William Byron was the big winner after a huge wreck reshuffled the leaderboard on the last lap of the Daytona 500.
On Sunday, Byron became NASCAR’s fifth-ever back-to-back winner at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. He etched his name on a list that includes Richard Petty (1973 and 1974), Cale Yarborough (1983 and 1984), Sterling Marlin (1994 and 1995), and most recently Denny Hamlin (2019 and 2020).
Positioned 9th heading into the final lap, a repeat victory for Byron did not appear likely as the white flag was waved at Daytona. But things got messy with Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin jockeying for the lead on the backstretch of the last lap.
Nearly everyone ahead of Byron got tangled up in the crash to end the race, allowing Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet to resemble a phoenix rising out of the ashes.
After the race, Byron could not deny that there was a lot of luck that led to his second Daytona crown.
“Obviously some good fortune, obviously,” Byron said during his post-race interview. [I was] trusting my instinct on the last lap. I had an amazing car. … Really proud of our team.”
Tyler Reddick finished second behind Byron. Jimmie Johnson, Chase Briscoe, and John Hunter Nemechek comprised the rest of the top five, respectively.
While the NASCAR gods smiled upon Byron at Dayton, the same could not be said for Joey Logano.
