Posted on by Nate Ryan

Joey Logano rallied from a lap down to nearly win the 67th Daytona 500, but those moves weren’t why some were pointing fingers at the three-time Cup champion afterward.

On Lap 186 of a scheduled 200, Logano swung from the outside line to the middle in an attempt to reach third by squeezing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney. But Stenhouse blocked and was tapped in the left rear by Logano, triggering an eight-car crash on the backstretch.

RELATED: At-track photos | Race results

Among the victims was Kyle Busch, who had been running fifth in pursuit of a breakthrough Daytona 500 win in his 20th attempt.

“Looks like the fastest car got in a hurry to get to the wreck,” said the Richard Childress Racing driver, whose No. 8 Chevrolet finished 34th. “Logano was by far the fastest car today. Saw a lot of laps led. And he could about do anything. The Penske cars were very strong.

“We still got (15) laps to go, and he’s trying to go through the middle and make a hole that isn’t there and just created chaos. I hate it for all of our guys. We had a fast car, and we were in position and just kind of biding our time. You’ve got to know how wide your race car is to be able to find a hole that it’ll fit in, and he obviously doesn’t know that.”

The criticism of Logano continued two hours later during the winner’s news conference in the Daytona International Speedway media center, where three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon took an unprompted shot at the three-time Cup champion.

“Joey did,” Gordon, the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, responded when race winner William Byron was asked if “people made dumb moves.”

Byron chuckled and said, “Yeah, that’s fair,” after Gordon’s comment on Logano.

“I think it’s just the nature of these cars don’t push and receive pushes very easily,” Byron said. “It looks like it’s in control, but the car has a lot of drag. So when you come off the corner, it’s easy to get to somebody’s bumper. But the cars don’t get pushed easily. You have your hands full the whole straightaway.”

RELATED: Logano turns Stenhouse | Huge wreck late takes out big names

Logano, whose No. 22 Ford led three times for 43 laps, felt urgency to move into position behind the first-place car of Penske teammate Austin Cindric, who led a race-high 59 laps. So he decided to dive in front of Noah Gragson, hoping for a push past Stenhouse and Blaney to the rear of Cindric’s No. 2 Ford.

“I had to get to the second car in line to have a chance to win the thing,” said Logano, who later added that “(Stenhouse) had a bit of an indecisive moment, and that’s what gets you in trouble at times is when you kind of have to pick one.”

He said he initially slowed for Stenhouse’s block, then hit the accelerator again when he thought Stenhouse would stay in the top lane, “but he kept coming down. I am checking up, but at that point, the checkup has already happened behind me. Everybody is all over each other, and I was getting shoved into it. I can’t get out of it, and then we made contact. It is unfortunate.”

Interviewed by Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass before having seen a replay, Stenhouse tempered his view of Logano’s move.

“I feel like the holes were pretty small he was trying to fill,” Stenhouse said. “I got a couple of late blocks on him as we were making our runs up through there, and I was hoping he would stick with me, him and LaJoie. We were getting ready to drive to first, second and third with still 10 to go.

“I’d have to go back and watch. I feel like maybe he was trying to fill the gap and then him and somebody else got together and hit me in the left rear.”

Though the 2015 Daytona 5000 winner came up short in his quest for a second win in the “Great American Race,” Logano could take some solace in an impressive rebound from debris in his car’s throttle body that caused his engine to begin lagging on the Stage 2 restart. He lost a lap for multiple pit stops as his team tried to diagnose the issue, but he zoomed from 35th to eighth at the end of Stage 2.

Logano still salvaged a playoff point with his Stage 1 victory.

“Something to get out of the day and take a positive out of it,” he said. “Had a fast car. Just wasn’t able to get it done this year.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona International Speedway finally returned its loaner car to team leader Rick Hendrick on Sunday, giving the No. 24 Chevrolet that William Byron drove to victory in the 2024 Daytona 500 back to its rightful owner after a year of ceremonial display. The 75-year-old automotive mogul mused about what was at stake later that day — a 10th win in the 500, which would put Hendrick Motorsports one ahead of Petty Enterprises atop the all-time record books.

Hours after the prerace ceremony where last year’s car was presented back to the team, Byron made sure the record was broken and that it was an even, one-for-one swap with this year’s model. He also made sure not to rush through the moment, letting the elation take its full effect.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I think that I’m not much of a historian, I guess. Like, I’m still in the midst of my career and just continuing to progress, but really special the ceremony that they have here and everything that we were able to be a part of, and I think it’ll be just as special next year,” Byron said. “Last year, I guess, I was a little bit — I was looking ahead really quickly about the rest of the season. I think this year, I’ll enjoy this race and then we’ll get down the road and get focused on the year.”

