DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—William Byron raced to his second straight Daytona 500 victory, surviving a string of late-race wrecks that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Ninth in the No. 24 Chevrolet with one lap left, Byron was in the right place by racing near the outside wall in overtime to became the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20.
Bryon took advantage of another wreck on the final lap—NASCAR did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish—and took another, familiar burnout in Daytona International Speedway.
“It’s obviously really special,” Byron said. “It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving
The 27-year-old Byron held on to win after two weather delays totaling more than 3.5 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.”
Hendrick Motorsports won its 10th Daytona 500 to break a tie with Petty Enterprises for the record.
“Just obviously fortunate it worked out in our favor,” Byron said. “Crazy? Yeah. I can’t honestly believe that but we’re here.”
Byron won for the 14th time in his Cup career, and already set his sights on the championship race in Phoenix after finishing third in the standings in each of the last two years.
“We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here,” Byron said. “We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix.”
It wouldn’t be Daytona without the ferocious late wrecks down the stretch that inevitably send the race into overtime.
With four laps left, Ryan Preece turned upside-down and essentially did a wheelie in his No. 60 Ford. His car flipped onto its roof and turned back onto its tires before hitting the outside wall. Preece dropped his safety net to signal to crews he was OK.
Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Brad Keselowski all had their shots at victory lane spoiled, and the race was red-flagged, just 11 laps after another big one shuffled the field and knocked four former Cup Series champions out of contention.
Reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse started the multi-car melee when Logano moved to the middle and Stenhouse moved to block him. It stacked up Logano, and the accordion effect sent several cars—including ones belonging to former Cup champs Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott—sliding in every direction.
Busch’s car ended up on a wrecker, extending his skid to 0 for 20 in “The Great American Race.”
Leave a Legacy
Johnson and Nemechek gave Legacy Motor Club two top-five finishes. A Hall of Fame driver and seven-time NASCAR champion, Johnson is now the majority owner under an offseason restructuring. It was his highest finish in race since he won it in 2013.Early Exit
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and 2017 NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. were among the drivers whose race ended after they were collected in a wreck before the halfway point.Castroneves made the Daytona 500 under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional spot. He 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.
“Disappointed, of course, because I was learning so much,” Castroneves said. “It’s incredible when you have more laps into it, you understand the airflow, the guys, saving fuel. There was some sketchy moments. What a shame. I wish I was still out there. There’s still more to understand, more to learn. I’m starting to get a little more comfortable with the whole process.”
Truex, who retired from full-time racing at the end of last season, failed to win the Daytona 500 in 21 tries.
“It’s always disappointing when you don’t finish no matter the situation,” Truex said. “It’s probably our only shot this year. It was fun while it lasted, but it was unfortunately wrong place, wrong time there.”
