Posted on by Cameron Richardson

Nick Sanchez’s victory last weekend at Daytona International Speedway to open the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season was meaningful for a handful of reasons.

It marked the first national series win for both Sanchez and Rev Racing, Sanchez no longer has to worry about points racing until the playoffs begin in August and the 22-year-old driver received a congratulatory message from one of motorsports’ icons.

RELATED: Sanchez opens Truck season with Daytona win | 2024 Truck schedule

Sanchez revealed in a media teleconference on Thursday that he received a text message from Mario Andretti after his Daytona triumph among numerous people who reached out to him.

“I have a couple of friends on Sundays, not too many though, but I had a couple of people reach out. I think this is hard to top. I got a text from Mario Andretti and I don’t really know if you could top that,” Sanchez said. “He’s a legend. To get a text from him and to just have his support and to know he’s watching is the best feeling ever.”

Andretti also posted a message on X shortly after the Truck Series race to congratulate the second-year driver.

Last weekend wasn’t the first interaction between the legend and rising star as Sanchez and Andretti met at Darlington Raceway last May as Sanchez and Rev Racing paid tribute to Andretti with a throwback scheme that paid homage to Andretti’s 1967 Daytona 500 win.

Nick Sanchez and Mario Andretti talk on pit road
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Sanchez will look to make it back-to-back victories to start 2024 as the Truck Series heads to another drafting-style track at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Press Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — JR Motorsports today announced that two-time and defending zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car champion Carson Kvapil will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the famed Martinsville Speedway on April 6 behind the wheel of the team’s No. 88 Chevrolet.

As a product of JRM’s vaunted Late Model organization, Kvapil becomes the fifth driver from the program to make his NXS debut for the organization, joining Richard Boswell, Josh Berry, William Byron and Sam Mayer.

“Our Late Model program at JR Motorsports has been a huge part of the success we’ve had as a company,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. “We’re excited to be able to give Carson the opportunity to take the next step in his career.

“Helping young drivers with opportunities to climb the ladder is part of the foundation of JRM. Carson is part of a long list of drivers who deserve the chance to take that step forward in the sport.”

Carson Kvapil and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Carson Kvapil and Dale Earnhardt Jr. pictured ahead of the ninth annual IceBreaker at South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway on Feb. 10, 2024. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

A native of Mooresville, North Carolina, Kvapil started his foray into NASCAR competition last season, making starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series, scoring a career best ARCA finish of second at Kansas Speedway.

“I’m really looking forward to making my NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville,” said Kvapil. “My dad (Travis Kvapil) made his NASCAR Cup Series debut there back in 2004, so it’s cool to make my first Xfinity start at the same track.

“I’ve run there in the Late Models for JR Motorsports and done well, and hopefully I’ll be able to use that experience to hit the ground running again with JRM in April.”

Kvapil heads into his third season with JRM’s storied Late Model program fresh off of back-to-back championships, nine wins, 27 top-five finishes and 951 laps led in his combined 34 starts in the CARS Tour. Kvapil’s two titles gave JRM their fourth and fifth championships for the Late Model team, which dates back to 2004.

He joins Berry as the only drivers to earn multiple championships for JRM across the Late Model and NXS competition.

Additional details regarding partners for Kvapil and the No. 88 team will be announced in the coming weeks.

Posted on by Staff Report

A wreck and a 30th-place finish in the Daytona 500 isn’t scaring Racing Insights away from Ryan Blaney this week. With Atlanta Motor Speedway’s new configuration racing like a superspeedway, many of the same principles still hold true that were in play earlier this week when Blaney was a favorite to win at Daytona International Speedway.

If only the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion can avoid the chaos this time in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), then he should be in strong contention for the win. After all, Blaney has led laps in the last eight drafting races, giving him the longest active streak in that stat category.

FANTASY LIVE: Set your roster | Weekend schedule

However, William Byron, the Daytona 500 champ, could also vie for the win. In the four races on Atlanta’s new configuration, Byron has won twice, meaning he could be the first driver to win back-to-back races to start the season since Matt Kenseth did it in 2009.

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

JOEY LOGANO: In last year’s race, Logano won the pole and led 140 laps en route to the victory. Also, his 296 laps led on drafting tracks since 2022 are tops among drivers.

BRAD KESELOWSKI: This seven-time winner on drafting tracks tied Logano for most points earned at Atlanta last year. Keselowski also is one of three drivers who finished in the top 10 in both Atlanta races in 2023.

CHASE ELLIOTT: He won on the new configuration in Atlanta back in the late summer of 2022. Elliott also owns the best average finish in drafting races at Atlanta at 6.7.

ROSS CHASTAIN: He is among five drivers who have compiled two top-five finishes at Atlanta since the reconfiguration — with both of Chastain’s being runner-ups.

COREY LAJOIE: Two of his four career top-five finishes have come at Atlanta. Plus, LaJoie is coming off a fourth-place finish in Monday’s Daytona 500.

Projections as of Thursday, Feb. 22.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE AMBETTER HEALTH 400

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.

FinishCar NumberDriver
112Ryan Blaney
224William Byron
320Christopher Bell
49Chase Elliott
511Denny Hamlin
622Joey Logano
71Ross Chastain
823Bubba Wallace
96Brad Keselowski
1017Chris Buescher
118Kyle Busch
1219Martin Truex Jr.
135Kyle Larson
1443Erik Jones
1545Tyler Reddick
1648Alex Bowman
172Austin Cindric
1899Daniel Suárez
1914Chase Briscoe
207Corey LaJoie
2151Justin Haley
2238Todd Gilliland
2354Ty Gibbs
2447Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2541Ryan Preece
2634Michael McDowell
2710Noah Gragson
2842John H. Nemechek
294Josh Berry
303Austin Dillon
3121Harrison Burton
3231Daniel Hemric
3378BJ McLeod
3471Zane Smith
3577Carson Hocevar
3616Josh Williams
3715Kaz Grala
Posted on by Brandon White

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A hard-fought finish of 17th in Monday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway capped one of the most grueling weeks of Patrick Emerling’s career.

As the 31-year-old from Orchard Park, New York waited out two days of rain in Daytona, he reflected on the week that was. Emerling ran the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season-opener at nearby New Smyrna Speedway the Saturday prior; he followed that with a full slate in New Smyrna’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, a nine-night event. Emerling also competed in the ARCA Menards Series opener at Daytona with his own car.

The final race on Emerling’s hectic Daytona schedule was not exactly a fitting conclusion, but it was a microcosm of the perseverance and determination he displayed all week while balancing three vastly different disciplines.

“I’m a little bit tired, but I’m feeling good,” Emerling said. “It was a long race [Monday]. About halfway through, we dropped a couple cylinders, so we were running with a V6 most of the race. That was a situation where we had to limp it home, but we limped it home in 17th. Some would say that starts the season out on the right foot.”

PHOTOS: Behind the scenes at New Smyrna

All the opportunities that materialized for Emerling over the offseason enabled him to take on such a massive load of events to open 2024.

In December, Emerling announced a partnership with Rich Gautreau to chase a Modified Tour championship for the first time since 2021, when he won three races in his family-owned No. 07. Emerling still intended to race his own car in non-NASCAR touring events, starting with the World Series of Asphalt.

While Emerling was solidifying his Modified plans, he put the finishing touches on his stock-car schedule. He obtained funding to make his first Daytona start in the ARCA opener knowing he would then jump into SS-GreenLight Racing’s No. 07 Chevrolet for his first of several Xfinity Series appearances.

Emerling’s outline for Speedweeks encompassed seven races in nine days between New Smyrna and Daytona.

“The mindset is that of a normal race, but you’re racing every day,” Emerling said. “You have to focus on a race for that given day and do the best you can.”

The first event for Patrick Emerling during Speedweeks was the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour opener at New Smyrna Speedway, where he finished fourth for car owner Rich Gautreau. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

Speedweeks opened the way Emerling wanted: a solid performance in his first outing with Gautreau on the Modified Tour. He struggled with handling and eventually lost a lap during a long green-flag run, but several cautions allowed him to return to the lead lap and make a late charge through the field for a fourth-place finish.

The rest of Emerling’s World Series of Asphalt was more challenging. Facing a tough field of competitors every night, he felt he flashed in both practice and qualifying, but his car lacked the consistency he needed to challenge for wins.