Byron entered the “Great American Race” stratosphere with a needle-threading triumph in Sunday’s 67th edition, extending his Speedweeks reign to a second consecutive campaign. Just four drivers — Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin and Denny Hamlin — had gone back-to-back in the 500, and all four are among NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. Sunday night, Byron made that list five.

With last year’s win, Byron continued to carve his own path with the No. 24, a car number Jeff Gordon — now Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman — made famous as a driver. This year, Byron strengthened his bond with Daytona, a track that yielded the first of his now 14 NASCAR Cup Series victories. At 27, he also became the youngest winner with multiple Daytona 500 crowns, a stat that pipped the previous mark set by Gordon.

“I hope he breaks them all,” Gordon said, smiling alongside Byron. “I’m in full support of that.”

Byron’s title defense looked strong early as he led seven of the first 15 laps — a span that included the day’s longest of two red flags for rain. The team’s execution — which Byron touted as a focal point throughout the week — kept him in the hunt for the home stretch, where the jostling intensified and when a till-then-dominant Team Penske fizzled in the chaos.

Byron was in ninth place as he flashed under the white flag, mired back in the same unenviable spot he held a lap before when the overtime dash began. Up front was Austin Cindric with Hamlin in tow, and the two former Daytona 500 champions seemed in line to settle the “Great American Race” again.

Their elbows weren’t sharp enough, and the 40 feet of racing surface wasn’t wide enough. The almost prerequisite 11th-hour rooting and gouging ended in contact that swept Hamlin toward the wall and Cindric toward the apron, with the other front-runners scattering in their wake. The No. 24 Chevy chugged by in the high line, narrowly missing the melee. Byron was somehow home free, and crew chief Rudy Fugle was incredulous, saying he looked at the monitor atop the pit box, wondering how his driver had sprung so far forward.

“Personally, last year, that win brought me to tears,” said Fugle, who starts his fifth Cup Series season as Byron’s crew chief. “And then this win, it brought me to laughter is what I said just because — I looked up, and we’re getting ready to win, and it was just amazing. Here we were. Two totally different emotions. If we build a good enough team, things like this happen more times than not, and that’s what we’ve been working on. It’ll hopefully just become easier and easier as we go.”

SHOP: Daytona 500 winner gear

The good-fortune factor also hit home with Gordon.

“Today, I was pretty shocked because you kind of — you get the buildup and anticipation of, man, I think we’re in position to win this thing, and you get tense because you want it for them, and you want it for the organization,” Gordon said. “But today, I wasn’t like that at all. I was like, ‘Oh, well, darn. I guess we’re not going to get it this year.’ Then here we are. It was kind of a wild ride.”

Less surprised was Byron, who circled the team effort as a prime factor. The meticulous Daytona preparation came even as both driver and team made the most of their last blasts of free time in the offseason, with Byron exploring the world with an international travel spree and Fugle giving the No. 24 team the day off for a golf outing on the Friday before Daytona week — even as he suspected other teams were busy thrashing on their cars to get ready for the season’s biggest race.

Byron and Co. found their rhythm at the right time, and as for the improbable ninth-to-first vault on the final lap, Byron said he initially wasn’t sure what to make of it but pushed back on any notion that it was a fluke.

“Yeah, obviously, it worked out in a fortunate way for us, but it’s not all luck to win twice in a row,” Byron said. “It’s a lot of teamwork and a lot of talking with my spotter and us three working together and making the most of it. Definitely fortunate but definitely a lot of teamwork.”

MORE: Full Daytona 500 winner history | 2025 Cup Series schedule

No driver has ever won the Daytona 500 three consecutive times, but Byron and his crew are more than happy to keep rotating cars through the track’s figurative display case. “Can we just do this every year?” Gordon laughed. “Feels good.”

Gordon says Hendrick will have plans for the white-with-flames No. 24 Chevrolet that just came back to the fold, just as he will for the blue-and-red-with-flames No. 24 that Byron made a winner Sunday night. The NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee is an avid collector and preserver — of both street cars and historic racers. Putting Daytona 500 winners on display at the track only delays the gratification by a year — a trade-off the company will gladly take.

“When he sees those cars,” Gordon says, “that’s him reminding himself how fortunate he feels like he is to be a part of this sport in the way that he is.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — All week at Daytona International Speedway, members of the newly revamped and reinvigorated Legacy Motor Club team have insisted this season will be an improved, exciting, hopefully triumphant chapter in the young organization’s story.

Sunday night’s Daytona 500 outing was a fairytale-like season start, with team owner-driver Jimmie Johnson surging from 15th place with one lap remaining to finish third at the overtime checkered flag. Driver John Hunter Nemechek matched the energy with a career-best fifth-place performance, and teammate Erik Jones rallied to 12th place in the famed No. 43 Toyota despite it suffering a little damage in a late-race accident only four laps before the checkered flag.

