The 2024 NASCAR season officially started on Monday afternoon, as William Byron secured a victory in an eventful Daytona 500.
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 Great American Race was originally scheduled for Sunday, although it was postponed due to a combination of rainfall on Saturday along with an inclement weather forecast for the following day.
Here are the results as well as a brief recap of the race.
Daytona 500 Results
- William Byron
- Alex Bowman
- Christopher Bell
- Corey LaJoie
- Bubba Wallace
- A.J. Allmendinger
- John Hunter Nemecheck
- Erik Jones
- Noah Gragson
- Chase Briscoe
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The race started off with a small wreck, 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.
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.
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.
Byron's triumph gave Hendrick Motorsports its first win in the Daytona 500 since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014.
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