Daytona Beach, Fla. >> Ryan Blaney won the second stage of the Daytona 500, another small victory for Ford.

Blaney edged Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric on the final lap of the segment. It was a 1-2 finish for Ford, which also won the opening stage behind Joey Logano’s early race dominance.

Cindric led 37 of the 65 laps in the second stage in his No. 2 Ford. But Blaney got by him just before the start-finish line. Twelve cars have led the race, with six of those being Fords.

Chase Elliott was third in a Chevrolet, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves’ rough NASCAR debut ended when he was caught up in a massive wreck and forced out of the Daytona 500 after 70 laps.

Castroneves raced in the Daytona 500 as a special 41st driver under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional spot.

His No. 91 Chevrolet crashed in one of the Daytona 500 qualifying races, forcing his car to get rebuilt for Sunday’s race. He was also wrecked twice in NASCAR’s low-level ARCA race, but rebounded for a top-five finish, only to get wrecked into the infield after the race.

Castroneves landed a NASCAR ride as part of Trackhouse’s “Project 91,” designed to give renowned racers from outside of the series a shot in a stock car.

AJ Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain also did not finish the race.

Joey Logano’s crew frantically swapped out an electronic control unit while the field was under caution. The scramble came after Logano’s No. 22 Ford failed to take off during a restart and caused a seven-car wreck.

Logano radioed to his crew, “It’s still not right” after the parts change.

Logano is the defending Cup Series champion and had been considered one of the favorites to win “The Great American Race.”

The 2015 Daytona 500 champ still won the opening stage of Sunday’s race and led 43 of the first 72 laps.

First big one involves Castroneves and three former series champs

Ross Chastain, Helio Castroneves, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. were involved in the first big one of the Daytona 500.

The seven-car wreck started when Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford failed to get up to speed on a Lap 72 restart. Cars behind him stacked up, leading John Hunter Nemechek to turn Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet. Chastain slammed into the outside wall and collected several others.

Busch, Johnson and Truex are former series champions. Castroneves is a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner making his NASCAR debut.

Logano led 38 of the 65 laps in the stage in his No. 22 Ford. The manufacturer claimed the top three spots, with Brad Keselowski second and Ryan Blaney third. Logano and Blaney drive for powerhouse Team Penske.

Logano won the 2015 Daytona 500 and is the defending Cup Series champion.

Much of the opening stage was three-wide racing, a product of driving in cooler temperatures that create less-slippery conditions on the 2 1/2-mile speedway.

AJ Allmendinger was the first of 41 drivers out of the race. Zane Smith and Josh Berry were involved in a late-stage crash that forced the 65-lap segment to end under caution.

The race resumed after two weather delays totaling more than 3 1/2 hours, and with President Donald Trump set to watch the rest of the race in Florida, after he earlier led drivers on two laps around the track in his heavily armored presidential limousine known in Washington as “The Beast.”

The rain appeared to be gone for good when the season-opener started close to 6:30 p.m. EST and the Daytona 500 was set to finish Sunday under the lights.

NASCAR officials moved the start time to 2 p.m. Eastern earlier this week — 70 minutes ahead of the planned green flag — because of potential rain. Sure enough, inclement weather hit the area, forcing a delay that stretched into early evening.

The Great American Race” was delayed Sunday for the sixth time in the last 14 years, a troubling trend for NASCAR.