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