William Byron won his second straight Daytona 500 after a last-lap wreck took out race leader Denny Hamlin on the backstretch.
Byron took over the lead when Hamlin went spinning after taking the lead from Austin Cindric on the backstretch on the final lap of a green-white-checker restart.
The finish was set up by a crash with less than five laps to go when Christopher Bell got turned by Cole Custer when Bell was alongside his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin for the lead. Bell went into the wall and Preece’s car catapulted off Bell’s car and flipped over before backing into the wall.
The win is the 10th for Hendrick Motorsports to break a tie with Petty Enterprises as the team with the most Daytona 500 wins.
- Nick Bromberg
Live83 updates
Daytona 500 results
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Erik Jones, No. 34 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
Corey LaJoie, No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 Tricon Jr. Toyota
Hélio Castroneves, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Daytona 500 race details
Track: Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile high-banked tri-oval) in Daytona Beach, Florida
Banking: Turns - 31 degrees | Tri-oval - 18 degrees | Backstretch - 3 degrees
Race length: 200 laps for 500 miles
Stage lengths: Stage 1 - 65 laps | Stage 2 - 65 laps | Stage 3 - 70 laps
Daytona 500 starting lineup
No. 19 Chase Briscoe
No. 2 Austin Cindric
No. 23 Bubba Wallace
No. 43 Erik Jones
No. 24 William Byron
No. 17 Chris Buescher
No. 10 Ty Dillon
No. 11 Denny Hamlin
No. 1 Ross Chastain
No. 22 Joey Logano
No. 45 Tyler Reddick
No. 01 Corey LaJoie
No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
No. 34 Todd Gilliland
No. 3 Austin Dillon
No. 12 Ryan Blaney
No. 9 Chase Elliott
No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 40 Justin Allgaier
No. 20 Christopher Bell
No. 8 Kyle Busch
No. 5 Kyle Larson
No. 54 Ty Gibbs
No. 35 Riley Herbst
No. 71 Michael McDowell
No. 88 Shane van Gisbergen
No. 60 Ryan Preece
No. 51 Cody Ware
No. 4 Josh Berry
No. 41 Cole Custer
No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 4 Noah Gragson
No. 77 Carson Hocevar
No. 6 Brad Keselowski
No. 7 Justin Haley
No. 99 Daniel Suarez
No. 38 Zane Smith
No. 48 Alex Bowman
No. 56 Martin Truex Jr.
No. 84 Jimmie Johnson
No. 91 Helio Castroneves
Daytona 500 qualifying format
The biggest race on the NASCAR calendar also features a unique qualifying format not used on any other race weekend. On Wednesday night all entered cars will turn one lap at top speed, the order of which is determined by a Tuesday night draw of numbers. The top 10 drivers then go into a shootout with the top two times from that session setting the front row for Sunday's race.
The remaining cars are dropped — as evenly as possible, along with the top two qualifiers — into two 60-lap qualifying "duels" to be run Thursday night that set the field from spots three through 40. The finishing order for the first duel determines the inside row slots and the finishing order from the second duel sets the outside.
Top drivers and best bets for the Daytona 500
Restrictor plate racing presents a randomizing element that makes handicapping the results challenging, and that’s reflected in BetMGM’s odds. Three drivers enter the week with identical 12-to-1 odds and 10 drivers come in at 20-to-1 or better.
Best odds to win the 67th Daytona 500
Ryan Blaney +1200
Joey Logano +1200
Brad Keselowski +1200
Kyle Busch +1400
Denny Hamlin +1500
Hélio Castroneves in the field; Jimmie Johnson attempts to qualify
Due to a new rule this year, a provisional is granted for a “world-class driver” who does not run the Cup series full time to join the field for any event as the 41st car. Teams must put in the request at least 90 days ahead of time and only Trackhouse Racing did so on behalf of four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves. Castroneves will still attempt to qualify for the race and if he posts one of the top 40 times, there will be only 40 cars running on Sunday. If he doesn’t make it on time, the Daytona 500 will have its largest field in 10 years.
Seven-time series champion and winner of the 2006 and 2013 Daytona 500s Jimmie Johnson will attempt to make the field in a third entry for the Legacy Motor Club team that he owns. Johnson, 49, has run in the event twice since retiring from full-time racing in 2020, with a best finish of 28th.
Source link