This past Sunday’s Daytona 500 was the 67th running of the event at the Daytona International Speedway and consisted of 41 of the world’s best drivers contesting on the 2.5-mile, 31° banked oval, known for its high-speed racing conditions. With a record-breaking purse of $30,331,250 to be split up amongst the field, multiple feel-good stories going into and coming out of this race, and various circumstances changing throughout the duration of the race, this year’s Great American Race had it all, leaving drivers either heartbroken or ecstatic leaving Daytona, heading into the rest of the season.
The start time of the race was moved from 2:30PM EST to 1:30PM EST due to the lingering threat of rain, per an agreement with both FOX, NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway. In attendance for the Daytona 500 were President Donald J. Trump, actor Anthony Mackie, who gave the command, and social media personality “The Rizzler,” making the race even more special.
When the Green Flag dropped, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric led the charge, prior to Ty Dillon and William Byron taking over the lead, just before the Yellow Flag came out for rain on Lap 10, prompting a lengthy rain delay that lasted around four hours.
Before the race resumed in the evening, NASCAR took time to make sure the track was dry enough to continue the race, dropping the Green Flag back out on Lap 23, with Joey Logano and William Byron leading the charge this time. Most of the field made adjustments and made pit stops before the restart, which warranted the shuffling of the running order.
On Lap 65, a stack-up occurred towards the middle of the pack, causing Denny Hamlin to get loose behind Ross Chastain. Zane Smith lost control of his #38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang, coming up into Josh Berry in the process, as Hamlin was able to keep going after the accident. Everyone was able to continue on for the time being, despite Berry and Smith receiving damage in the aftermath.
The stage ended with Logano leading after making a lot of aggressive moves and blocks throughout the duration of Stage 1, blocking every run behind him en-route to win the stage, as Logano collected one Playoff Point and ten Championship Points for his effort. However, the rest of the field didn’t back down from Logano’s efforts, as Brad Keselowski, one of the best Superspeedway racers in modern NASCAR, challenged Logano in his #6 Kroger/Cottonelle Ford, but had to settle for 2nd, awarding nine points for his efforts. Rounding out the rest of the top ten were Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones and William Byron, in that order.
Stage 2 began on Lap 71, with Logano and Bowman on the front row. Bowman led the field on the inside line, going into Turn 1. However, Logano’s car did not get going, causing a stack up behind the leaders, taking out multiple cars including Ross Chastain, Helio Castroneves, who was making his first Daytona 500 start and the semi-retired Martin Truex Jr. This accident ended their days prematurely, as their cars had too much damage to continue.
During the caution, Logano brought his car down pit road and his team discovered some debris got in his engine while running up front in the pack. They fixed the issue, but the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford went a lap down. However, the green flag run only lasted seven laps due to debris on the racetrack, allowing Logano to get the free pass.
The race resumed on lap 87 and remained green for the rest of the stage, as Logano’s teammates, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric controlled the field for the duration of Stage 2, but had strong competition from Ryan Preece, who found a new home at RFK Racing, Michael McDowell, who won the 2021 Daytona 500 and Alex Bowman, who finished second in last year’s 500. Stage 2 ended with Blaney barely edging out Cindric at the line, collecting his ten Championship Points and a Playoff Point. Behind Cindric, the drivers who respectively rounded out the top-10 included Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Todd Gilliland, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch.
When Stage 3 began, Blaney got shuffled in the middle, allowing Busch and Wallace to prevail on the inside and outside, allowing for some three-wide racing. Wallace was leading when the caution flew again, once again due to debris. Cars came into the pits with 37 laps remaining, meaning the rest of the race would be all holds barred.
When the race went back green on Lap 166, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric had command of the field, with a hard-charging William Byron on Wallace’s tail, while Cindric’s teammate, Blaney, diligently stayed on his tail. With 15 laps remaining, Corey LaJoie, who had to race his way into this year’s race, took the lead, before calamity ensued behind him.
Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were racing hard within the top-5, when Logano tried to thread the needle in the middle of the pack while Stenhouse threw an aggressive block. This didn’t end well, collecting Blaney, Busch and a few other favorites to win the race in the process. Busch had strong words for Logano’s aggressive driving, as his quest for that elusive Daytona 500 victory would have to once again, wait another year.
LaJoie led the charge to the green with 9 laps remaining and with his strong run, his story was shaping up to be a huge one with his triumph into this race. With a pack of hungry drivers behind him, the JGR teammates of Christopher Bell and three-time Daytona 500 winner, Denny Hamlin, took the top-two spots before Bell received a bad push from Cole Custer, sending him into the wall, back into traffic and causing Ryan Preece to go airborne after a wheelie. Preece was unhurt in the accident and couldn’t believe he flipped at Daytona a second time in his career.
The final restart would be a Green-White-Checkered finish, as Hamlin was in pursuit of capturing his fourth-career Daytona 500 victory. On the final lap, Hamlin and Cindric went wheel-to-wheel, before Custer attempted to side draft and made contact with Hamlin’s door, sending Hamlin and Cindric crashing into the rest of the pack, as William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Jimmie Johnson snuck by them, finishing 1-2-3 respectively. Byron secured his second Daytona 500 in a row, after winning last year’s race in similar fashion.
The 67th annual Daytona 500 had 56 lead changes amongst 15 drivers and had strong competition, as always and aggressive racing. Fuel strategy was the focus for most of the evening, due to the stage lengths. This race left a sour taste in a lot of fans and drivers’ mouths because of the overly aggressive driving causing accidents, specifically in the closing laps. While the race had a green flag finish and a lot of competitive racing, this season in NASCAR will be a learning experience for those who run the sport, taking reception and feedback from the drivers and fans. With the momentum of this eventful season-opener, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for the Ambetter Health 400, which will take place on FOX at 3:00PM EST and you won’t want to miss another weekend of pack racing on the 1.54-mile oval in Hampton, Georgia!
Every Man on Every Crew, LLC. 
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