What Happened?
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – William Byron survived a melee of a final lap at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday (Feb. 16) to win his second consecutive Daytona 500 victory. Runner-up Tyler Reddick was joined by fellow Toyota drivers Jimmie Johnson, Chase Briscoe and John Hunter Nemechek to round out the top five.
The triumph marks the fifth time in Daytona 500 history that a driver has won the Great American Race twice in a row. Byron has also surpassed the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet’s original driver Jeff Gordon as the youngest (age 27) to ever have won two Daytona 500s.
What Really Happened?
As I sat on Daytona’s pit road, gazing with other reporters at the giant television broadcasting the final lap of the Daytona 500, the sound of high-pitched engines rising in the distance roared all around me. As cars ran through this 2.5-mile behemoth of an oval circuit one final time, I wished for a green flag finish.
Thank you, NASCAR, for giving me one.
Throughout Speedweeks up to that point, there had been a total of four NASCAR races, and only one of them had ended under green-flag conditions.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, officials certainly had no choice but to throw a yellow flag for safety as most of the field crashed in the tri-oval while taking the white flag. Nobody wants to see a field racing full speed toward both stationary and wrecked race cars.
For Duel No. 2 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, however, there didn’t seem to be an excuse I could think of that justified a yellow-flag ending.
On Thursday evening, Erik Jones and Austin Cindric raced side-by-side to the start/finish line in a thrilling superspeedway photo finish. Jones crossed the line first and naturally was assumed to be the winner. However, upon further review, it was discovered NASCAR had pushed the caution button mere feet before the duo reached the line. In that chaotic moment, Cindric so happened to have inched ahead, awarding him the win and taking away Jones’ popular victory.
During the Truck Series race, the field crashed on the final lap in turn 4 as Corey Heim was turning to make his pass on Parker Kligerman for the lead. Officials threw the yellow flag even though most of the field had passed the crashing trucks and were attempting to race for the win. Before he was disqualified for failing post-race inspection, Kligerman was awarded the victory. It was a fan-favorite win at first, but it did still leave a bad taste in my mouth, knowing watching another photo finish under green flag would’ve been far more satisfying.
Parker Kligerman wins the Truck Series race at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/mUUYToAySi
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2025
So, when I watched the Cup Series field crash on the backstretch on the final lap, I yelled, “Keep it green!”
And you know what? For the first Daytona 500 since 2022, they actually did.
Second-place finisher Reddick didn’t seem to have a chance to catch winner Byron through that final mile of racing left at Daytona but, watching those two run nose-to-tail through the corner made me realize NASCAR was listening to fans’ concerns and complaints for the week.
It defeats the purpose of throwing a yellow flag right before the checkered if the field is about to slow down anyway. Why not just let them sort it out over what last few meters they have left?
Race officials made the right call on the last lap of the Daytona 500 even if it didn’t change anything in the end. The spirit of racing left Daytona alive and well.
Who Stood Out?
You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn Team Penske Fords were once again the ones to beat at a superspeedway race. In all, Roger Penske’s fleet amassed a total of 125 laps led among the 201 completed and won both stages. That’s 62% of the Great American Race which had a Penske vehicle at the head of the pack.
Yet leading the charge was neither of The Captain’s former series champions. Instead, it was 2022 Daytona 500 winner Cindric.
Cindric led a race-high 59 laps throughout the night and did so in commanding fashion, often sweeping lanes from high to low and keeping multiple lines at bay as the field stacked themselves three abreast for much of the night.
An update on the No. 22 from @NASCARONFOX.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 17, 2025
Don't count @joeylogano out just yet! pic.twitter.com/3tpM5RLQ98
Keep in mind, this blocking occurred while most of the field was attempting to save fuel, so aggression likely wasn’t high during Cindric’s reign.
However, what was perhaps more impressive was the No. 2’s ability to survive. Cindric stayed in the front long enough to be leading at the time of the white flag. Alas, he was alone with no help as the rest of the field slammed themselves around him before literally crashing as a result of their force.
While Cindric did avoid the final crash on the last lap, he slowed down far too much to contend in front. He finished eighth – a low point in what was otherwise a phenomenal day.
Who Fell Flat?
As for his teammate, on the other hand.