Emerling by the end of the week at New Smyrna had tallied two ninths and two fourths, one of which came in the prestigious John Blewett III Memorial 76.

“We didn’t run like I thought we should have run, but then again, we still beat a lot of good cars,” Emerling said. “There were some things that just didn’t go our way, but that’s how racing goes.”

Emerling didn’t run the Richie Evans Memorial 100 on the last day of Modified competition at the World Series of Asphalt, as impending inclement weather for the region moved the ARCA opener to the same night.

The Daytona ARCA 200 was Emerling’s low point in an otherwise solid week. He stayed with the lead pack in the first half of the race, but damage sustained in a stack-up with Leland Honeyman forced Emerling to be more conservative so he could salvage a decent finish.

Everything came undone for Emerling when he was collected in a major crash on the last lap. He went spinning through the grass after contact with Isaac Johnson but was not able to avoid major damage as other cars attempted to clear the wreck.

“We were sitting on the apron, and I was about to get back going but got T-boned on the driver’s side,” Emerling said. “That ended our day and also ended my whole ARCA racing effort for the foreseeable future. The car got absolutely destroyed for no reason, so it’s really unfortunate.”

Although Patrick Emerling finished 17th in the ARCA Menards Series opener at Daytona, a bad crash on the last lap left him with a destroyed car. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

Having qualified 13th for the Xfinity Series race, Emerling was able to decompress for a couple days thanks to the weather delay. He shook off the frustration from the ARCA crash and reflected on the laps he’d accumulated since he arrived at New Smyrna the previous Friday.

For Emerling, oscillating between the aggression of short-track racing and the precision of the draft at Daytona was a mentally taxing experience. Even though an exhausting Speedweeks did not yield any wins, he’s proud of the hard work and time spent on each car.

“We definitely had a lot going on,” Emerling said. “There was a lack of sleep going on for a few days. We could have been better, but things could have also been much worse. We’re going to continue on and keep on competing.”

If everything works out in his favor, Emerling would love to embark on a similar schedule when Speedweeks return for 2025. For now, he’s focused on his next race with the Xfinity Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he’ll to build momentum from a difficult-but-successful finale to his rigorous Speedweeks endeavor.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Here’s what’s happening in the world of NASCAR with the Daytona 500 in the rearview mirror and the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway right around the corner.

THE LINEUP ️

1️⃣ Will William Byron ride an early playoff spot to a second straight Championship 4?

2️⃣ Is Hendrick Motorsports going to be in a class of its own in 2024?

3️⃣ Don’t blame this on Ross at all’ after daring Daytona move

4️⃣ He’s won everywhere, man: Stats show Byron is a superstar

5️⃣ Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage

william byron sprays champagne

1. Will William Byron ride an early playoff spot to a second straight Championship 4?

One of last year’s Championship 4 contenders is already destined to have a date with the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs after a thrilling Daytona 500 win.

One down, 15 to go. With Byron already penciled in as one of the 16 drivers that will compete for the 2024 Cup Series championship, it’s time to start prognosticating … even if the postseason won’t start for another, oh, seven months or so. Byron is notoriously known for his hot starts — and occasional midseason lulls — but him winning the 2024 Daytona 500 is a Big Deal™️. 

There are a million wonderful aspects to it, but one part of the beauty of NASCAR’s biggest race is that anybody in the field can win. We’ve seen that happen with some one-hit wonders (Trevor Bayne, Derrike Cope, etc.), some veterans getting their crowning-achievement moment (Ward Burton, Austin Dillon) and even maybe the greatest driver of all time finding every way to lose one before finally cracking the code after 20 years of trying and frustration (Dale Earnhardt), but Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are arguably the only championship favorites to win the race in the past decade.

Until now.

It’s possible there isn’t a driver in the sport with a faster-rising star than Byron, already a 10-time Cup Series winner entering his Age 26 season fresh off a Championship 4 appearance a season ago — a season in which he led the series in wins — before adding his first Harley J. Earl to the trophy case.

Let me be clear — this is terrible, crummy news for the rest of the field. All that excitement about what could be in store for 2024 — the championship field was wide open! — and then this guy goes out and puts a damper on it in one fell swoop. To make matters worse, he’s the most recent winner at Atlanta and enters the weekend as one of the favorites to do it again.

