McMurray wins bizarre Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Jamie McMurray emerged as the winner of the Daytona 500 Sunday in a bizarre race marked by lengthy pothole delays and crashes.

McMurray had to hold off a late charge by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final lap to come away with the win in NASCAR's biggest race of the year.

The two pothole delays, the first of which lasted nearly two hours, and a series of crashes produced an event lasting more than six hours.

McMurray led for just two laps of the epic affair, passing Kevin Harvick on the second-to-final lap.

McMurray, making his first start for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing in the No.1 Chevrolet, beat Earnhardt Jr. by 0.12 seconds to post his second Daytona win and the fourth victory of his Sprint Cup Series career.

The third spot went to Greg Biffle, followed by Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann.