Byron Wins the Daytona 500 for the Second Year in a Row

William Byron and crew celebrating in VIctory Lane

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DAYTONA BEACH. FL – RIS – Many times the 2005 NASCAR Cup Series' Daytona 500 resembled a demolition derby.  In the end, it was William Byron winning for the second year in a row.  Bryon watched from behind as Denny Hamlin led the field took the white flag as the sign for the  final lap.  Austin Cindric and Hamlin side by side with others pushing them. Then Cole Custer, who was pushing Cindric, went sideways causing what seemed like the millionth time and once again came the big one.  On the two-lap finish to the race, Byron was able to beat Tyler Reddick to the line and win The Great American Race.

In Stage one, Chase Briscoe, the first Toyota to ever sit on pole at Daytona) and Austin Cindric) leading the field to green.

The first several laps were civil as the two rows remained side-by-side, with the top line picking up some early momentum and second-row starter Bubba Wallace slotting in just behind Briscoe, then losing position to reigning Daytona 500 winner William Byron.

Michael McDowell jumped out to create a third lane on Lap 6, with the yellow flag flying three laps later as the first drops of rain began to fall. The field paced for two laps, then pulled into the pits courtesy of a red flag. It was raining again.

Then it rained again and didn’t stop for hours.  There were three laps left in Stage1  Chase Briscoe (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing, and the first Toyota to ever sit on pole at Daytona) and Austin Cindric (No. 2 Team Penske) leading the field to green.

 The first several laps were positively civil as the two rows remained side-by-side, with the top line picking up some early momentum and second-row starter Bubba Wallace slotting in just behind Briscoe, then losing position to reigning Daytona 500 winner William Byron.

 Michael McDowell jumped out to create a third lane on Lap 6, with the yellow flag flying three laps later as the first drops of rain began to fall. The field paced for two laps, then pulled into the pits courtesy of a red flag. Stage 1 came to an end under yellow with the top-10 drivers securing an inverse number of points respective to their position.

Stage 2 started with pit stops and quickly another red flag, with Helio Castroneves, Riley Herbst, Chase Briscoe, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Justin Allgaier, Cody Ware, Martin Truex, Shane van Gisbergen, and several others. Slowing the field. Joey Logano also faced a long pit stop for gearbox repairs.

The end of the Stage saw Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney teaming up to win the stage.

The final stage of the Daytona 500 yet again arrived with a flurry of pit stops, with many drivers taking their final set of tires for the night. Stage three began on Lap 138 with Blaney leading Busch and Kyle Larson. The third lane kicked up immediately and quickly sucked Blaney out of the lead, leaving Wallace to head the field.

A desperate scramble for the lead began in full force between the cars that had pitted for fresh rubber, those who had stayed out and retained track position, and those that had escaped damage up to this point in the race.

Green-flag racing resumed with 35 laps remaining, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric leading the field to green. With no need for fuel saving, the real fight for victory was ready to begin. 

A third line tried to form but quickly deteriorated, with the bottom lane stretching out single file. Notable players at this stage were Kyle Busch, chasing his first Daytona 500 win in an otherwise massively accomplished career; and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Corey LaJoie trying to claw back track position by bouncing between the middle and high lanes. With 16 to go, they finally made it happen and began to challenge for the lead.

With eight laps remaining, LaJoie and Cindric led the field to green. LaJoie grabbed an early lead until a push from Denny Hamlin shot Austin Cindric back into the lead. Hamlin then grabbed the lead and began trying to manage both lanes to remain there.

Christopher Bell led the high lane, but his No. 20 wasn’t taking a push well from Cole Custer behind him, and with five laps remaining, he lost control. Bell turned into the wall and caught up several cars behind him, causing the No. 60 of Ryan Preece to get airborne and blow over.

A short red flag flew.  Hamlin and Cindric took the flag, it was a green-white checker. On the final lap, Hamlin mounted a strong challenge only to get loose, causing yet another massive crash.

