DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The No. 3 is No. 1 again at Daytona, on a day, in a race and at a place forever linked with the great Dale Earnhardt.

Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500 on Sunday night driving the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet that Earnhardt piloted for most of his career. Earnhardt was behind the wheel of No. 3 when he won his only Daytona 500 in 1998, and when he was killed in an accident on the final lap of the race three years later.

Dillon's victory, in the 60th running of "The Great American Race ," came 17 years to the day of Earnhardt's fatal crash .

"Man, this place is awesome," said Dillon. "I don't know what it is about storylines and Daytona. This place just creates history and I'm proud to be a part of it and make some history here."

Dillon wasn't a factor in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet until the final lap in overtime when he got a push from Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr . that helped him get to leader Aric Almirola. Dillon spun Almirola then whizzed on by to give Childress, his grandfather, another iconic victory in the beloved No. 3.