William Byron wins NASCAR’s Daytona 500 after The Big One comes late in the race

William Byron has won the Daytona 500.

Last year’s NASCAR Cup Series wins leader won his first Great American Race. It’s the first Daytona 500 win for Hendrick Motorsports, the legendary NASCAR team celebrating its 40th anniversary, since 2014, and comes on the 40th anniversary of Hendrick running its first NASCAR race.

Byron, who is from Charlotte, grabbed the lead late after The Big One occurred with eight laps left. Byron succeeds Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won last year’s Daytona 500 in overtime.

Joey Logano, who started on the pole, ran toward the front for a lot of the race and led 41 laps. Looking to become the first pole-sitter to win the Daytona 500 since Dale Jarrett in 2000, Logano was among 22 drivers caught up in The Big One with eight laps left.

With Ross Chastain holding a late lead, Brad Keselowski bumped him from second. Keselowski’s No. 6 car spun immediately, making contact with William Byron. It prompted a massive wreck that impacted more than half the field, including Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Stenhouse, Logano and Keselowski, among others.

“Speedway racing again,” Logano said after being released from the infield care center. “It’s a lot of fun until this happens.”

Harrison Burton (21) slides across the front stretch, collecting Ryan Preece (41) and others during an early crash in the Daytona 500, February 19, 2024.

Chastain drove off as chaos ensued behind him, and Alex Bowman, William Byron and Austin Cindric surged past the carnage. A red flag came out, and the race was stopped for more than 25 minutes.

The restart came with four laps left with Chastain, Byron, Bowman and Chase Elliott leading the shrunken field.

Kyle Busch and Corey LaJoie moved into the lead early in the final stage. Busch suffered an issue with his left tire following Stage 2 but stayed toward the front. Hamlin took his first lead with 48 laps left, passing LaJoie. He made it toward the front after a few pit stops and reached the front of the pack late.

Ross Chastain grabbed the lead late in the final stage. His Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez, also surged to the front, with Joey Logano and William Byron nearby.

A big crash occurred during Lap 5 that involved seven cars, including Jimmie Johnson. Brad Keselowski initially made contact with John Hunter Nemechek, sending Harrison Burton and Carson Hocevar for spins. Harrison Burton, Carson Hocevar and Kaz Grala were out of the race.

Most of Stage 1 was green following that wreck. Chevrolets raced to the lead late, led by stage winner Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.

Austin Cindric, who won the 2022 Daytona 500 as a rookie, ran toward the front for a significant part of the second stage — before being passed by Ryan Blaney on the last turn. Fellow previous winner Michael McDowell — who earned first Cup win on this stage in 2021 — briefly led the race early and then fell way behind after having an engine problem.

Unofficial results

Pos.

Car

Driver

Time behind

Best time

Best speed

1

24

William Byron

—

46.337

194.229

2

48

Alex Bowman

0.006

46.249

194.599

3

20

Christopher Bell

1.39

45.984

195.72

4

7

Corey LaJoie

2.511

45.668

197.075

5

16

AJ Allmendinger(i)

2.615

45.653

197.139

6

23

Bubba Wallace

2.643

45.786

196.567

7

42

John Hunter Nemechek

3.416

45.982

195.729

8

14

Chase Briscoe

3.748

46.364

194.116

9

43

Erik Jones

4.478

45.807

196.477

10

10

Noah Gragson

4.711

46.117

195.156

11

5

Kyle Larson

5.3

45.678

197.031

12

8

Kyle Busch

6.501

45.7

196.937

13

71

Zane Smith #

7.174

46.343

194.204

14

9

Chase Elliott

8.103

46.029

195.529

15

19

Martin Truex Jr.

11.562

45.804

196.489

16

31

Daniel Hemric

12.121

45.641

197.191

17

54

Ty Gibbs

12.435

45.931

195.946

18

17

Chris Buescher

25.745

46.114

195.168

19

11

Denny Hamlin

27.333

45.884

196.147

20

60

* David Ragan

108.172

46.155

194.995

21

1

Ross Chastain

11383.99

45.975

195.759

22

2

Austin Cindric

11384.239

46.339

194.221

23

41

Ryan Preece

-1

46.181

194.885

24

15

Riley Herbst(i)

-1

46.429

193.844

25

4

Josh Berry #

-1

46.145

195.037

26

51

Justin Haley

-1

46.122

195.135

27

62

* Anthony Alfredo(i)

-2

46.156

194.991

28

84

* Jimmie Johnson

-4

46.122

195.135

29

45

Tyler Reddick

-8

45.87

196.207

30

12

Ryan Blaney

-8

46.373

194.078

31

47

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

-8

46.356

194.15

32

22

Joey Logano

-9

46.403

193.953

33

6

Brad Keselowski

-9

46.232

194.67

34

99

Daniel Suarez

-9

46.268

194.519

35

38

Todd Gilliland

-9

45.843

196.322

36

34

Michael McDowell

-24

47.187

190.73

37

3

Austin Dillon

-54

46.586

193.191

38

36

* Kaz Grala #

-195

47.252

190.468

39

21

Harrison Burton

-195

47.768

188.411

40

77

Carson Hocevar #

-195

47.745

188.501

# – Rookie

I – Ineligible

* – Required to qualify on time