The No. 24 of William Byron slipped into the lead as the cars behind him wrecked for a back-to-back victory at the Daytona 500.Tyler Reddick finished second while seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished third in a strong result for Legacy Motor Club.

Next week the Cup cars head to Atlanta’s speedway has a similar high-banked track, but only a mile and a half distance.

Unofficial Results: DAYTONA 500, February 16, 2025 - Daytona International Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 5, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 201, 10, , 5, 10, 5, 41, Running
2) 11, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Nasty Beast Toyota, 201, 8, , , , , 38, Running
3) 40, * Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Carvana Toyota, 201, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 1, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 201, , , 1, 4, , 33, Running
5) 18, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota, 201, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 38, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 201, 7, 4, 5, 11, , 42, Running
7) 16, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Peak Ford, 201, 3, 1, 10, 23, 1, 48, Running
8) 2, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 201, , 2, 13, 59, , 38, Running
9) 19, * Justin Allgaier(i), No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 0, Running
10) 6, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 201, , 6, , , , 32, Running
11) 25, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Go Bowling Chevrolet, 201, , , 3, 4, , 27, Running
12) 4, Erik Jones, No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota, 201, 9, 7, , , , 31, Running
13) 36, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, 201, 6, , , , , 29, Running
14) 7, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, 201, , , 1, 3, , 23, Running
15) 17, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 201, , 3, 1, 2, , 30, Running
16) 23, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 201, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 24, Riley Herbst #, No. 35 Monster Energy/Zero Sugar Toyota, 201, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 31, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 SUNNYD Chevrolet, 201, 4, , , , , 26, Running
19) 35, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chili's Ride the 'Dente Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 22, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 30, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 201, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 12, * Corey LaJoie, No. 01 Take 5 Oil Change/DuraMax Ford, 201, , , 2, 10, , 15, Running
23) 15, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 8, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota, 201, , , 1, 6, , 13, Running
25) 28, Cody Ware, No. 51 Parts Plus/Jacob Construction Ford, 200, , , , , , 12, Accident
26) 34, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kroger/Cottonelle Ford, 200, 2, , , , , 20, Running
27) 14, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 199, , 5, , , , 16, Running
28) 32, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Rush Truck Centers Ford, 198, , , 2, 2, , 9, Running
29) 3, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 197, , 9, 7, 18, , 10, Accident
30) 33, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 196, , , 1, 1, , 7, Fuel Pressure
31) 20, Christopher Bell, No. 20 DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota, 195, 5, , , , , 12, Accident
32) 27, Ryan Preece, No. 60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 195, , , 2, 6, , 5, Accident
33) 26, Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 193, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 21, Kyle Busch, No. 8 zone Chevrolet, 186, , 10, , , , 4, Accident
35) 10, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 185, 1, 8, 3, 43, 1, 15, Accident
36) 37, Zane Smith, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford, 108, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 29, Josh Berry, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 105, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 39, * Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, 71, , , , , , 1, Accident
39) 41, * Helio Castroneves, No. 91 Wendy's Chevrolet, 70, , , , , , 0, Accident
40) 9, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet, 70, , , , , , 1, Accident
41) 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 42, , , , , , 0, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (*) Must qualify on time

Race Length: 201 Laps, 502.5 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 53 Mins, 26 Secs.
Average Speed: 129.159 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.113 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 22, 6, 12, 47, 20, 99, 48, 45, 43, 24
Stage 2 Top 10: 12, 2, 9, 48, 34, 17, 43, 22, 23, 8

Comments: William Byron won the DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway, his 14th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: No. 91 (engine change), Nos. 5, 6, 7, 35, 48, 54, 88, 99 (backup car), No. 47 (multiple inspection failures).

Failed to Qualify: (4) 66 Chandler Smith(i), 62 Anthony Alfredo(i), 78 BJ McLeod, 44 JJ Yeley.