Byron and his longstanding relationship with crew chief Rudy Fugle has paid tremendous dividends in the Cup Series after the two were successful together in lower ranks. The two only continue to deepen that bond and get stronger race each race. And now they have 25 more pressure-free races to prepare for Byron’s 10-race sprint from September to November in search of his first title.

Tough break, everyone. Better luck next year.

Then again, there’s a reason trophies aren’t handed out before the checkered flag, and there’s a reason a champion isn’t crowned in February. Anything can happen from here.

But every driver wishes they were in Byron’s position.

rick hendrick in victory lane with team

2. Is Hendrick Motorsports going to be in a class of its own in 2024?

Byron off to a hot start is no surprise, but the rest of Hendrick’s stable of drivers have championship aspirations of their own.

You’d better get used to seeing Mr. H in a backward (or oversized) hat in Victory Lane this year.

His No. 24 Chevrolet’s massive Daytona 500 victory, while monumental, was not a shock. Byron is a former Daytona summer race winner and was already targeted as the championship favorite as voted on by NASCAR.com’s staff. It also won’t be a shock to see the rest of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates pile on plenty of 2024 wins and join him in the title talk.

Two of them — Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — have won championships of their own this decade, while the other — Alex Bowman — just finished runner-up to Byron in the 500, is a seven-time Cup winner himself and was leading the points for a few weeks last season before a back injury derailed his Playoffs hopes.

In short, Rick Hendrick’s arsenal is loaded.

Mr. H never brings a bad lineup to the race track, but the pure talent level and stature within the sport of this current quartet feels about as formidable as early in the last decade when it also showcased a pair of superstar Cup champs, the sport’s other Most Popular Driver and a talented racer from out west that could pop off a win any given weekend.

We still have a whopping 25 regular-season races to sort out who the contenders and pretenders are, and we’ve seen comers and goers aplenty over the years. From everything we’ve seen so far and how 2024 is shaping up on paper, however, the Fab Four coming out of the Hendrick shop might just be that upper echelon of teams that the rest of the garage is chasing all year.

william byron shakes hands with chase elliott

3. Inside the Race: ‘Don’t blame this on Ross at all’ after daring — but unsuccessful — Daytona move for the win

The heat was quickly put on No. 1 driver Ross Chastain after what happened in the closing moments of the Daytona 500 — but should it have?

 
 

4. He’s won everywhere, man: Stats show Byron is a superstar

How much of a force is No. 24? Not only does he win … he wins big, he wins often and he wins on any kind of track type.

DateTrackTrack TypeStarting PositionLaps Led
8/29/2020Daytona International Speedway2.5-mile superspeedway624
2/28/2021Homestead-Miami Speedway1.5-mile intermediate31102
3/20/2022Atlanta Motor Speedway1.54-mile superspeedway12111
4/9/2022Martinsville Speedway0.526-mile short track5212
3/5/2023Las Vegas Motor Speedway1.5-mile intermediate2176
3/12/2023Phoenix Raceway1-mile short track364
5/14/2023Darlington Raceway1.366-mile intermediate47
7/9/2023Atlanta Motor Speedway1.54-mile superspeedway1819
8/20/2023Watkins Glen International2.45-mile road course266
9/24/2023Texas Motor Speedway1.5-mile intermediate186
2/19/2024Daytona International Speedway2.5-mile superspeedway184

5. Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage

Power Rankings: No. 24 Byron begins 2024 in best way possible — with a Daytona 500 win

Paint Scheme Preview: See the schemes for Atlanta triple header

Analysis: With Daytona 500 win, William Byron forging own path with No. 24

Worth the wait: Byron the latest among drivers who won on Monday

Raw reaction: Rick Hendrick finds out his team just won the 2024 Daytona 500

@nascarcasm: Fake texts to Daytona 500 winner William Byron

Austin Hill wins third straight Xfinity Series opener at Daytona

Chastain: ‘I can go to sleep tonight knowing that I took the white flag, making the move to win the Daytona 500’

Kyle Petty: Bad blocks or great superspeedway racer? It depends

cars race at atlanta motor speedway

Posted on by Staff Report

Rise through the ranks and take the checkered flag to earn epic rewards in NASCAR Manager, the brand-new mobile game from developer Hutch Games, now available on IOS and Android.