It marked the best trio of finishes for the team since the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson became majority owner of the organization.

RELATED: Race results | Race Rewind

The third-place showing for Johnson is the best for the NASCAR Hall of Famer since a third-place finish in 2020 at Dover Motor Speedway — his last full-time season in the sport before venturing off to run IndyCars in 2021-22. He’s made only 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts since 2023 after becoming a team owner.

None as impactful as Sunday night.

“This feels incredible,” said Johnson, 49. “I have emotions I didn’t expect to have. I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it really opens up a different set of emotions. The pride I have in this result and the pride I have in this company and all we’re trying to achieve and the journey we’re on, I’m so satisfied, so happy right now.”

“It’s been an interesting couple of years, and to have our cars come out and be this strong, this Toyota was rocket-ship fast,” he added. “I’m just smiling inside and out.”

It was only the fifth top 10 for Nemechek, 27, since he joined Legacy last year — the best showing of his three-year career in the sport’s big leagues. He also acknowledged the promise Daytona showed.

“Coming home fifth was a really solid day, a really solid effort, really solid Speedweeks from the whole Legacy Motor Club group,” Nemechek said. “Excited to see where 2025 goes — we already know we are better than 2024, just how much is the question.”

Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Johnston, matched his boss’ enthusiasm post-race — albeit not entirely surprised at his driver’s work, considering Johnson is a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2006, 2013).

“I mean, he’s a seven-time champion, right, so you wouldn’t expect any less,” Johnston said. “I think he’s very underrated when he comes back and does these one or two races, but the amount of talent that he has and his will to win and his will to see the organization do better. … Obviously, it’s Daytona, so it’s a little bit different than everywhere we go, but it shows that we’ve made some progress through the winter.”

That the change in fortune happened at Daytona seemed appropriate, considering the team was once Richard Petty Motorsports in earlier years. Petty’s seven Daytona 500 wins is a record, and the legendary seven-time NASCAR champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Petty remains a visible part of the organization.

MORE: At-track photos

All week, the three drivers, full-time competitors Nemechek and Jones and also Johnson as owner-driver talked about personnel changes over the offseason and what now having a year under their belt in a switch to Toyota engines would mean. The expectations are higher. And there is a real sense of optimism — something they couldn’t help but feel they made good on Sunday night on the Daytona high banks.

“There’s always a lot of hope at the beginning of every season,” said Jones, 28, who was runner-up in his Duel 150-mile qualifying race Thursday night. “I think it definitely changes as you go through the week and see how your car is. I would have told you last year, I felt good about it, but we weren’t in as good as a spot as at the start of the race we are this year. This year, we have a good pit stop, and I feel like the car drives best it has with Next Gen car and I’d say my confidence is the best it’s been to contend.”

All three of the Legacy Toyotas spent time among the top five at various points in the race and showed they are ready to take their performance to the next level.

“It’s amazing,” Johnson said of the Daytona outcome. “Two of the Legacy Motor Club cars in the top five, a great way to start the season. Had Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) on the hood; I hope he was watching. Hope he’s excited. Just an incredible experience.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

As usual, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season kicked off with its biggest race of the season in the Daytona 500. After a lengthy three-hour weather delay, the 67th running of the “Great American Race” was completed under the lights Sunday evening.

RELATED: Official results | Best photos from Speedweeks

With the first weekend of the season in the books, see who has the upper hand to start 2025 and who used their mulligan as the Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

THREE UP ⬆️

1. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 5th

Finished: 1st

What happened: Guess who’s back? William Byron became just the fifth different driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s as he was the benefactor of a big last-lap crash down the backstretch. Byron and Tyler Reddick were the only drivers to slip by the final-lap calamity unscathed and were the first two back to the checkered flag. Byron now joins rarified air of back-to-back Daytona 500 winners, joining Denny Hamlin (2019-20), Sterling Marlin (1994-95), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Richard Petty (1973-74).

What’s next: One race in and one playoff berth. Byron will once again have a step up on the competition when it comes to playoff preparation. He can enter weekends looser than the rest of the field and go for wins without the pressure of trying to make the 16-car field as the season progresses. Next up is Atlanta, and the No. 24 driver is one of the best since the reconfiguration at the 1.5-mile oval. He owns two wins at Atlanta and finished ninth in the summer last season.

william byron celebrates
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Started: 11th

Finished: 2nd

What happened: Reddick followed Byron through the last-lap crash into Turn 3 and tried chasing down the No. 24 for the win to no avail. Reddick scored three stage points in the opening frame but was not much of a player throughout the night, so the runner-up result was a big one to get the No. 45 team’s season started in the right direction. Both Byron and Reddick were Championship 4 drivers last season.

