Riley Herbst, Brad Keselowski disagree on Daytona 500 finish: ‘It’s a matter of inches’

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Riley Herbst believed he was making a move to win the Daytona 500. Brad Keselowski thought the move was overzealous. Coming to the checkered flag in Sunday's Daytona 500, Herbst's No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota jolted to his right and in front of Keselowski's No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, hoping to get a push to propel him from third to glory in the "Great American Race." But Keselowski's momentum was too strong and Herbst's move too late, triggering a multicar pileup as Tyler Reddick scurried to his first Daytona 500 triumph. MORE: Daytona 500 results | At-track photos: Daytona The final lap was filled with chaos as NASCAR's best became NASCAR's frenzied, first triggered by a crash in Turn 1 on the white-flag lap, which allowed a select few, such as Reddick, Herbst and Keselowski, to race for the win. Chase Elliott leaped to the lead with help from Zane Smith, but 23XI Racing teammates Reddick and Herbst lined up in third and fourth to pounce through Turns 3 and 4. Coming to the checkered flag, Reddick carved to Elliott's left. Herbst was left with a decision and opted for the top lane to take Keselowski's momentum. Instead, there was contact and carnage across the start/finish line. "We got all spread out wide down the back straightaway, and obviously I chose to go with the 45 (Reddick)," Herbst told FOX Sports. "I pushed him, and he made that move on the 9 (Elliott) to go side-by-side, and I don't know truly what happened. I went to pop three-wide to make it a photo finish top of three at the start/finish line, and it must have been a matter of inches." Close margins or not, Keselowski was not impressed by the sophomore's choice. "Oh, the 35 (Herbst) just wrecked me out of nowhere for no reason," Keselowski said. "That was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. He had no chance of blocking my run. I had a huge run. I don't know if I could have gotten the 45 or 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), but I would have liked to find out because my run was fast. And the 35 just wrecked us and himself. Pretty stupid." [caption id="attachment_500922" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]Chris Graythen | Getty Images[/caption] Herbst was adamant his move was made in an attempt to win the Daytona 500: "I wasn't trying to make a move to go to second." Keselowski, however, was convinced Herbst was doomed long before the block was made. "I thought, well, a one-lane block kind of makes sense," said Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion. "But to block from the very bottom all the way to the top and wreck yourself and everybody else is just stupid. Very, very stupid." Keselowski, co-owner of RFK Racing and driver of its No. 6 Ford, has been chasing the Daytona 500 since 2010. He remains winless in now 17 tries despite multiple close calls with the Harley J. Earl Trophy. Herbst made his fourth start in the "Great American Race" on Sunday. Both finished inside the top 10 despite crashing -- Keselowski fifth; Herbst a career-best eighth. But what could have been Sunday night? "It's fractions of a second, and we're trying to win the Daytona 500," Herbst said. "Brad's been trying to win for (17 years). He'll tell you that it's a matter of inches, and we were on the wrong side of inches."