Combining the energy and excitement of NASCAR racing directly with the design and strategy of a manager-style game, NASCAR Manager lets you experience it all with the ease of access from your smartphone.

RELATED: Download NASCAR Manager

Join a team and work as a unit, earning a reputation for your team and competing in exhibitions to win perks. Make split-second management decisions as you go head-to-head in exciting PvP racing modes while you recruit and train the best drivers to create your ultimate team, complete with unique custom liveries and detailed car tuning. 

Compete in thrilling 1-v-1 contests with the toughest rival stock car drivers worldwide. From PvP duels and monthly exhibitions to weekly leagues, there are endless ways to prove yourself. Will you tell your drivers to go full throttle from the start or save fuel and tires for a late surge? 

 NASCAR Manager is free to download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play store in all territories.

MORE: Download NASCAR Mobile App
 

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After stopping to congratulate his crew, there was Jeff Gordon making the long walk through the tri-oval grass to join his team in celebrating another Daytona 500 win. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion won the “Great American Race” three times as a stock-car phenom in his 20s, but this feeling hit a little differently.

The No. 24 Chevrolet was again heading to Victory Lane, but this time with another 20-something hotshot leading the charge.

William Byron held on for victory in Monday’s Daytona 500, scoring his first win in NASCAR’s most prestigious race. The triumph provided a meaningful kickoff to the 40th-anniversary season for Hendrick Motorsports. Thanks to Sunday’s rainout, the victory arrived Monday — 40 years to the day that Charlotte car-dealer mogul Rick Hendrick made his first venture into team ownership, with Geoff Bodine finishing a respectable eighth in the 1984 running of the 500.

RELATED: Daytona 500 results | At-track photos

Gordon was pivotal to the organization’s success through many of those four decades, amassing 93 Cup Series wins — all with the No. 24 that he made famous. Now as vice chairman in Hendrick Motorsports’ executive wing, Gordon has oversight of a four-car operation with an impartial desire for all to succeed. Impartial, it should be noted, is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

“I try not to be biased, but William is making it hard on me,” Gordon said with a laugh. But the 52-year-old former wunderkind says he’s also ready for Byron to write his own story with his former car number, creating his own identity as the current keeper of the No. 24.

A Daytona 500 win represents a major step toward galvanizing that path.

“It is 2024, and the 24 is always going to be very, very special to me,” Gordon said, “but what I loved the most is seeing him make it his number and building that fan base not only — 24 fans have been around for a long time, but his own fans. A win like this, my gosh, this is going to elevate that up to the next level and bring a whole lot more new fans to the sport and for William. That’s what I get excited and look forward to.”

If last year marked a breakout season for Byron, this season’s start with a signature victory signals an extension of that. It took two-plus years in the Cup Series for Byron to break through as a race winner, then another two-plus years to reach the six-win bar he established in 2023.

MORE: Blog: All the Daytona 500 updates | Race Rewind

His career win total now goes to 11. His unread texts count — by the time he reached his post-race press conference — stood at 122. As for what his win column could look like after the 2024 campaign, the ceiling is a high one, especially with Byron entering the year aiming to curry the respect and stature he feels the team deserves — even as part of a team roster with two recent former champions in Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson who might overshadow him.

“Yeah, I use it all as fuel, so just keep it coming,” Byron said. “All the preseason predictions and everything. I think it just for me, I just try to stay quietly focused. I feel like for me, I do well having my own space and being able to work through the things with my race team. I have to kind of balance that kind of calm demeanor with working with my team and being vocal enough to do the things we need to do to get the car better and things like that.”

“I don’t know. I don’t read too much into it. I’m never going to be the most vocal guy. I just enjoy getting in the race car and putting the helmet on and going to work. That’s what I’ve always lived for.”

The experience provided a new perspective for Gordon from his front-office role. The last time Hendrick Motorsports won the Daytona 500, Gordon was in his next-to-last season of Cup Series competition as teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to victory in 2014.

Ten years later, this triumph gave him a special insight to the teamwork involved in making a powerhouse racing operation go.

“I might not have been driving the car tonight, but I felt like I made every lap with our guys,” Gordon said, “especially with the 24 and with William in those closing laps when he was out front. To me, when I found out that they had won, I honestly was about as excited as I was when I was driving.”