What’s next: Reddick should continue to thrive in the coming weeks, but Atlanta has been hit-or-miss for him. He finished sixth in the summer race last season and will have Circuit of The Americas coming up after the trip to the Peach State.

tyler reddick drives at daytona
James Gilbert | Getty Images

3. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Started: 18th

Finished: 5th

What happened: Nemechek was not afraid to mix it up for the lead in the closing stages of the race, and running toward the front on the final lap, the No. 42 driver held a pretty wheel to stay out of the mess into Turn 3. Nemechek joined his team owner Jimmie Johnson as well scoring top-five finishes on the biggest stage.

What’s next: Two top fives to start the year for Legacy Motor Club is exactly what this organization needs to kickstart 2025 after a forgettable 2024 campaign. Nemechek will need to turn his fortunes around at Atlanta after two finishes outside the top 20 last year.

nemechek climbs in his car
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Started: 9th

Finished: 40th

What happened: Chastain was a victim of wrong place, wrong time at the start of Stage 2 as Joey Logano stacked up the outside lane on a restart where Chastain was lined up. As Logano’s car didn’t get up to speed, the whole lane accordioned, triggering a multicar wreck that ended the day for Chastain, as well as Hélio Castroneves and Martin Truex Jr.

What’s next: With Atlanta being another drafting track to start the season, Chastain will have to turn luck in his favor next weekend to avoid even more setbacks to begin the season. The reconfigured 1.5-mile oval has been a mixed bag for the No. 1 pilot, with two second-place finishes in 2022 but just one top-10 result since.

ross chastain drives at daytona
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

2. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Started: 21st

Finished: 34th

What happened: Once again, Kyle Busch had the car fast enough to finally break through for his first Harley J. Earl Trophy in his 20th start, but an aggressive move from Joey Logano with 13 to go started a wreck that saw Busch get turned down to the backstretch. The resulting damage was too much for the No. 8 to return to action, and the two-time Cup champion will have to wait until 2026 to capture that elusive Daytona 500 win.

What’s next: Busch was 0.007 seconds from a playoff berth at Atlanta one year ago in that epic three-wide photo finish that saw Daniel Suárez outduel Busch and Ryan Blaney. Still as one of the best superspeedway racers since joining RCR, Busch has been quite good at the 1.5-mile oval recently, snagging top 10s in the last three events in Hampton, Georgia.

daytona wreck
Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images

3. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 20th

Finished: 31st

What happened: Bell looked to be in prime position toward the end of Sunday’s Daytona 500 but was dealt the bad hand after too many pushes from Cole Custer sent the No. 20 into the outside wall, triggering a multicar crash that saw Ryan Preece go airborne and upside down in Turn 3. It’s the first time Bell has finished outside the top three in the “Great American Race” since 2022.

What’s next: Starting off on the wrong foot is probably not the way Bell wanted to start his 2025 campaign after the heartbreak last year at Martinsville that left him out of the Championship 4. Atlanta was mixed for Bell last year where he was caught up in a Lap 2 wreck in the spring and finished fourth in the summer race.

christopher bell drives at daytona
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Like Houdini making an unlikely escape from a straitjacket, William Byron trusted his instincts and emerged from a smoky, last-lap wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway to win the Daytona 500 for the second straight time.

On Sunday night, after a lengthy weather delay, Byron took full advantage when contact from Cole Custer turned three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin at the front of the field and started a wreck that gave Byron the opportunity he needed.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos 

When Byron crossed the finish line 0.113 seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Reddick in overtime, he became the first driver since Hamlin in 2019 and 2020 to win the “Great American Race” in consecutive years.

“Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” Byron said after climbing from his car. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom, and I was honestly going to go third (top) lane regardless because I was probably sixth coming down the back.

“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. Worked super hard all week and had an amazing car. Just had a really hard time with the fuel-saving and kind of staying towards the front.”

“Crazy. I can’t honestly believe that. But we’re here. So proud of it.”

Last season, Byron claimed all three of his NASCAR Cup Series victories in the first 11 races. This year, after another Daytona win, he plans to sustain the momentum throughout the season.

“It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving,” said Byron, who picked up his third victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway and the 14th of his career.

“But just really proud of our team. I can’t stress that enough. I’m just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the offseason to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here. We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix (in the Championship 4 race).”

WATCH: Byron on winning 2025 Daytona 500 | Byron reflects on back-to-back Daytona 500 victories | Highlights from 67th ‘Great American Race’ 

The wreck on the second lap of overtime frustrated both Hamlin, who was late to the lead, and 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric, who led a race-high 59 laps and combined with Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney to lead 125 of 202.

