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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Matt Kenseth wouldn't believe it. Elliott Sadler could.

Rain fell seconds after Kenseth passed Sadler for the lead in Sunday's Daytona 500, but Kenseth implored his team on the radio to "stay calm," as they awaited NASCAR's decision on if the race would be called 48 laps from the scheduled finish.

Kenseth, who only the day before the race confided to his wife about his frustration with a 36-race winless streak, remained in his car. Many of his competitors exited their cars. They knew.

The race would not resume. Kenseth would win.

Sadler was all but convinced he wouldn't win even as he led late in the event. A fifth-place finish, which would have been so inviting beforehand, left the Emporia, Va., native crestfallen.

"To be half a lap short of being the champion of the Daytona is very emotional to me," he said, his voice stripped of its energy and accent. "I get passed it turn 1. It starts raining in turn 3.''

Kenseth saw the raindrops but wouldn't assume he would win his first Daytona 500 and collect a $1.5 million paycheck. His teammates, though, began congratulating him before the cars pulled down pit road.

After being told the race was over, Kenseth — once parodied in a commercial for his robotic personality — had moist eyes and a quivering voice. Runner-up Kevin Harvick even said that Kenseth's win would be popular among the competitors.

Such a moment, though, was unimaginable for Kenseth. He didn't start racing until he was 16 years old. Even back then, Kenseth, 36, said racing was more of a father-son activity "to keep me out of trouble (and) for us to find something that we, hopefully, would enjoy and be able to spend quality time together."

With his father not at Daytona — there was no reason to think his son would win since he struggled all week and was in a backup car — there was no one to control Kenseth. He joked he was going party in the motorhome lot and "paint it plaid."

It was only a short time before Sadler had been in that position to where he could contemplate a celebration.

Yet, Sadler foreshadowed his frustrating finish to crew chief Kevin Buskirk during a caution less than 15 laps from what would be the race's end.

Buskirk told Sadler that radar showed rain all around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Yet, Sadler's windshield was clean.

"Just my luck," Sadler radioed. "Welcome to the team. Showing rain on the radar and not on the race track."

Buskirk admonished Sadler for his attitude and told the newlywed that marriage changes your luck.

Sadler began to imagine what it would it be like to win this race, which he first attended in 1979 when Richard Petty won and the Allisons and Cale Yarborough fought and nearly won in 2002 when he finished second to Ward Burton.

"I was getting pretty emotional," Sadler confessed.

But like his honeymoon — cut short last month for a test session at Rockingham — Sadler's dreams did not last.

Kenseth made a charge on lap 146 and with had Harvick pushing him. Sadler let them go low, figuring he would get help on the high side. Wrong move.

"I was sick to my stomach," Sadler said. "I needed to do a better job leading the race and put my car in a position to make it wider for them to pass."

Kenseth said Sadler shouldn't question himself. Kenseth said he had a faster car.

"I had pretty good momentum," Kenseth said. "Kevin saw I had the momentum and hung a left and went behind me. When I cleared (Sadler), it was big raindrops between (turns) one and two."

As the cars circled the track in the rain, Kenseth's Roush Fenway Racing teammates flipped frequencies to offer their congratulations.

"Nice job, man," Greg Biffle radioed.

Jamie McMurray also radioed.

"It's raining like heck," McMurray said. "I hope it stays like that for your sake. You splitting any money with me?"

Said Kenseth: "I don't even care about that."

No, this wasn't about money. This was about so much more. About winning for the first time since 2007. About being a contender again. About persevering. It was enough to bring Kenseth — almost — to tears.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com

Daytona 500 Results

Lap length: 2.5 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

Note: Race shortened due to rain

1. (39) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 152 laps, 114 rating, 190 points, $1,536,388.

2. (32) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 152, 81.7, 170, $1,114,724.

3. (20) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 152, 102.2, 165, $786,063.

4. (22) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 152, 87.4, 160, $631,913.

5. (30) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 152, 80.5, 160, $515,013.

6. (33) David Ragan, Ford, 152, 92.2, 150, $412,063.

7. (27) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 152, 81.2, 146, $371,138.

8. (5) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 152, 97.2, 147, $371,371.

9. (34) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 152, 73.7, 138, $362,224.

10. (13) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 152, 93.4, 134, $325,513.

11. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 152, 70.4, 135, $345,563.

12. (28) David Reutimann, Toyota, 152, 67.4, 127, $316,546.

13. (3) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 152, 110.9, 129, $356,824.

14. (8) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 152, 75.6, 121, $299,288.

15. (25) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 152, 62.4, 118, $298,838.

16. (2) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 152, 93.2, 120, $313,488.

17. (23) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 152, 49.8, 112, $295,146.

18. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 152, 103.4, 109, $326,454.

19. (37) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 152, 53.2, 106, $287,568.

20. (35) Greg Biffle, Ford, 152, 51.5, 103, $297,863.

21. (42) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 152, 54.6, 100, $287,696.

22. (12) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 152, 62.5, 102, $308,252.

23. (40) Bill Elliott, Ford, 152, 44.6, 94, $288,160.

24. (43) Terry Labonte, Toyota, 152, 35.3, 91, $273,963.

25. (17) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 152, 55.1, 88, $273,513.

26. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 152, 99.7, 85, $300,963.

27. (14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 152, 88.5, 87, $291,063.

28. (26) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 152, 77.7, 79, $317,654.

29. (15) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 152, 63.7, 76, $313,846.

30. (11) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 152, 48.9, 73, $311,946.

31. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 152, 68.4, 70, $336,149.

32. (29) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 151, 43.4, 67, $287,433.

33. (24) David Stremme, Dodge, 151, 58.2, 64, $300,763.

34. (31) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 151, 38.6, 61, $287,158.

35. (38) Scott Speed, Toyota, 151, 39, 58, $268,763.

36. (36) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 150, 42.3, 55, $295,252.

37. (21) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 139, 86.6, 52, $274,713.

38. (19) Paul Menard, Ford, accident, 138, 46.3, 49, $296,229.

39. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, accident, 134, 69.2, 46, $305,171.

40. (18) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 126, 47.9, 43, $265,238.

41. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, accident, 123, 114.2, 50, $349,171.

42. (41) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 90, 39.3, 37, $263,963.

43. (9) Joey Logano, Toyota, accident, 79, 45.6, 34, $317,720.

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 132.816 mph.

Time of Race: 2 hours, 51 minutes, 40 seconds.

Margin of Victory: Under caution.

Caution Flags: Eight for 35 laps.

Lead Changes: Nine among nine drivers.

Lap Leaders: M.Truex Jr. 1; M.Martin 2; Ky.Busch 3-52; D.Earnhardt Jr. 53; T.Stewart 54-68; J.Gordon 69-82; Ky.Busch 83-120; B.Labonte 121; E.Sadler 122-145; M.Kenseth 146-152.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): Ky.Busch, 2 times for 88 laps; E.Sadler, 1 time for 24 laps; T.Stewart, 1 time for 15 laps; J.Gordon, 1 time for 14 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 7 laps; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 1 lap; M.Martin, 1 time for 1 lap; B.Labonte, 1 time for 1 lap; D.Earnhardt Jr., 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in Points: 1. M.Kenseth, 190. 2. K.Harvick, 170. 3. A.Allmendinger, 165. 4. C.Bowyer, 160. 5. E.Sadler, 160. 6. D.Ragan, 150. 7. T.Stewart, 147. 8. M.Waltrip, 146. 9. R.Sorenson, 138. 10. M.Truex Jr., 135. 11. Ku.Busch, 134. 12. J.Gordon, 129.