NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott. Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Chase Elliott sees Daytona 500 win crumble in closing seconds

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Feb 15, 2026 7:15 PM ET

Chase Elliott saw a Daytona 500 win materialize and disappear within a span of about 40 seconds on Sunday.

The 2020 Cup Series champion and NASCAR's most popular driver shot to the race lead on the backstretch with a half-lap to go and had a good enough push from Zane Smith to keep the top spot on the exit of turn 4.

With less than 0.5 miles to go in a 500-mile race, Elliott saw the Daytona grandstands rise to greet him as the winner of the 68th Daytona 500. But Tyler Reddick, with help from his 23XI Racing teammate in Riley Herbst, pulled to the inside and passed Elliott to win the race.

Adding insult to injury was a crash in the tri-oval after Herbst clipped Elliott. The wreck relegated Elliott from a runner-up finish to fourth.

WHERE DID HE COME FROM?!

TYLER REDDICK IS A DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION! pic.twitter.com/IaXoaKwwMf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 15, 2026

"I'm not really sure what happened with the first wreck," Elliott told Fox Sports. "We ended up kinda getting gifted the lead. The 38 and I had gotten out by ourselves down the back. He gave me a good shove off into three. It was kinda just he and I.

"At that point, I felt momentum shift like there was going to be another run coming from behind us. Unfortunately, that was accurate. At that point in time, you're just on defense. That's a really, really tough place to be."

Chase Elliott dealt heartbreaking loss

Elliott was checked and released from the infield care center following his last-lap crash.

The 30-year-old driver from Dawsonville, Ga., will come back to Daytona in 2027 chasing a Daytona 500 win, a race his father, Bill Elliott, won twice. He'll join the rest of the Cup Series field at his home track of EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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