Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — When fans and analysts talk about the most talented NASCAR racers, Tyler Reddick’s name is often mentioned as one of the younger ones with the most potential.
He turned that potential into a Daytona 500 victory on Sunday, the biggest win of his nine career triumphs in 219 career starts. A victory that snapped a 38-race winless streak that included all the 2025 season.
With the win, the 30-year-old Reddick — the 2024 regular-season champion — earned the first Daytona 500 victory for 23XI Racing. The team is co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan.
“When you’re a Cup driver and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, it’s expected you win every single year,” Reddick said in his television interview after the race. “For us to go on that drought we did made us look hard in the mirror. And really proud of everyone.”
Here are my takeaways:
1. Reddick Outlasts Field
Two Spire Motorsports drivers, Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell, led the field into the final lap. Reddick was able to get by them after they wrecked each other. He then needed a push from Riley Herbst to get out front and held off the rest of the field until the four cars that followed him crashed coming to the finish line.
He didn’t need to throw a block. But Reddick put himself in position to capitalize.
“Just incredible how it all played out,” Reddick said in his television interview after the race. “Just true Daytona madness.”
Tyler Reddick celebrates winning the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500.
2. Second-Fifth All Wreck
Typically, the drivers who finished second through fifth do their post-race interviews in an area set aside on pit road. But no one was there because all four of those drivers wrecked coming to the finish and had to be evaluated at the infield medical center.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski were all released relatively quickly.
“It’s never bad to finish top five or runnerup in the Daytona 500,” Stenhouse said.
Joey Logano (No. 22), Brad Keselowski (No. 6) and Chase Elliott (No. 9) spin after an on-track incident to end the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500.
3. Chase Elliott Disappointed
Elliott was maybe the most disappointed, as he was leading going into Turn 4 before the Reddick push from Herbst.
“I just hate to be that close,” Elliott said. “It’s such a big deal down here. It kind of sucks, but that’s part of this deal. … It’s pretty disappointing. I don’t know what else to tell you, other than we were leading the Daytona 500 off of Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag and we didn’t win.”
Elliott said once he lost Zane Smith as his pusher, he was out to lunch: “Once he was gone, I was on total defense. And it just becomes really difficult to cover those massive runs.”
4. Keselowski Leg OK
Brad Keselowski maybe could have won, but he left with a top-five finish and the knowledge that he could handle a wreck just eight weeks after shearing his right femur.
He certainly didn’t want to test his leg’s ability to handle a crash bt the fact that he could stand outside the care center without his cane and answer questions was a good sign.
“I felt really well in the car and got in a crash at the end and couldn’t even feel it,” Keselowski told me and other reporters. “So pretty good. … I’m proud to make it this far. I didn’t know a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure I was going to get to run this race and have an opportunity to win it. That feels pretty good. Pretty disappointed to not bring it home.”
4 ½. What’s Next
Another drafting track awaits the drivers, as they head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second race of the season.
These races often have last-lap wrecks and NASCAR at Daytona tried to not throw the caution and let the races play out. Atlanta, a 1.5-mile track, might be harder to move safety equipment without throwing the caution.
“As long as it’s the same for all races and this weekend, they were very consistent,” Hamlin said in the postrace news conference. “So I don’t think anyone should have any gripes about that.”
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