“Frustration — you’re taking the white as the leader,” said Cindric, who qualified on the front row and won Thursday’s second Duel at Daytona race. “I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage. I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better.

“Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”

Hamlin had just pulled ahead of Cindric on the backstretch when Custer made a move to the outside and then steered down the track toward Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, triggering the crash.

“I measured up (Cindric) and got a run on him,” Hamlin said. “I stayed with him long enough where I could kind of control which side I wanted to pass him on, and then we had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was going to come.

“(Custer) had a run, and I chose not to block him because these races, you have to live to make it off of Turn 4, and we just didn’t.”

Legacy Motor Club owner and part-time driver Jimmie Johnson finished third in his best result since 2020 at Dover. Pole winner Chase Briscoe was fourth and John Hunter Nemechek fifth, giving Legacy two drivers in the top five.

Alex Bowman, Blaney, Cindric, Justin Allgaier (in JR Motorsports’ first Cup race) and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

The race was just over four laps from completion in regulation when a bump from Custer turned Christopher Bell hard into the outside wall on Lap 196. Bell’s Toyota bounced off the SAFER barrier and collected Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Ford, whose car went airborne and landed on its roof before finishing upright.

That sort of wreck wasn’t unfamiliar to Preece, who endured a spectacular series of barrel rolls in the 2023 summer race at Daytona.

“When the car took off like that, it got really quiet, and all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said. “So, I’m lucky to walk away.”

That wreck, which involved 10 cars, forced the race to overtime. An earlier melee on Lap 186, triggered by contact between Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., changed the complexion of the race — eliminating Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Noah Gragson from contention for the win.

SHOP: Daytona 500 winner gear

The 67th running of the “Great American Race” started in short bursts. With President Donald Trump in attendance and the grandstands packed with fans — reflective of a 10th straight sellout — drivers ran just nine green-flag laps from the start before rain interrupted the proceedings.

After a red-flag period that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes, 59 seconds, drivers took to the track for a second time and ran another 12 laps under caution before a brief rainstorm halted the race for another 20 minutes, 29 seconds.

With Logano in the lead, the Daytona 500 resumed on Lap 24 and ran without incident until Lap 63 when the bottom lane checked up, and Zane Smith turned Hamlin’s Toyota on the backstretch.

Smith’s Ford slid up the track into the Ford of Josh Berry, seriously damaging that car. Smith took his car to the garage for attempted repairs, while Hamlin was able to continue without losing a lap.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule

Logano won the first stage under caution, but because of a problem with debris in the throttle body of his No. 22 Ford on the subsequent restart on Lap 71, Logano stacked up the top lane and ignited a seven-car melee in Turn 1. The accident eliminated the cars of Martin Truex Jr., Helio Castroneves and Ross Chastain.

Intense three-wide action throughout the race produced 56 lead changes among 15 drivers. Byron led five times for a total of 10 laps. There were eight cautions for 47 laps.

The Cup Series next races at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Byron as the race winner. The Nos. 2, 9, 19 and 99 will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for engine dyno. The Nos. 2 and 19 will additionally be inspected.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Team Penske’s trio dominated to lead 125 of 201 laps in the Daytona 500, but the title-defending organization came away with bent fenders and frustration after a Lap 186 crash instead of a Harley J. Earl Trophy.

Just 10 laps later, Ryan Preece launched skyward, heading down the Daytona International Speedway backstretch, flipping upside down at the 2.5-mile superspeedway for the second time in three years.

The aggression that led to those dramatic visuals highlight the desperation that comes with trying to win the “Great American Race.”

RELATED: Official results| At-track photos

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano led 43 of the first 70 laps but was forced to rally back through the field after debris caught in his motor created a setback during Stage 2. That rally charged him to fifth place with 15 laps to go in the Daytona 500.

Working Lap 186 and trailing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the middle lane, Logano surged to Stenhouse’s left with a run to move past the No. 47 Chevrolet. Logano moved to wedge his No. 22 Ford between Stenhouse and Blaney, but Stenhouse threw the block to protect the position.

With time running low, Logano had no intentions of rescinding his advance. That decision ultimately led to contact to Stenhouse’s left rear from Logano’s right front, turning Stenhouse squarely into then-second-place-runner Ryan Blaney – Logano’s Penske teammate – and spinning both of them out. The melee also collected Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland, totaling eight vehicles.

“It just seemed like the No. 47 had a bit of an indecisive moment,” Logano said. “That’s what gets you in trouble at times is when you’ve got to pick one (lane).”

Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champ, believed he needed to get in front of Stenhouse, he said, and saw his opportunity to drop in front of Gragson. He pounced on that chance but to the dismay of himself and others.

