William Byron wins Daytona 500 for the second time

Brought forward by an hour due to the risk of rain, the start of the Daytona 500 was given at around 20 p.m. French time, after several warm-up laps during which the President of the United States led the pack in "The Beast", his presidential limousine, as he had done in 2020. And like five years ago, it only took a few laps of the race, ten to be exact, before the rain made its appearance, parking the cars in the pit lane. More than four hours later, the race restarted and this time was able to go to its conclusion.

If Team Penske's Fords and the Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing dominated the race, with problems seemingly striking just before the halfway point when Joey Logano encountered engine problems on a restart. As a direct result, an accordion effect created an accident involving the Trackhouse Chevrolets of Ross Chastain and Helio Castroneves. The Brazilian was therefore forced to retire for his first Daytona 500, he who has won the Indianapolis 500 Miles four times. After several pit stops for repairs, Logano managed to return to the leading pack in the final laps.

With five laps to go, Ryan Preece (RFK Racing) was once again the victim of a spectacular accident at Daytona, when he was hit by the Toyota of Christopher Bell. The #60 Ford then flew off the track, ending its race in a barrel roll against the wall of turn #3, before landing on its wheels at the foot of the banking. The American was unhurt, and a final sprint was in preparation, led by the Fords of Austin Cindric (winner in 2022) and Cole Custer, for the first race of the Haas Factory Racing.

The driver of the #2 Team Penske still led coming out of Turn 2 and seemed headed for a second win in “The Great American Race.” Alas, the field was closing in on him, and a three-abreast attempt by Custer ended in a crash, which William Byron was able to narrowly avoid on the outside. All that remained for the driver of the #24 was to finish that final lap to win for the second year in a row, ahead of Tyler Reddick (Toyota) and the astonishing seven-time champion. NASCAR Jimmie Johnson (Toyota), third.

"Yes, I was lucky, but I trusted my instincts on the last lap", Byron said after getting out of his car. “I felt like they were getting nervous deep down, and I was honestly going to take the outside line anyway because I was around sixth. I was lucky it went our way. But I’m really proud of this team. They worked really hard all week and had an amazing car. I just had a really hard time saving fuel and staying up front. It’s crazy. I can’t believe it. But we’re here. I’m really proud of it.”

With tradition having the winning car of the Daytona 500 immediately go to the museum and not be returned to the team until race morning, Byron and Hendrick Motorsports literally traded in their 2024 Camaro for the 2025 model!

NASCAR – Daytona 500

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