SHOP: Daytona 500 winner gear

The level of excitement was sky-high for the No. 24 team during the celebration in front of the main grandstand. Gordon noted the level of youthful enthusiasm, which rivaled the vibe of some of his earliest triumphs.

As Byron continues to forge his path with Gordon’s former number, he’s also inherited a legion of fans with loyalties connected to the No. 24. Those allegiances span both past and present.

“I just try to continue to come out of my shell and be myself around race fans,” Byron says. “It’s tough. I never grew up envisioning that I was going to drive the 24 car. It definitely takes a while to get comfortable with that, but it’s just special to have so many fans that followed Jeff all of the years of his career, and you meet a lot of cool people that have followed him for years. And ultimately us now.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — While other NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers were competing, and crashing, in Monday night’s United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, Austin Hill was playing a different game — Monopoly.

At the 2.5-mile superspeedway roughly two miles away from Atlantic Avenue, Hill beat former teammate Sheldon Creed to the finish line by 0.591 seconds to earn his third straight victory in the Xfinity season opener at the World Center of Racing.

The third win came on Monday because of weekend-long rain that forced NASCAR to reschedule the race from Saturday afternoon. The event served as the second leg of a doubleheader with the Daytona 500, which was postponed from Sunday and won by William Byron.

Hill has now owned Victory Lane at Daytona long enough to build a house there.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“It tops it off—three-peat,” Hill exclaimed. “You know how hard it is to win at Daytona? God almighty!”

Not that the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet didn’t have his share of adversity. Hill overcame an early wreck on Lap 37 of 120, a flat tire and a self-destructive bent on pit road.

He crossed the finish line in a car that was heavily taped on the right front, but none of the obstacles could stop him from displaying his superiority on superspeedways once again.

“I don’t know what was going on with me on pit road today,” Hill said. “But my guys just kept telling me, ‘Look, man, dig deep; you’re really good at these superspeedways.’ I tried to screw it up on pit road—sped on pit road, slid through the box…

“I don’t even know what time it is. I know it’s past my bedtime, but we’re about to party tonight, I can tell you that.”

After pitting with a flat tire on Lap 97, Hill restarted 22nd but quickly worked his way forward. Two more cautions helped, and after lining up third for the final restart on Lap 118, he made quick work of Jordan Anderson and Chandler Smith ahead of him.

Hill was out front by more than a car-length when Ryan Sieg spun behind him off Turn 2 on the final lap. From that point, Hill simply had to steer his car to the finish line and won by a comfortable margin.

Parker Retzlaff ran third, one spot in front of his owner/driver Anderson.

“The little team that could is getting bigger,” Anderson said proudly.

Chandler Smith came home fifth, followed by Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and AJ Allmendinger.

The race featured nine cautions for 44 of the 120 laps. There were 19 lead changes among 14 different drivers., with Sunoco rookie Jesse Love, the pole winner, leading a race-high 32 laps from the opening green flag.

Love, however, suffered more damage in the Lap 37 wreck than did his RCR teammate Hill. He finished 20th in an aerodynamically-challenged Chevrolet.

New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, winner of last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race, drove his battered Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish in his Xfinity debut.

The Xfinity Series shifts to Atlanta Motor Speedway next Saturday for the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Xfinity Series garage without issue, confirming Austin Hill as the winner.

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ross Chastain was almost loaded in for the start of Monday’s Daytona 500 when he heard some last-minute words of encouragement over the pre-race ruckus. Chastain had wriggled most of the way into the cockpit of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet when Trackhouse Racing founder Justin Marks got his attention.

“What am I going to be drinking in about three hours?” Marks yelled over the hood.

“You know,” Chastain said with a grin and a nod to his new Busch Light sponsorship.

Nearly three hours and 199 of 200 laps later in Monday’s rain-delayed crown jewel, that same hood was pointed into the infield grass at Daytona International Speedway after Chastain’s bold move for a potential race-winning pass. Any celebratory cans of his sponsor’s sudsy product stayed on ice. Chastain was credited with a midpack 21st-place finish — where he started — but his challenge to eventual Daytona 500 champ William Byron was among the strongest on a topsy-turvy day.