“We had a late block. I lifted,” Logano said. “Looked like he was gonna go back up. I went to go back in there, and then he came back down and started lifting again. And then at that point, the checkup was so big, and all the cars behind you and shoving you into it, and at that point, you’re along for the ride.”

Stenhouse, the 2023 winner of the “Great American Race,” had winning on his brain too and believes he and Logano could have worked together to fight among themselves. Before Logano moved low, he was third in the outside lane behind Corey LaJoie and Stenhouse.

“I was bummed that he was trying to make a move on us because I felt like me, him and LaJoie were getting ready to drive to first, second and third, and then we could race it out,” Stenhouse told NASCAR.com. “We still had 10 laps to go. So pretty disappointed about that. But I mean, you’ve got to try and take those gaps when you can, I guess, and he always takes them. We know that.”

SHOP: Daytona 500 gear

And with a prestigious victory on the line, Logano was wasting no moves.

“I don’t know what to do differently,” Logano said. “At the moment, it’s easy to say, just don’t make the move, but not making the move doesn’t win the race either.”

Ten laps later, those same motives led to the night’s most hair-raising moment at Lap 196.

Heading the outside lane, Christopher Bell received a hearty shove from Cole Custer on the backstretch, which turned him head-on into the outside wall. Bouncing off the SAFER barrier, Bell spun back into traffic and into the path of Preece.

Preece’s No. 60 RFK Racing Ford climbed the left-front corner of Bell’s No. 20 Toyota and effectively wheelied down the backstretch. Air caught the underbelly of Preece’s car, sending the car airborne and upside down into the 31-degree banking of Turn 3. The vehicle turned back onto its wheels just before it backed atop the SAFER barrier and slid back to the grass.

The ambitious push from Custer to Bell was made in hopes of a victory. Preece paid the price in lieu of a trophy for any of the three. After a horrendous tumble down the same backstretch in the summer of 2023, Preece expressed his frustration after another violent ride.

“Something needs to be done,” Preece said, “because cars lifting off the ground like that … I mean, that felt, honestly, worse than Daytona in ’23.”

But even Bell, at the epicenter of the accident’s origins, couldn’t pin blame on Custer for the aggressive bump draft, not with a Harley J. Earl Trophy and a chance to etch your name in NASCAR history on the line.

“Nobody did anything wrong,” Bell said. “You have to be pushing if you want to succeed, and it’s the name of the game. So, nobody did anything wrong. Just the way it goes.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The 67th running of the Daytona 500 was delayed for more than four hours due to inclement weather that led to two red-flag stoppages.

Eleven of the scheduled 200 laps were completed in the “Great American Race” before the first delay, which lasted more than three hours. Drivers got back in the cars and took eight caution laps before returning to pit road for a second weather delay.

RELATED: At-track photos | Meet the 2025 Daytona 500 field

Polesitter Chase Briscoe led the field to green to open the 2025 Cup Series regular season alongside Austin Cindric. Briscoe led four laps and shared the lead with Ty Dillon and William Byron.

Byron was the leader at the moment of caution and guided the field onto pit road ahead of the first red flag. Each of the field’s 41 drivers were instructed to drive to their respective pit boxes for the duration of the stoppage. Byron led Cindric, Ty Dillon, Briscoe and Ross Chastain early in the 67th annual 500-miler in Daytona Beach.

Below was the running order that was seen once the race resumed.

PositionDriverCar
1William ByronNo. 24 Chevrolet
2Austin CindricNo. 2 Ford
3Ty DillonNo. 10 Chevrolet
4Chase BriscoeNo. 19 Toyota
5Ross ChastainNo. 1 Chevrolet
6Joey LoganoNo. 22 Ford
7Bubba WallaceNo. 23 Toyota
8Corey LaJoieNo. 01 Ford
9Tyler ReddickNo. 45 Toyota
10John Hunter NemechekNo. 42 Toyota
11Erik JonesNo. 43 Toyota
12AJ AllmendingerNo. 16 Chevrolet
13Chris BuescherNo. 17 Ford
14Kyle BuschNo. 8 Chevrolet
15Denny HamlinNo. 11 Toyota
16Austin DillonNo. 3 Chevrolet
17Michael McDowellNo. 71 Chevrolet
18Christopher BellNo. 20 Toyota
19Todd GillilandNo. 34 Ford
20Chase ElliottNo. 9 Chevrolet
21Cole CusterNo. 41 Ford
22Noah GragsonNo. 4 Ford
23Justin AllgaierNo. 40 Chevrolet
24Ricky Stenhouse Jr.No. 47 Chevrolet
25Kyle LarsonNo. 5 Chevrolet
26Ty GibbsNo. 54 Toyota
27Shane van GisbergenNo. 88 Chevrolet
28Josh BerryNo. 21 Ford
29Daniel SuárezNo. 99 Chevrolet
30Ryan BlaneyNo. 12 Ford
31Cody WareNo. 51 Ford
32Alex BowmanNo. 48 Chevrolet
33Zane SmithNo. 38 Ford
34Martin Truex Jr.No. 56 Toyota
35Riley HerbstNo. 35 Toyota
36Helio CastronevesNo. 91 Chevrolet
37Justin HaleyNo. 7 Chevrolet
38Jimmie JohnsonNo. 84 Toyota
39Ryan PreeceNo. 60 Ford
40Brad KeselowskiNo. 6 Ford
41Carson HocevarNo. 77 Chevrolet
Posted on by Staff Report

