The Charlotte native was outside the top five on the final lap but survived a massive crash to take the win.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. β A massive crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 allowed William Byron to sneak by for his second straight win in the Great American Race.
Byron was outside the top five on the final lap but narrowly escaped a crash that took out race leaders Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, and others. Byron is from Charlotte and races the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
“Obviously some good fortune, obviously. [I was] trusting my instinct on the last lap,” Byron said. “I had an amazing car… Really proud of our team.”
Tyler Reddick, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Briscoe, and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five.Β
Chaos ensued in the final stage of the race, with multiple large crashes taking out drivers capable of winning the race. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Busch were among the victims in the race’s closing laps. Ryan Preece even flipped over with five laps to go.
Briscoe led the field to the green flag with Toyota’s first Daytona 500 pole. The race ran just 10 laps before rain hit the track, causing nearly four hours of rain delays.
The first stage ended under caution for a crash involving Denny Hamlin, Zane Smith, and Josh Berry.Β
Reigning series champion Joey Logano led 43 laps and won the first stage but suffered a power issue on the ensuing restart. The mechanical issue hurt Logano’s hopes of winning his second Daytona 500 but did not end them. Logano’s team fixed the problem and he was back in the top five by the end of the second stage.
Logano’s problem stacked up the outside lane on the lap 71 restart. A major crash developed in the aftermath of the stack-up, with several cars receiving damage. Helio Castroneves, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., and Jimmie Johnson were among the drivers involved in the crash.
The rest of stage two ran caution-free with Fords once again showing strength. Ryan Blaney won the stage in a side-by-side finish with Penske teammate Austin Cindric.
A debris caution on lap 162 allowed everyone to take fuel for the final time, ending the need for any pit stops under green.
The field ran three wide for around 20 laps until a wreck on lap 186 took out several drivers capable of winning the race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. went down to block Logano and was turned into Kyle Busch. The crash involved Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Noah Gragson, and Cole Custer.
With five laps to go, Christopher Bell was turned into the wall after a bump from Custer. Bell ricocheted back into the field, collecting Ryan Preece and others. Preece launched off Erik Jones and flipped over, scattering debris from his car and careening back up the track. Daniel SuΓ‘rez and Brad Keselowski were also involved in the crash.
Hamlin led the field to the white flag but was wrecked after Custer attempted to make a pass for the lead. Cindric, Corey LaJoie, and a long list of drivers were taken out in the aftermath.
Missing rings
Truex finished 38th in what could be his final NASCAR Cup Series race. The 2017 series champion failed to win the Daytona 500 in his career.
Busch was in his 20th year of trying to win the big race. He ran near the front for much of the race until the late crash. He was critical of Logano’s involvement in the crash during an interview.Β
The NASCAR Cup Series is back in action on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Daniel SuΓ‘rez is the defending race winner.
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