(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier Cause the 'Big One' in Daytona 500

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Feb 15, 2026 4:26 PM ET

In the Big One today, the Daytona 500 field has completely changed. There are a lot of fast race cars with damage. Kyle Larson is missing a right front fender. Smoke everywhere. It all started as Denny Hamlin tried to get around Justin Allgaier.

Keep up with all race updates with Athlon Sports as the Daytona 500 continues.

Justin Allgaier just displayed why getting too far in front of the field is dangerous. He got out in front by multiple car lengths. Coming across the start-finish line, Denny Hamlin tried to get by Allgaier. The No. 40 car was halfway in and halfway out of the lane, and chaos broke out after.

Denny Hamlin had nowhere to go. His speed was too much to change anything. Besides, he had an entire field of cars behind him, pushing and shoving. This is going to change so much in this race. This might even make the chance of rain ending the race early even greater as the cleanup efforts are underway.

There's the Big One! Here's what happened. pic.twitter.com/Q9Bf7FNH6W
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2026

NASCAR cleared the track relatively quickly. In the aftermath of the wreck, Bubba Wallace found himself out front, and he took the stage win as a result. Rain is a possibility and could end this race early. Then you have the possibility of more wrecks before the race finishes.

Rain will be at the track within the hour (writing this at 4:35 p.m. ET). It might be whoever positions themself out front when the caution and subsequent red flag come out. Hopefully, we see this race go the distance.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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