A total of 10 cars will drop to the rear of the field before the start of Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway.

A pair of Cup Series champions each looking for their first Daytona 500 crowns in Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson, as well as four-time Indy 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, are among those that will drop to the back before the green flag for the 67th “Great American Race.”

RELATED: Every car in the field | Full Daytona 500 lineup

Full list of teams that will fall to the rear of the 41-car field during pace laps before the start (presented numerically by car number):

  • No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson (Backup car)
  • No. 6 RFK Racing Ford of Brad Keselowski (Backup car)
  • No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Justin Haley (Backup car)
  • No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota of Riley Herbst (Backup car)
  • No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Alex Bowman (Backup car)
  • No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Multiple inspection failures)
  • No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Ty Gibbs (Backup car)
  • No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Shane van Gisbergen (Backup car)
  • No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Hélio Castroneves (Engine change)
  • No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Daniel Suárez (Backup car)

MORE: Full projected Daytona 500 results

Posted on by Nick Giffen

The 67th running of the Great American Race — the Daytona 500 — kicks off the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season.

Daytona always produces intense racing, and with the aerodynamic and engine package that’s run here, at Talladega Superspeedway, and at Atlanta, that intensity can quickly turn into calamity — or glory.

MORE: The Action Network

One stat I like to point to is how winning at Daytona is hard! If we take the top eight superspeedway drivers between the two big superspeedways, Daytona and Talladega, they’ve won a combined eight times in 137 starts in what I call the “chaos races.” To me, that means the Daytona 500 and the second Daytona race, specifically when it has been positioned one or two races away from the playoff cutoff on the schedule.

That is a 5.8% hit rate, so it becomes very hard to bet any driver at anything shorter than about 16-1 when the very cream of the crop are winning at a sub-six percent rate. So while I do think the likes of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski are rightly the race favorites, it’s just too hard to bet them at such short prices.

That means I’ll be looking down the order to find value.

As always with superspeedway betting, and particularly Daytona, keep your bets small, feel free to sprinkle the board on some long shots, and hope your bets survive what’s likely to be a chaotic handful of laps as the 500 miles — or more — wind down.

Daytona 500 Odds, Expert Picks

Austin Cindric to Win Daytona 500

In his young career, Austin Cindric has quickly transformed into one of the best superspeedway drivers in the series. He’s finished second or better in all four of his Daytona Duel races, has a win in the Daytona 500, and last year was one of just two drivers to lead 12-plus laps at all four races at Daytona and Talladega.

My model has him not far off his Team Penske teammates, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, as one of the favorites to win the Great American Race.

If you can get him 20-1 or longer, my model likes that value.

The Bet: Austin Cindric to win (+2400 at FanDuel) | Bet to: +2000

Ross Chastain to Win Daytona 500

The market has sharpened over the week of on-track action, but I’m still showing moderate value on a driver that fits a couple of characteristics I really look for at superspeedways.

Ross Chastain is capable of winning at superspeedways, having already pulled off the feat once at the 2022 GEICO 500 at Talladega.

The other factor: aggression.

Chastain has no problem making an aggressive push or block, or making a daring move into a hole that barely exists. We saw that come to a head again at Talladega in 2023 as Noah Gragson led the field with Chastain lined up directly behind him on the high line on an overtime restart. Chastain went for a small hole between Gragson and Blaney and ultimately put Gragson into the outside wall.

My model has Chastain at 3.9% to win, which is just around 25-1 as fair value. To leave a little wiggle room, I’d be fine playing this down to 28-1, but definitely shop for the 30-1 and 31-1 prices out there at BetMGM and FanDuel if you can.

The Bet: Chastain to win (+3100 at FanDuel) | Bet to: +2800

John Hunter Nemechek Top-10 Finish, Top Toyota

Nemechek enters his third full-time Cup Series season, but this is the first time he kicks his Cup year off with continuity from the year prior. His team, Legacy Motor Club (LMC), nearly won a Daytona Duel race already this year as Erik Jones trailed Cindric by about a foot when the caution flag flew to end the race on the last lap.

