Kyle Busch wins the Busch Clash after Elliott and Blaney collide

Kyle Busch takes the race victory right before the finish line.

The Speedweeks and the 2021 NASCAR season itself kicked off on Tuesday afternoon with the Busch Clash race at the Daytona International Speedway road course.

The green flag was out and the race got underway. The opening lap was clean as we saw no major incidents. Denny Hamlin had a great start and eventually got into the lead of the race. There was a lot of dirt at the Bus Stop chicane and Kevin Harvick was one of its victims as he spun. Dirt was also the reason for the first caution of the day.

Ryan Blaney took the green flag once again, but lost the lead after going very wide in turn 1. The race ended early for Cole Custer as his car was on fire. William Byron also suffered from an issue – he got a flat tyre right after the pit stop.

Denny Hamlin was dominating the race, while Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. were also chasing him. Several laps later, Truex Jr. got into the lead of the race, but the race ended in an opposite way for him – he caught the dirt at the Bus Stop chicane and hit the wall – the caution was out. The majority of the drivers went to the pits, while Chase Elliott, who started from the rear, stayed out and inherited the lead.

The green flag was up in the air again. Elliott stayed in the lead, though Ryan Blaney was getting closer and closer. Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, and Alex Bowman had an incident at the final chicane, but the green flag stayed.

Blaney passed Elliott laps away from the chequered flag, but the reigning champion tried to regain first place at the final chicane at the last lap. Unfortunately, that did not end up well as the leaders had a contact. Both slowed down and that allowed Kyle Busch, who was running third, to get into the lead and win the race. Chase Elliott finished second after the wreck and Joey Logano was third. Tyler Reddick and William Byron completed the top 5 of the Busch Clash.