William Byron's bid at Daytona 500 three-peat comes up short

William Byron had an opportunity to become the first NASCAR Cup Series driver in history to win three Daytona 500s in a row on Sunday, but Lady Luck did not smile on his attempt to make history. 

After starting in the rear of the field with a back-up car, Byron picked his way through the pack early, but not without making contact with the wall twice.

While the damage to his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet wasn't catastrophic, the two-time defending Daytona 500 champion couldn't get back to the front until the closing laps. 

Somehow, some way, Byron was inside the top-five at the white flag. But a crash going into turn 1 on the final lap killed his momentum, and while he managed a 12th-place finish, he wasn't anywhere near the leaders when the checkered flag flew. 

William Byron's bid at history comes up short

Byron joins Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin and Denny Hamlin as the fifth driver to win back-to-back 500s but not win a third straight.

"I really couldn't believe we had a shot there at the end," Byron said, per Matt Weaver. "That was amazing. The car was really damaged, just toe-wise. I didn't feel I could make the blocks on the final lap. Even when we were saving fuel, I couldn't keep it on the bottom."