That shows what those LMC cars are capable of.

Nemechek is also plenty capable, grabbing five straight top-11 finishes at Daytona and Talladega to start his career. He hasn’t had a top-11 at these tracks since, but that still gives him a 62.5% rate of finishing 11th or better in eight career Cup starts at the two big superspeedways.

My model give him just shy of a 20% chance to finish inside the top 10, so I’m fine playing this to around +450.

The Bets: John Hunter Nemechek Top 10 (+470 at FanDuel), Top Toyota (+3000 at DraftKings) | Bet to: +450 and +2500, respectively

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed began their tenure as Haas Factory Team teammates in exemplary fashion on Saturday night.

The fresh-faced Ford duo avoided calamity and worked together to forge Haas Factory into a new era in the rebranded organization’s debut race, starting strong with a second-place finish for Mayer ahead of third-place Creed at Daytona International Speedway.

“Welcome to Xfinity, Haas Factory,” Mayer said.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Mayer and Creed opted for the inside lane on the overtime restart in the United Rentals 300, leading their lane with an excellent opportunity to win. But leader Jesse Love got a helpful shove from Taylor Gray to clear Mayer and pounce to the bottom lane. The Haas duo broke up momentarily through Turns 3 and 4 with Creed utilizing a huge run to charge to the outside. But a multicar crash through the tri-oval coming to the white flag eliminated any chance for Mayer or Creed to fight for the win, instead allowing Love to score the season-opening victory.

Nonetheless, nothing could sour a podium day for HFT’s debut start, netting dual top fives in their inaugural outing. Mayer, who joined the No. 41 team after three-and-a-half years under the JR Motorsports banner, was elated with the group’s performance.

“It was awesome,” Mayer said. “This was some of the most fun I’ve had working with a teammate, just purely because at JRM, there’s four, sometimes five of us, so you’re kind of working with whoever’s around you because there’s someone around you at all times. Whereas now, you have to really find your one teammate out there and really hook up with him and do everything on your own.

“It was a lot of fun because it was challenging, but we both did a really good job. Sheldon is one of the best (restrictor) plate racers in the series right now, so that helps a lot, too.”

Creed was equally overjoyed with his opening run with HFT’s No. 00 team, slotting into a seat previously filled by 2023 champion Cole Custer after Creed spent 2024 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I had a lot of fun — probably the funnest I’ve had on a speedway,” Creed told NASCAR.com. “Usually I get, like, frustrated and (wonder) ‘What do I do?’ But I just tried to not get mad and take every run. I had a lot of fun tonight.”

That philosophy led Creed to leave the back bumper of Mayer heading into Turn 3 on the final green-flag lap in an effort to move farther forward.

“We talked about it before, and we were just like, ‘Take every run you have,'” Creed said. “Like, if we’re together, help each other. If lanes are falling, you can let one another in, but it’s your job to get yourself there. And then, once you’re there, just take your runs. We won’t get mad at each other. We get the full help when we do. I thought it worked well.”

Sheldon Creed climbs out of his No. 00 Haas Factory Team car at Daytona.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Haas Factory Team president Joe Custer was thrilled to open a new chapter for his organization’s shop in Kannapolis, North Carolina, with such positivity. The team’s prior run as Stewart-Haas Racing ended its Xfinity era in Victory Lane at Phoenix Raceway with Riley Herbst in November 2024. To kick off the Haas Factory campaign with second and third-place finishes in the next event meant a significant deal to Custer.

“It’s critical for our company,” Custer told NASCAR.com. “We’re Haas Factory Team now. And we love our heritage, but there’s new people, and we want to charter a destiny going forward to compliment the past, and these guys are doing it. And I can’t wait to get to the shop on Monday and celebrate. But make no mistake, we’re working at the shop Sunday, literally.

“But this kind of cohesive commitment from everybody in the company makes it so fun, and the drivers did their parts. I expect them to do what they did. I’m not sitting here going, ‘I didn’t think that would happen.’ I’m thinking, ‘That’s exactly what they’re capable of.’ And they can give better, and we intend to.”

MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Xfinity Series schedule

Custer, father of Cole Custer, who returns to the Cup Series this year, said the team unity displayed Saturday night is the same that he’s seen over the past two months in the offseason. The group, he said, has “completely committed” to the idea of “two cars, one mission.”

“We didn’t get the win, so we got some work to do,” Custer said. “But as far as what the drivers delivered and the team and the pit stops and the strategy and the commitment to restart together, it speaks for itself. …

“We work from a standard of constant improvement. So if we can start at this level and see areas that we can (improve on) — and we do have areas we can improve on. It’s gonna be a fun year. It’s all the human capital.”