DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron became the first back-to-back Daytona 500 winner in five years after sneaking by a huge crash on the final lap of the race.
Byron was in seventh place with a half-lap to go, but all of the cars in front of him suddenly wrecked and Byron sailed through when the seas parted.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver became the first to win consecutive 500s since Denny Hamlin — who had been leading when the crash took place — did it in 2019-20.
“Some good fortune, but just trusted my instinct on the last lap there,” Byron said. “That worked out in our favor. … I can’t honestly believe that, but we’re here.”
Tyler Reddick finished in second place after following Byron through the crash, and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson came in third, his best result since retiring from full-time racing.
On the white flag lap in overtime, Cole Custer got into Hamlin and triggered his second multi-car “Big One” within the span of 10 laps.
Earlier, with five laps to go, a violent crash sent the race into overtime. Custer turned Christopher Bell, who had been vying for the lead, and sent him into the pack.
Several cars slammed into each other and Ryan Preece, who had a terrifying airborne wreck at Daytona in 2023, flipped again after doing a wheelie and went upside down into the wall. He was OK.
Another look at the incident. #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/6Y2nK1gYhj
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 17, 2025
“When the car took off like that and it got real quiet, all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said. “I was lucky to walk away, but we were getting real close to somebody not being able to.”
Other cars involved included Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson, both of whom only need the Daytona 500 to complete their collection of NASCAR crown jewels. Bubba Wallace, who had a strong car, also was involved.
The final half of the race had been mostly clean until the pack began battling hard with 30 laps to go. The pot simmered and then boiled over with 15 laps remaining when Joey Logano tried to make a third lane and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slid down late to cover the attempt — but it left Logano in no man’s land.
It appeared neither Stenhouse nor Logano were willing to give an inch at that point, and it cost them both, as Logano ended up wrecking with Stenhouse. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch and several other drivers who had been strong contenders to win just moments before also were involved.
The race had yet another weather-plagued start, which has become an unfortunate trend this decade. Reminiscent of the 2020 race, President Donald Trump visited the track only to see the rain hit shortly thereafter.
There were only nine green-flag laps before a cold front moved through and caused more than four hours of delays. Finally, after two separate red-flag periods and hours of track drying, the field returned to racing.
AJ Allmendinger became the first retirement of the race on Lap 42 when he suddenly slowed with an engine issue. Allmendinger is returning to full-time racing in the Cup Series after spending last year in the Xfinity Series.
The first multi-car incident occurred on Lap 63 when Ross Chastain suddenly slowed and Hamlin hit the brakes to avoid him. But Zane Smith ran into the back of Hamlin, who did a half-spin but saved his car while Smith lost control and slammed into Josh Berry — in his first race driving the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 car.
Logano won the first stage under caution as a result of that incident. But on the restart of Stage 2, it was Logano who triggered the first major crash.
As the cars took the green flag for Stage 2, Logano’s engine suddenly lagged and caused the entire top line to stack up in an accordion effect. Chastain was shot out of line and the ensuing crash collected a dozen cars — including knocking four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and former NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. out of the race. Chastain also was done for the race with crash damage.
Logano, who had led 43 of the first 71 laps with perhaps the fastest car, finally diagnosed his engine issue: Part of a plastic bag came into the No. 22 car’s throttle body. The team fixed it well enough for him to drive back to a top-10 finish in Stage 2.
Logano’s Team Penske teammate Blaney then won Stage 2 after he shoved another Penske teammate, Austin Cindric, out to the lead on the final lap — and then used a push from close friend Chase Elliott to nip Cindric at the line.
Overall, Penske swept the first two stages and led 142 of the opening 186 laps until the Stenhouse/Logano big wreck.
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(Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
