The Daytona 500 came to the checkered flag thrillingly. The event never fails to entertain. As they stayed green for much of Stage three, the race beat out the incoming rain. Despite multiple final lap wrecks, Tyler Reddick would find his way to victory lane. For the 1st time, 23XI wins the Daytona 500.
Not only does 23XI Racing win its first Daytona 500, but so does Tyler Reddick. This is also the first time since 2020 that Toyota has found victory lane (Denny Hamlin).
NASCAR Keeps it Green
The last lap could have crowned many different champions. As noted earlier in the weekend, NASCAR has been letting them race by holding late yellow flag cautions.
As they took the white flag and exited the tri-oval, Erik Jokes would tap Carson Hocevar, causing a spin. This would ignite one of multiple "Big One' wrecks that would tackle Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Corey Heim, Jimmie Johnson, Ross Chastain. Ryan Preece, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs.
This would not be the end of a damaging final lap. As Chase Elliott would take the lead, Tyler Reddick would make a massive run, sneaking past Elliott. As Reddick would bump a side draft on the car of Elliott, a wreck would collect behind the 1-2 finishers. This included Brad Keselowski, Riley Herbst, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Rewinding the Tape
As Reddick wins the race, he collects the most points, with 58. In second is Zane Smith (41), followed by Chris Buescher (39), Joey Logano (36), and many others sandwiched between 30 and 35.
The driver who would lead the most laps on the day would be Reddick's teammate, Bubba Wallace. He would take the line 39 times. Chase Briscoe would lead the 2nd most laps (23), followed by John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Busch (19 each).
The Top 10
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The finishing results never tell the whole story of the race. That is just Daytona for you. The race is all about making it until the end. The last five laps will very well decide your fate. The fate was good for the top-10 finishers, as listed below:
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
The Blunders
Daytona wreaked havoc on parts of the field. BJ McLeod would be the first collection. After entering the race via a DQ, McLeod would be the first to exit, earning a last-place finish.
Alex Bowman was a hot pick of the weekend. He was damaged, as were Todd Gilliland and Justin Allgaier. Allgaier was much to blame for the tri-oval spin with Denny Hamlin. Luckily for the No. 11 car, it would return to the track to finish P31 after more wrecking later on.
Front Row Motorsports would also throw subtle shots at Casey Mears' No. 66 via social media. That was given that Noah Gragson would be touched up by Mears, once again, after the Clash.
The Surprises
There is no such thing as a big surprise at Daytona. However, the noteworthy finishers were Zane Smith and Riley Herbst. While they are widely considered among the lower-end chartered drivers, they would both earn top-10 finishes. 23XI Racing would have three of its four cars finish in the Top 10.
Cody Ware would also make his face show, leading two laps and many more up front, not being part of a pit cycle. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is not surprising at all, as he finished P2 after leading two laps. The guy knows how to draft.
For a live blog of the event as it happened, check out this link.