RELATED: Daytona 500 results | At-track photos

“I took the gap, and I don’t apologize for that,” Chastain said. “I can go to sleep tonight knowing that I took the white flag, making the move to win the Daytona 500. Four years ago, it was with eight laps to go or something. I’ve got it down to one lap to go. Yeah, too aggressive, though, when you don’t finish.”

Chastain stayed clean and clear of the race’s twists and turns, and he was out front when a massive crash erupted close behind him with 10 laps to go. He was still atop the scoring pylon when the field lined up for the final restart with four laps remaining.

Chastain’s No. 1 stayed door-to-door with the No. 24 Chevy of Byron for the first two laps of the final green-flag stretch, until Byron inched ahead with a massive push from Austin Cindric and others in the low groove. Chastain’s lane regrouped as it barreled to the white flag, and that’s when he saw an opening.

Chastain dipped low on Byron, who held his ground. As he did, he made contact with Cindric’s No. 2 Ford, sending both cars sliding.

Chastain initially took his share of the blame, saying he made too hard a left turn, collecting Cindric. But as the two drivers chatted outside the infield care center to discuss their collision, Cindric seemed to absolve Chastain, pointing the finger at Corey LaJoie’s pressure and push just before the start-finish line. “Corey finished fourth, so congrats,” Cindric said. “I mean, he tried to fit a car where there wasn’t a car, and just continued to push through my left-rear until I wrecked.”

Coming that close to winning the Daytona 500 had the potential to carry a certain sting for Chastain, but the 31-year-old Florida native was mostly encouraged just to have a shot at victory in the “Great American Race.” For himself and Marks, there was instead peace about the outcome.

SHOP: Daytona 500 winner gear

“I mean, I love Ross Chastain and he’s got a lot of fight,” Marks told NASCAR.com. “We had a really fast race car here, and the Busch Light people are super-excited to watch their car lead the race. We have a big history in front of us in this sport, a lot to accomplish. I’m not getting too low right now, I’m just really proud of the effort that he put in, the effort that the team put in. You know, 10 times out of 10, I want a guy that goes for it.”

Said Chastain: “We still had a shot, though, so yeah, I really do feel content. It’s weird to say it, but we did everything right.”

For Chastain and Marks, the post-race toast in Daytona’s Victory Lane will have to wait. Chastain entered his sixth Daytona 500 appearance with a “why not us?” mentality, and the team nearly cashed in on that approach.

“I just gave him a hug and told him I’m proud of him and said that you know, we’re gonna be doing a lot of these Daytona 500s together,” Marks said after the two met in the No. 1 team’s hauler. “We’re going to have a lot of opportunities to win this race. I think everybody at Trackhouse, we do a pretty good job of managing our expectations and knowing that these races always come down to a game of millimeters at the end, and you have to shoot your shot. You have to go for it. I’m glad that he did. He’s in really good spirits. Probably already thinking about Atlanta.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron gave team owner Rick Hendrick something extra to celebrate in the 40th anniversary year of Hendrick Motorsports.

In a frantic scramble after a restart on Lap 197 of 200 in the Daytona 500, Byron reached the start/finish line and took the white flag moments before NASCAR called the fifth caution of the evening as Ross Chastain slid wildly through the infield grass off the bumper of Austin Cindric’s Ford.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The victory was Hendrick’s ninth in the Daytona 500, tying the company with Petty Enterprises for most in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series most prestigious event. The race was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of heavy rains during the weekend.

“I’m just a kid from racing on computers and winning the Daytona 500,” said the 26-year-old Byron, who picked up the 11th Cup Series victory of his career and his second at Daytona, the first coming in the 2020 summer race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

“I can’t believe it. I wish my dad was here. He’s sick, but this is for him, man. We’ve been through so much, and we sat up in the grandstands together and watched the race (when Byron was younger). This is so freaking cool.”

WATCH: Byron shares emotions following Daytona 500 win | Bowman on runner-up finish  

Alex Bowman was a close second to his teammate at the moment of caution, giving Hendrick a 1-2 finish and the organization’s first victory in the “Great American Race” since Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s triumph in 2014. It marked the first Hendrick 1-2 in the “Great American Race” since Jimmie Johnson bested Earnhardt to the stripe in 2013.