Cautions: 8 for 47 laps;
Laps: 10-23 (Weather [Red Flag: 03:09:59;
Red Flag: 00:20:29] [None]);
64-70 (No. 11, 38, 21 Incident Backstretch / Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
72-76 (No. 91, 1, 19, 84, 8, 35, 56 Incident Turn 1 [21]);
84-86 (Debris Turn 1 [22]);
132-137 (Stage 2 Conclusion [88]);
163-165 (Debris Turn 1 [88]);
187-192 (No. 22, 12, 4, 9, 8, 47, 34, 41 Incident Backstretch [10]);
197-199 (No. 20, 41, 60, 6, 5, 43, 99, 23 Incident Backstretch [Red Flag: 00:06:05] [10]).

Lead Changes: 56 among 15 drivers;
C. Briscoe 1-4;
T. Dillon 5-7;
W. Byron 8-10;
A. Cindric 11;
W. Byron 12-15;
M. McDowell 16-17;
R. Blaney 18-21;
J. Logano 22-30;
W. Byron 31;
C. LaJoie 32-34;
J. Logano 35-39;
C. Elliott 40-41;
J. Logano 42-70;
A. Bowman 71-74;
R. Blaney 75-76;
A. Cindric 77-78;
R. Preece 79;
N. Gragson 80;
A. Cindric 81-89;
M. McDowell 90;
A. Cindric 91-93;
M. McDowell 94;
N. Gragson 95;
A. Cindric 96;
R. Preece 97-101;
A. Bowman 102-105;
A. Cindric 106-115;
A. Bowman 116;
A. Cindric 117-122;
A. Bowman 123;
A. Cindric 124;
A. Bowman 125;
A. Cindric 126-129;
R. Blaney 130-132;
C. Hocevar 133;
R. Blaney 134-138;
B. Wallace 139-141;
R. Blaney 142;
B. Wallace 143-145;
R. Blaney 146-148;
B. Wallace 149-152;
R. Blaney 153-154;
B. Wallace 155-156;
R. Blaney 157;
B. Wallace 158;
W. Byron 159;
R. Blaney 160;
B. Wallace 161-163;
A. Cindric 164;
B. Wallace 165-166;
A. Cindric 167-185;
C. LaJoie 186-192;
A. Cindric 193;
D. Hamlin 194-199;
A. Cindric 200;
W. Byron 201.
56 among 15 drivers;
C. Briscoe 1-4;
T. Dillon 5-7;
W. Byron 8-10;
A. Cindric 11;
W. Byron 12-15;
M. McDowell 16-17;
R. Blaney 18-21;
J. Logano 22-30;
W. Byron 31;
C. LaJoie 32-34;
J. Logano 35-39;
C. Elliott 40-41;
J. Logano 42-70;
A. Bowman 71-74;
R. Blaney 75-76;
A. Cindric 77-78;
R. Preece 79;
N. Gragson 80;
A. Cindric 81-89;
M. McDowell 90;
A. Cindric 91-93;
M. McDowell 94;
N. Gragson 95;
A. Cindric 96;
R. Preece 97-101;
A. Bowman 102-105;
A. Cindric 106-115;
A. Bowman 116;
A. Cindric 117-122;
A. Bowman 123;
A. Cindric 124;
A. Bowman 125;
A. Cindric 126-129;
R. Blaney 130-132;
C. Hocevar 133;
R. Blaney 134-138;
B. Wallace 139-141;
R. Blaney 142;
B. Wallace 143-145;
R. Blaney 146-148;
B. Wallace 149-152;
R. Blaney 153-154;
B. Wallace 155-156;
R. Blaney 157;
B. Wallace 158;
W. Byron 159;
R. Blaney 160;
B. Wallace 161-163;
A. Cindric 164;
B. Wallace 165-166;
A. Cindric 167-185;
C. LaJoie 186-192;
A. Cindric 193;
D. Hamlin 194-199;
A. Cindric 200;
W. Byron 201.