(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Tyler Reddick 'Speechless' After Thrilling Daytona 500 Finish

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Feb 15, 2026 6:07 PM ET

That final lap was a wild one. The Daytona 500 ended with cars wrecking every which way. It started on the backstretch, and NASCAR held the caution. Then, as Tyler Reddick was about to claim his win, the lead pack began to crash behind him as well.

Carson Hocevar took the white flag. Then it looked like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was going to be the winner if the caution came out on the backstretch. It did not. Then it was Chase Elliott's race to lose. He did. Now, Michael Jordan is a Daytona 500-winning team owner.

Tyler Reddick had a push from Riley Herbst, his teammate. Then Herbst abandoned him to make a move of his own. Reddick went up high, came back down low, and side drafted Elliott to nose ahead. That's when the wreck happened, and Elliott was caught up in that as well. Reddick was in disbelief after the finish.

Tyler Reddick gets a push from Carson Hocevar during the Daytona 500. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

"Last year was really hard for all of us, hard for me," Reddick explained. "When you're a Cup driver and you get to this level, drive for Michael Jordan, you know, it's expected you win every single year. For us to go on that drought that we did made us really look hard in the mirror and just really proud of everyone on our Chumba Casino Toyota Camry.

"Worked really, really hard in the offseason, and there was many points in this race where we weren't making decisions we wanted to, but we just reset at every opportunity we got to reset, we went back at it. I'm just speechless. I didn't know if I'd ever win this race. It's surreal, honestly. Honestly, the best part is my son asked before the race, are you finally going to win this race, and something about today just felt right."

Last season, Tyler Reddick didn't win a single race. This year, he starts off the season withthe biggest win of all.

This win is going to be a great way for this team to start off the 2026 season. 23XI Racing expects Reddick to contend for championships.

No talk about playoffs, none of that. There is no Pass Go and collect $200 anymore in NASCAR. Tyler Reddick just won the Daytona 500, the Great American Race. All of the focus, as it should be, is on that victory, what it means for his career, and we can talk a little about getting started off on the right foot to begin the season-long points battle.

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

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