“At the end of the race we use all available resources,” explained NASCAR Sr. VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer. “Caution comes out, we’ll use video, timestamp. At the time of caution, it was 24 (of Byron) over the 48 (of Bowman). Obviously, we would have loved to have left it green and let it finish naturally but once the 2 car (of Cindric) had spun and started back up the race track and was going to be in the traffic and oncoming traffic there, there was no choice but to throw the caution at that time.”

NASCAR released the image below to illustrate the timing of the caution.

A screenshot of the Daytona 500 finishing order

Hendrick could barely contain his elation in Victory Lane.

“I’m telling you, you couldn’t write the script any better,” he said. “When we thought about coming down here the first time, we didn’t think we should be here, felt so out of place.

“We win this on our 40th to the day, it’s just… and tied a record now, so that’s awesome.”

Before the final restart, Chastain was racing at the front of the field on Lap 192 when a bump from Alex Bowman got Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron out of shape and knocked Byron into the right rear of Brad Keselowski’s Ford.

Keselowski turned up the track into the Ford of Joey Logano, who had led a race-high 45 laps to that point. Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney’s Ford was among the 23 cars involved in the accident that left a string of mangled vehicles strewn along the backstretch.

The wreck knocked Blaney, Keselowski and Logano out of the race, along with Tyler Reddick, defending race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suárez and Todd Gilliland. NASCAR red-flagged the race for 15 minutes 27 seconds for track cleanup.

“Speedway racing again,” Logano said ruefully. “It’s a lot of fun until this happens. It was pretty interesting, with a lot of pushing and shoving there at the end. Our car was able to take it. Our Mustang was so fast. It could lead a line really well. I kind of thought I had the cars I wanted around me. I had at least one I wanted around me but just couldn’t make it work.”

“Obviously, hate what happened on that backstretch,” Byron said of the accident. “I just got pushed and got sideways. But so proud of this team, whole Axalta team, 40th anniversary to the day, on Monday.

“Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities, and we just want to keep it going. We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start, obviously.”

How much Byron has yet to prove is debatable. He won a series-best six races last year, qualified for the Championship 4 and finished third in the final standings.

RACE REWIND: Wild finish brings new Daytona 500 victor

The race was not quite five laps old when an eight-car accident off Turn 4 started the inevitable attrition. Contact from Keselowski’s Ford in a tightly bunched line of the outside knocked John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota into the center lane and into the side of Harrison Burton’s Ford.

Burton slid toward the infield, collecting the Chevrolet of Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar. Burton’s No. 21 Mustang shot up the track and slammed into the Ford of Kaz Grala and the Chevrolet of Austin Dillon. Behind Dillon, Hocevar careened into the path of seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who couldn’t avoid the collision.

The wreck eliminated the cars of Burton, Hocevar and Grala. Dillon took his No. 3 Chevy to the garage for extensive repairs, and Johnson lost two laps on pit road as his Legacy Motor Club crew worked frantically to repair his Camry.

“I don’t remember exactly who it was on my outside,” Burton said after a trip to the infield care center. “It just looked like they either got a bad push or got loose and just hit me in the right side and sent me across.

“The grass was so wet that once I got in the grass, I thought I’d be OK, but the car just kept going and going… so really sad that our day is over as quick as it was. We had a really fast Ford. It’s just a bummer. There’s nothing we can do but just move on and try to win next week.”

It took 187 more laps of racing before the colossal wreck that dwarfed the earlier incident thinned the field and set up the fight to the finish among the cars that survived.

In a race that featured 41 lead changes among 20 drivers, Christopher Bell ran third, followed by Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace and AJ Allmendinger. Chastain, who didn’t have quite enough room when he dived to the inside of Cindric on the penultimate lap, finished 21st, one spot ahead of Cindric.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who was initially caught in the first yellow of the day on Lap 6, finished 28th. Reddick, the 2024 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 winner, finished 29th.

SHOP: Daytona 500 winner gear

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney finished 30th after being involved in the 23-car pileup.

The Cup Series will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next for the Ambetter Health 400 on Feb. 25 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage at Daytona concluded without issue, confirming Byron as the race winner. Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet and Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota will be sent back to the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff Reports