Tucson native Alex Bowman finished second in NASCAR's Daytona 500 race last night.
The race was delayed one day because of bad weather in Florida. Bowman survived a late race crash to cross the finish line just behind the winner, William Byron.
"To be that close to a Daytona 500 (win) is a little bit heartbreaking but it's much worse than not having a shot at all, right?" said Bowman in a post-race interview.
NASCAR officials declared Byron the winner when cars collided behind the leaders, forcing the race to end under the caution flag. That meant NASCAR had to freeze the order of finish with Bowman trailing Byron by less than a foot. The close ending inspired some online commentators to dispute the decision.
The 30-year-old Bowman drove his first race cars on a dirt track near Marana when he was seven.
The runner-up finish was his best result at NASCAR's biggest race.
