Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2014
Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The key to winning Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited was to survive. Following an eight car wreck in the second segment, the field now was half of how many started the race. The remaining half put on a show that came down to the last few laps. It was Denny Hamlin outlasting the field when he sprinted ahead on the last lap. Hamlin was able to hold his position as his closest challengers, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch weren’t able to catch up with the dominant Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 car.

From the beginning the Sprint Unlimited was a very competitive race. Under the new restrictor plate package, drivers were able to race each other like NASCAR hasn’t seen in years. Passing occurred often and the lead changes kept coming throughout the night.

With fans voting to set the starting lineup by final practice speeds, Denny Hamlin began the race out front. Similar to other drivers throughout the night, he couldn’t hold the lead for too long. The first segment stayed rather uneventful until the last lap when Jimmie Johnson crashed coming to the line.

Johnson was a bit loose racing down the short shoot before the tri-oval and spun himself toward the inside wall. The left side of the No.48 car slammed the inside wall ending Johnson’s night.

The big one struck just six laps into the second segment. As the cars shuffled going down the frontstretch, Matt Kenseth came down on Joey Logano. Logano got into Kenseth, turning Kenseth around mid-pack. Kenseth came up the track and hit Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, sending all three into the wall. Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Carl Edwards were also collected.

A late hit involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick concluded the wreck as Stenhouse Jr. absolutely destroyed a side of the No.10 car. Patrick had managed to only spin through the wreck and was in the clear until Stenhouse Jr. clipped her car. Patrick described the wreck by saying “I got hit by my boyfriend, what a bummer.” All cars involved in the mêlée, except the No.4, had their day ended in the incident.

Once the race resumed with only nine cars remaining, a sprint to the finish was on for the famed Daytona track. Hamlin led at the close of the second segment and restarted first in the final round as he was the first to emerge from pit road.

Prior to the start of the last segment, the pace car experienced an issue as the cockpit filled with smoke and the trunk caught fire. Pace car driver Brett Bodine was able to exit quickly and the fire was extinguished without causing any injuries.

Reminiscent of his 2012 Sprint Unlimited performance, Kyle Busch made a miraculous save on Lap 60. Busch came down the track and into Brad Keselowski, which sent Busch’s car sliding toward the grass. As Busch hit the apron, he saved the car from spinning out any further. He would go on to contend for the victory, but come up short finishing third.

The fifth and last yellow flag of the night came out on Lap 65 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. His car squirmed around heading into turn one as Marcos Ambrose tagged the corner of the No. 88 leaving Earnhardt Jr hitting the wall and losing his chance at victory. “Marcos went to the outside and I didn’t know he was out there” was Earnhardt Jr.’s description of the event.

The race ended with many drivers shuffling around at the front of the field. It was Denny Hamlin racing to the front at the right time on the last lap as he was able to stay out front long enough to take the victory. It was Hamlin’s second Unlimited win as his last victory was during his rookie season in 2006.

The Sprint Cup Series will hit the track again tomorrow when the cars will compete for the Daytona 500 pole.

Results via ESPN.com