William Byron won the 66th running of the Daytona 500 Monday, outlasting the 40-car field at Daytona International Speedway.
The win is a record-tying ninth for Hendrick Motorsports in the Daytona 500 and the race team’s first since 2014 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced his way to victory lane in the No. 88 Chevrolet.
“I have so many emotions … So proud of this team,” Byron said after the race. “Extremely blessed and thankful for the opportunity. We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start.”
Byron only led four laps all race long, but it was the final four laps, the four most important laps, after coming out unscathed in a pair of big wrecks within the final 10 laps. One of those “big ones” came as Byron was getting ready to take the white flag. Ross Chastain, riding behind Byron on the outside line, looked to split Byron and Austin Cindric, who was leading the inside line. Chastain and Cindric made contact, sending Chastain sliding into the infield grass.
NASCAR ruled that Byron took the white flag before the caution flag came out, giving him the win. Alex Bowman, Byron’s teammate, finished second. Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-five.
Stage 1 Results
2015 Daytona 500 winner and two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano led the field to green for the 66th running of the Daytona 500. Logano and Christopher Bell remained out in front for five laps before the caution flag came out for the first time.
Brad Keselowski, drafting behind John Hunter Nemechek on the top line, made enough contact with him to send his No. 42 Toyota into the No. 21 Ford of Harrison Burton. Burton collected Carson Hocevar as the two slid together through the grass on the frontstretch. Burton’s car turned up towards the track, slamming into Ryan Preece and Kaz Grala. Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon were also involved in the Lap 6 crash.
Once the racing resumed, the field settled into fuel mileage mode, 2-by-2-by-2 throughout. After a series of green flag pit stops, it was a chain of seven Chevrolets led by Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott who made it to the front of the pack. After a few laps of some tense racing, Elliott prevailed to take the first stage victory of the season.
- Chase Elliott (1 playoff point)
- Kyle Larson
- Ross Chastain
- Alex Bowman
- William Byron
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Bubba Wallace
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Daniel Suarez
Stage 2 Results
Kyle Larson and Josh Berry got things started in Stage 2 on the front row. Both jockeyed for position before Logano decided to make things interesting. The 33-year-old got a big run on the outside and surpassed both Larson and Berry for the lead.
Logano held onto the lead before fellow Ford driver Todd Gilliland jumped in front of him on the outside line. Gilliland led 13 laps, which is more than he led in his prior 72 NASCAR Cup Series starts combined 11).
Busch took the lead following green flag pit stops. Busch, looking for his first-career Daytona 500 victory, couldn’t hold off the field, however, to end the stage. The field soon went three wide, with a pair of Team Penske teammates in Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney battling it out for the top spot. But there’s no teammates at Daytona when you’re racing for a stage win, or the race win itself.
Blaney dipped below Cindric coming out of Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap to take the lead and the Stage 2 victory.
- Ryan Blaney
- Austin Cindric
- Daniel Suarez
- Kyle Busch
- Tyler Reddick
- William Byron
- Bubba Wallace
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
William Byron brings it home
If you thought the field took a mostly conservative approach to Stages 1 and 2, the final 70 laps were anything but. From the moment the green flag was dropped, the field went three-wide for an extended period of time, AJ Allmendinger leading the way.
Corey LaJoie eventually took the lead before a couple of veterans found their way to the front: Busch and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin coasted his way through the first 130 laps, staying out of trouble before making an aggressive push to the lead to take his first lead with 48 laps remaining. He ran side-by-side with his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Hamlin going for Daytona 500 victory No. 4, Busch going for No. 1.
Hamlin’s lead was short-lived, as Logano led a group of Fords to the front. Logano stayed out in front until the final pit stops got underway and remained in the lead once the field got back together. Logano’s night ended prematurely with eight laps remaining after getting caught up in the first “big one” of the night.
Alex Bowman got a big run on his teammate, William Byron, sending him into Keselowski. Keselowski shot up the track and into Logano, collecting a host of cars behind them. Within seconds, the infield area in Turns 3 and 4 looked like a parking lot. In total, 22 cars were involved in the Lap 192 wreck.
Byron held off the field for the final four laps when the race resumed, winning his first-career Daytona 500 and the record-tying ninth for Hendrick Motorsports.
More must-reads: