USAF Thunderbirds perform flyover at Daytona 500
The world-renowned U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform the customary flyover for the 66th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Fox – 35 Orlando
If 2023 was a breakthrough year for William Byron, 2024 could prove to be even bigger.
Byron, who led all NASCAR Cup Series drivers with six wins last season, scored the biggest triumph of his career Monday evening, winning the 66th annual Daytona 500 to kick off the 2024 season.
Byron took the white flag at Daytona International Speedway in his No. 24 Chevrolet seconds before a caution flag flew because of a last-lap crash. The 26-year-old edged his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman for the checkered flag, NASCAR officials ruled, after reviewing the sequence of events.
“Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities, now just want to keep it going,” Byron said after exiting his car. “We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start obviously. Daytona 500, it’s freaking awesome!”
The one-two finish made a memorable day even more special for team owner Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman, Jeff Gordon, who famously drove the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet to three Daytona 500 wins and four NASCAR Cup Series championships.
Monday marked the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ first race, and Byron’s win gave the team owner a record-tying nine Daytona 500 victories. Byron became the sixth different driver to win the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports and the first in nine years.
Monday’s win marked Byron’s 11th Cup Series victory since 2018. The Charlotte, North Carolina native made it to the NASCAR championship race in 2023, finishing fourth in the race and third in the final standings behind champion Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson, who won the 2021 title as a Hendrick driver.
Now Byron will seek to join Larson and 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, and bring another season title to NASCAR’s most successful owner 35 races from now.
It was a particularly rough ending for Team Penske and Ford, which had multiple Daytona 500 contenders taken out in two late crashes. The first one, with eight laps remaining, wiped out pole-sitter and 2015 winner Joey Logano and Blaney, among others, in a massive 18-car crash. The final crash took out 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric, who was in position to win again on the penultimate lap before a wreck ended his and Penske’s hopes for a victory lane celebration.
“It’s just a really unfortunate end. We had a shot to win the Daytona 500,” Cindric said. “We were really in great position with the outside lane breaking up and kind of one-on-one with the 24 with the whole pack behind, so you can’t really ask for anything else other than that out of myself and the team. It just sucks a little bit.”
Cindric finished 22nd, Blaney 30th and Logano 32nd. Noah Gragson, driving the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10, had the best finish for For in nignth. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell came home third to lead the Toyota drivers.
“Honestly, we got really fortunate – with those two wrecks, you know,” Bell said. “Being on the bottom lane, I was able to squeeze by that last wreck. We had an awesome Interstate Batteries DEWALT Camry. … When we had track position, we were fast.”
Continue below the photo gallery to read a recap and play-by-play of Monday’s race.
After reviewing the finishing order following the last-lap crash between Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric, NASCAR revealed the final results of the 2024 Daytona 500, which saw a handful of less-heralded drivers finish in the top 10:
- William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- Noah Gragson, No. 10 Ford
- Chase Briscoe No. 14 Ford
Click here for the full results from the 2024 Daytona 500.
William Byron won the 66th annual Daytona 500 Monday at Daytona International Speedway after NASCAR’s premier race was delayed one day by rain.
Byron edged Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman as a crash broke out just as Byron took the white flag for the final lap. Officials immediately threw a caution flag, and the checkered flag followed, giving Byron his first Daytona 500 win.
After a massive crash shook up the race with eight laps remaining, the race restarted with just four laps left with Byron and Ross Chastain leading two large packs. Near the end of the penultimate lap, Chastain tried to squeeze in front of 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric to retake the lead on the inside lane, but Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet collided Cindric’s No. 2 Ford, igniting a crash and bringing out the final caution as the final lap began.
The “Big One” broke out at Daytona International Speedway with eight laps remaining in the 2024 Daytona 500.
Alex Bowman gave a hard shove to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron to push the middle pack forward, but Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet got loose, wiggled and then slammed into Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford, who was leading the inside lane. That contact near the front of the field triggered a massive crash that collected a 18 f cars including some of the favorites.
Among the cars taken out of the race in the crash: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin pole-sitter Joey Logano, the 2015 Daytona champ, and 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson.
“It’s speedway racing. It’s a lot of fun until it sucks,” Logano said after being checked and released from the infield care center along with Blaney, his Team Penske teammate.
Last year’s winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also got collected, along with Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Hemric, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Anthony Alfredo and Daniel Suarez
Officials threw the red flag on Lap 192, halting the race as the mangled cars were removed from the track.
Cars came down pit road for their final fuel stops with 20 laps remaining in Monday’s race. Most of the drivers pitted with other cars from the same manufacturer.
Pit stops finished with 18 laps to go with Ross Chastain and Joey Logano upfront.
Pole sitter Joey Logano assumed the lead on Lap 163 of 200 and has maintained it with final pit stops for fuel approaching. David Ragan, driving a one-off car for RFK Racing, and Brad Keselowski, co-owner of RFK, also moved to the front of the field, following Logano in the bottom lane. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch paced the top lane with less than 30 laps remaining.
Former teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch battled for the lead midway through the third and final segment of the 2024 Daytona 500. Busch was a longtime teammate of Hamlin with Joe Gibbs Racing before moving to Richard Childress Racing last season.
Hamlin has won three Daytona 500, the most among active drivers. Busch has won two NASCAR Cup Series championships but has never taken the checkered flag at “The Great American Race.”
Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace led two competing packs as Stage 3 began in the Daytona 500 with less than 70 laps to go.
The cars then went three-wide a few laps later with AJ Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr. and Tyler Reddick taking over the lead of the three packs.
Ryan Blaney won the second stage of the Daytona 500 after a power move on the closing lap. The reigning series champion dropped down to the bottom lane below his Penske teammate Austin Cindric and surged past him to take the lead and the checkered flag for Stage 2. Cindric, who won the 2022 Daytona 500, moved up in front of Kyle Busch on the outside lane to avoid falling back and held on to finish second, with Daniel Suarez taking third and Busch fourth.
Here are the top-10 finishers of Stage (all will receive Stage points, with 10 points to the winner and one point to the 10th-place finisher:
- Ryan Blaney, Ford
- Austin Cindric, Ford
- Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch, Cheverolet
- Tyler Reddick, Toyota
- William Byron, Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
- AJ Allemdinger, Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher, Ford
Kyle Busch takes the lead from Todd Gilliland on Lap 93 of 200, bringing Bubba Wallace with him.
A few laps later, 20 cars came down pit road to take fuel to make it to the end of Stage 2. The group was led by Wallace, Ryan Preece, Joey Logao and Martin Truex Jr. Preece was nabbed for speeding entering pit road and had to serve a pass-thru penalty.
Busch led the next group down pit road and one lap later Kyle Larson led another group as the entire field took fuel.
Kyle Larson and Josh Berry led the restart as Stage 2 began on Lap 70. Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace also started near the front. But Joey Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion who won the pole on Wednesday, led a surge on the outside, taking the pack three-wide to take over the lead on Lap 72.
The pole sitter has not won the Daytona 500 since Dale Jarrett triumphed in 2000.
Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, won the opening stage of the 2024 Daytona, edging his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson at the line. Elliott got a push from Ross Chastain in Turn 4 on the final lap to push him past Larson at the line.
Chevrolet drivers were the big winners of the 60-lap, opening segment and took the top six positions. After superior green-flag pit stops, Chevy drivers were grouped together in the closing stretch and held off a group of Toyota drivers. Here are the top 10 drivers in the first segment, who will all receive stage points:
- Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- William Byron, Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
- Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
- Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
Cars come down pit road under green for gas to end Stage 1
A large group of nine