.

Hendrick was a force at superspeedways in 2015, as Earnhardt, Johnson and Jeff Gordon combined to lead 556 of the 740 laps at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway that season. Gordon won three poles, Johnson scored three top fives and Earnhardt led the way with two wins and four top-three finishes in a car that he affectionately named Amelia, after Amelia Earhart.

Amelia was back for the 2016 Daytona 500, and HMS picked up right where it left off as Elliott won the pole and Earnhardt reigned in his qualifying race.

This year, however, Toyota looked like a significant threat to the HMS hegemony. Matt Kenseth won the outside pole with the second-fastest qualifying time, but he, Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. were forced to start in the rear after a last-lap crash in the second qualifying race sent them to backup cars. In said qualifying race, Busch and Kenseth combined to lead 58 of the 60 laps, with Busch taking the checkered flag.

On race day, Elliott, Kenseth, Earnhardt and Busch made up the first two rows, but Kenseth was relegated to the back along with Johnson and Truex. Carl Edwards started 10th, while Hamlin was the lowest qualifier of the four Joe Gibbs cars in 11th. Green flag.

At first, it was a repeat of 2015. Elliott led the first three laps until Earnhardt took the lead on lap four, pacing the next 14….