William Byron goes back-to-back at Daytona 500 in iconic No. 24 Chevrolet

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron went back-to-back at the Daytona 500, relying on a little luck and his gut.

Byron sat ninth entering the final 2.5 miles, but for the second time avoided danger at the end to take the checkered flag, leaving heartbreak and wreckage in his wake.

“Obviously some good fortune,” he said. “But trusting my instinct on the final lap. I can’t honestly believe that, but we’re here.”

Following his improbable win, the 27-year-old did donuts with his car in the infield, then climbed out of his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and onto the roof before jumping into the arms of his pit crew. Driving the No. 24 car Jeff Gordon, now one of his bosses at Hendrick Motorsports, made famous, Byron won the weather-delayed race that took nearly eight hours to complete, joining Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin and Denny Hamlin as the only drivers to win consecutive Daytona 500s.

Byron held off Tyler Reddick for the win, with 49-year-old Jimmie Johnson a surprising third in one of the few races the retired star plans to race. Chase Briscoe finished fourth, followed by John Hunter Nemechek driving for Legacy Motor Club co-owned by Johnson.

Hamlin, a three-time winner, nearly made it four of a kind.

Tabbed the “gambling man” earlier in the week by Johnson, Hamlin kept his cool and did not go all-in — while others lost their head or control of their car to cost them a chance. After the race entered overtime, Hamlin led, but found himself trailing 2022 winner Austin Cindric on the final lap.

Hamlin then made bold pass to the left of Cindric, who led a race-high 58 laps. With No. 4 seemingly Hamlin’s to lose, Briscoe, his new teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, tried to help Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota to Victory Lane.

“I was like, I’m going to push Denny to win,” Briscoe said.

Instead, Cole Custer would not give an inch and chaos ensued, while Byron and Reddick emerged from the pack unscathed. Meanwhile, Hamlin’s bid at age 44 to join Petty and Yarborough as the only drivers to win at least four Daytona 500s ended in a 24th-place finish.

“I measured up the 2 (Cindric) and got to run on them,” Hamlin said. “We had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was going to come. I understand everyone’s trying to go for it.

“All of us are.”

Hamlin rarely was a factor all day until the end, while others in the mix much of the day were out of the race when it was winning time.

With 14 laps to go, 2015 winner Joey Logano, who captured Stage 1 and led 43 laps, tried to shoot a gap between Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. But Stenhouse, the 2023 surprise 500 winner known for his hard-charging style, went to block the equally aggressive Logano, setting off a disastrous chain of events from some of the sport’s biggest names and winners.

After Logano tapped Stenhouse’s left rear bumper his No. 47 Chevrolet clipped Blaney’s No. 12 Ford, who along with Logano, his Penske teammate, had among the day’s strongest cars. Stenhouse then slammed into left side panel of Kurt Busch, the 39-year-old two-time Cup Series champion desperate to add a Daytona 500 win

“He’s trying to make a hole that wasn’t there and created chaos,” Busch said of Logano. “You have to know how wide your race car is.”

A scary moment came moments later, when Ryan Preece lost control of his car and was turned upside-down for the second time at Daytona International Speedway, rekindling memories of his harrowing crash during the 2023 summer race. While running up near the front, Christopher Bell lost control of his car and led to a crash with Preece’s No. 60 Ford flipping onto its roof and back onto its tired before slamming into the wall.

“All I thought about was my daughter, so I’m lucky to walk away,” he said.

The late crashes typical of the Daytona 500 culminated a day of riveting, three-wide racing once drivers were able to get on the track, and stay there. Cooler temperatures cause by an earlier storm created a less-slippery racing surface.

The stage was set for a memorable day. Many in a sell-out crowd cheered the arrival of Donald Trump, who even took a lap in his presidential limousine.

But after just 11 laps a 3-hour, 10-minute weather delay sent cars to the garage, drivers to their trailers and fans seeking cover. Cars made several laps under caution before a delay of just over 20 minutes gave way to a brisk, clear night for racing.

With 50 laps to go, the top 10 was a NASCAR who’s who featuring four former champions, including Johnson, along with several drivers pushing for their first Daytona 500, led by Busch, a 63-time Cup Series winner, fan favorite Chase Elliott, 40 years since his father’s first of two wins, and Bubba Wallace driving for the team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Logano won the opening stage after he led 38 of the 65 laps, while Blaney took Stage 2.

But following a multi-car crash on Lap 70 Logano’s No. 22 Ford soon experienced engine trouble his crew ultimately was able to solve to put him back into the mix.

Others were not so fortunate.

The crash ended the day of Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr. and Hélio Castroneves. Chastain, a southwest Florida native in contention in 2024 until a final-lap crash, while Truex entered Sunday’s race despite retiring at the end of the 2024 season.

“It’s probably our only shot this year,” the 44-year-old former Cup Series champion said. “Unfortunately, we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The mishap ended a rough week for Castroneves. The four-time Indianapolis 500 wrecked twice in the ARCA race and during Daytona 500 qualifying, but raced Sunday as the 41st driver using a provisional spot allowed a “world-class driver” through a new rule unpopular among his competitors.