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DAYTONA BEACH -The Coke Zero 400 ended after 280 miles, which was just fine with Aric Almirola.

He was leading when the rain returned Sunday and forced the race to be called after 112 laps. It was his first Sprint Cup win in 118 races, and put a historic twist on a frustratingly wet weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

Rain postponed the race from Saturday night to Sunday morning. The looming threat of the race being called had drivers jockeying to stay near the front. That aggression probably contributed to two big wrecks that wiped out half the field and opened it up for a driver like Almirola.

Of the 43 cars that started Sunday, only 17 were on the lead lap when the race was called. The first wreck on Lap 21 involved 16 cars and sent Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick to the garage for the day.

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The second one was 26-car pileup on Lap 98. That ended the day for Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle and Casey Kahne.

When racing resumed, Almirola shot into the lead in the No. 43 car owned by Richard Petty Motorsports. This year’s 4th of July race marked the 30th anniversary of Petty’s 200th and final career victory.

That was also the year Almirola was born in Tampa. He’s called the “Cuban Missile” due to his Cuban heritage, and he attended UCF before quitting school to become a full-time racer.

Ryan Vickers finished second in a car that sported an FSU paint job. Kurt Busch finished third.