Joey Logano led a second-best 43 laps on Sunday evening, and much like Cindric, he did it in commanding fashion. Unlike him, however, he was not able to survive to the end of the event.
Even worse, it was (half) his own fault.
Logano had won stage one when he suffered an issue with his engine that forced the team to make repairs under the following caution. Logano returned to the race at the end of the field, unsure if mechanical gremlins would persist.
They didn’t, and he found himself as high as eighth at the end of the second stage. By then, the No. 22 had solidified itself as the car to beat.
But with 13 laps to go, the Connecticut native made an optimistic move in trying to squeeze through a hole underneath 2023 Daytona 500 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the backstretch that arguably wasn’t there. Reigning champion Logano continued his onslaught of Stenhouse’s rear bumper, and the No. 47 tried to close a door that was being forced open.
Unstoppable force? Meet immovable object.
Big trouble on the backstretch!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 17, 2025
Blaney, Busch, Logano and Elliott are all among those involved! #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/AqhWkOQahb
The incident shut down Logano’s race for good, and the No. 22 would be credited with a 35th-place finish.
Stenhouse would continue but was caught up in another crash shortly after. He finished 18th.
Paint Scheme of the Race
The biggest event in all of stock car racing should see plenty of teams bring out their best looks, and many did show up in fashion.
Byron’s bright orange-and-blue winning paint scheme greatly outmatched his first Daytona 500-winning design and will certainly be easier on the eyes for National Motorsports Hall of Fame tour visitors than 2024’s bland white primary. Additionally, Logano’s Team Penske-themed livery that matched Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden‘s IndyCar was also a real looker.
But nobody in the field could quite match that cream-colored primary with bright orange highlights. Yes, I’m talking about the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Justin Allgaier.
Bad news: on hold for weather and the red flag is out.
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) February 16, 2025
Good news: this car looks just as good standing still as it does at 190 MPH. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/1F5qrseLUR
The color which stood out was a vibrant orange secondary mixed with the comforting tan base, a hint of a Tennessee country tone. Considering Traveller Whiskey was the team’s primary sponsor, the design gave off Chris Stapleton Tennessee Whiskey vibes.
As it should: that’s exactly who designed the car.
What’s Next?
Another drafting track.
The NASCAR Cup Series season is officially underway with race two at Atlanta Motor Speedway on the horizon. Coverage for the Ambetter Health 400 will be live on FOX on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. ET.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT
If there’s a big wreck a caution should be thrown to freeze the entire field no matter where the leaders are. Cars behind the wreck should not be required to try and blast through to pick up positions.
They aren’t required, they can stop right where they are.
NA$CAR gets crucified either way because they deserve it due to their past consistency in being inconsistent.
I thought, oh no, Hamlin is going to win. But thankfully the human wrecking ball saved the day.
It really bothers me to say it, but I would have rather seen Hamlin win (even though I think Gibbs is a low life for * K Busch) than a Hendrick team.
Yep, NASCAR can’t win in these situations. Nobody will be happy whether they throw the yellow or not, like on Thursday.
I was glad NASCAR let them race to the finish. I’ve never been a fan of GWC finishes and at RP tracks it is even worse.
First off, I must say I was shocked when NASCAR moved the race up an hour (should have been 1:30 to start with, then they could have moved it up to 12:30).
NASCAR using common sense? Has hell frozen over?
As for the race to the finish and no caution on the final lap, that’s the way I would like it to be. The fact that it wasn’t in 3 out of 4 instances is a problem.
As always, a lack of consistency.
Overall the race was decent for being an RP/pack race. I personally don’t care for them because of their randomness, but the cars didn’t get strung out too often and I didn’t get that “parade” feeling too often.
That race was a pathetic joke from the beginning to the end. You can start with the “fuel saving mode” in the first 11 laps, the lousy fox coverage, the commercial festival/featurette extravaganza and go from there. Fox needs to replace Mike Joy, too.
Then to top off all of that bad news, unfortunately a Rick Hendrick team won the race.
Come on now, no badmouthing the house team.
NA$CAR’s inconsistency shows again with when to throw a caution. In Duel 2 it’s a fast yellow then in the 500 it’s wait for the checker. The can’t come up with the same answer twice in the same weekend.
Was anyone surprised at the last “debris” caution so there were no green flag stops. I wonder if NA$CAR considers the demo derby crashes as “debris” cautions?