The NASCAR cup races has been going on sense 1949, and much has evolved over the time of its birth. From changes in cars, racers, wrecks and cups being won. NASCAR’s 66th annual Daytona 500s race was on the 19th of February originally scheduled on the 18th after being held back over rain which is the fourth time in history that they have postponed. The race started off with Actor, professional wrestler and entrepreneur Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson that has been named Grand Marshal for the Daytona 500’s saying four famous words in motorsports “Drivers, start your engines! “The Daytona 500, often referred to as the “Great 78 to the excitement of this iconic event at the Daytona International Speedway. after starting the race, a small wreck happened, as the fifth lap contained a crash. Harrison Burton got hit by John Hunter Nemechek after he was bumped by Brad Keselowski. Carson Hocevar and Jimmie Johnson were also involved.
Byron won his first Daytona 500 and his 11th career race in the NASCAR circuit. It also represented his first victory since Sep. 2023 at Texas Motor Speedway. The middle of the race was mostly clean compared to past years, as Chase Elliot narrowly earned a victory in Stage 1. Stage 2 included another close finish, as a late corner move from Ryan Blaney allowed him to move in front of teammate Austin Cindric to win the second stage. Fans were beginning to wonder if the “Big One” would occur as the race started to draw to a close, although it happened with eight laps remaining. Since 2001 there have been an average of 220 crashes per year in the NASCAR cup series. This equals an average of 6 crashes per race. These crashes can range in severity from a small 2 car collision to a multiple 20 car “Big One” Despite the frequency of crashes no fatalities have occurred since 2001.
Alex Bowman gave a shove to his teammate Byron, who then bumped into Keselowski and spun him into the outside lane before multiple cars were collected. 18 total cars were involved and included drivers such as Blaney, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano. Logano led for a race-high 45 laps before the crash.
Another wreck occurred just as Byron’s No. 24 car received the white flag, although it was determined that the lap was completed to give the 26-year-old the victory under caution.
Daytona 500 Results
- William Byronsw
- Alex Bowman
- Christopher Bell
- Corey LaJoie
- Bubba Wallace
- A.J. Allmendinger
- John Hunter Nemecheck
- Erik Jones
- Noah Gragson
- Chase Briscoe
Previous races before the Daytona 500:
| Feb 4 |
Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum Last Chance Qualifying Race
|
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Cancelled |
| Feb 15 |
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at DAYTONA
|
Daytona International Speedway | Completed |
| Feb 15 |
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at DAYTONA
|
Daytona International Speedway | Completed |
| Feb 19 |
DAYTONA 500
|
Daytona International Speedway | Completed |
NASCAR fans can’t wait until the next cup, so let’s see who wins next year.
Credits to the following:
–NASCAR Official Home | Latest News, Schedule, & Results
–Officials: Last-lap incident for Custer, No. 41 team under review | NASCAR
–Upon Further Review, 2024 Daytona 500 Was Almost Perfect for Hendrick Motorsports (autoweek.com)
Bing (for further smaller information)