William Byron won the Daytona 500
William Byron won the Daytona 500 under caution after Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric crashed as the white flag waved.
Byron passed Chastain with less than three laps remaining and was leading when the wreck occurred. Although the crash began before the final lap officially started, the caution came out after Byron had already begun his last lap.
Chastain attempted to pass for the lead on the high side while Cindric was in second ahead of Corey LaJoie when they made contact. Cindric seemed to lose control and moved up the track as Chastain moved down to make his pass.
Source: Youtube/NASCAR on Fox
Massive Crash Alters Daytona 500 Landscape
The group of drivers Byron outpaced to the finish line was significantly reduced due to a 22-car pileup with less than nine laps remaining.
It all began when William Byron bumped into Brad Keselowski while both were among the top five racers. This collision eliminated several contenders for the victory behind the race leader, Chastain.
The chaos unfolded as William Byron's teammate from Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman, was pushing him toward the front. William Byron lost control coming off Bowman's bumper and made contact with the left rear of Keselowski's car.
This caused Keselowski to spin into Joey Logano, triggering a chain reaction that involved numerous drivers, including Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, and others.
look at how close Keselowski came to hitting the back of Chastain's car.
There's trouble at the front of the field! #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/6wVECKKWY1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2024
Source: NASCAR
Bowman ended up in second place behind Byron. Christopher Bell was tentatively ranked third, followed by LaJoie and Bubba Wallace.
Byron marks the sixth Daytona 500 victory for Hendrick Motorsports.
William Byron, at 26 years old, joins an elite group of Daytona 500 winners for Hendrick Motorsports, alongside Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, and Geoffrey Bodine.
His victory, the team's first since Dale Jr.'s 2014 win, came after a rain-delayed race that started more than 24 hours later than planned due to persistent rain at Daytona International Speedway.
This win also ties Hendrick with Petty Enterprises for the most Daytona 500 victories, with both teams boasting nine wins. Petty Enterprises secured their wins from 1959 to 1981, while Hendrick's first victory came in 1986 with Bodine.
William Byron's triumph secures his spot in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as he pursues his first Cup Series title. In the previous season, he was the most successful driver in the Cup Series, winning six races and earning 15 top-five finishes out of 36 races.
Despite finishing third in the Cup Series points standings, behind Blaney and teammate Kyle Larson in the season finale, William Byron remains a strong contender for the Cup Series title this season.
Why Byron won under caution
If you were a bit confused about how Byron won, you're not alone. When the caution came out, Fox didn't provide a clear replay. Bowman had a surge due to the crash and passed Byron as the caution was called. There's no indication that Bowman was ahead of Byron when the caution happened, suggesting NASCAR made the right call.
After taking the white flag, @WilliamByron was the leader at the time of the final caution.
This photo was used to determine the finishing order and Byron's victory in the #DAYTONA500. pic.twitter.com/b0d0UfRaLN
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2024
Source: NASCAR
But having a clear shot of the field's position at the caution would've helped viewers understand the close finish. The Fox broadcast team also seemed unsure of the winner, with the final call lacking energy. Analyzing the moment of caution frame by frame with Harvick and Bowyer could've clarified things.
Unfortunately, TV viewers didn't get a clear picture of the finish. Fox ended coverage quickly for "America's Most Wanted," and Fox Sports 1 didn't have post-race coverage, airing taped poker instead. NASCAR took almost an hour to share a picture of the winning margin at the caution on social media.
Unofficial results
1. William Byron
2. Alex Bowman
3. Christopher Bell
4. Corey LaJoie
5. Bubba Wallace
6. AJ Allmendinger
7. John Hunter Nemechek
8. Erik Jones
9. Noah Gragson
10. Chase Briscoe
11. Kyle Larson
12. Kyle Busch
13. Zane Smith
14. Chase Elliott
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Daniel Hemric
17. Ty Gibbs
18. Chris Buescher
19. Denny Hamlin
20. David Ragan
21. Ross Chastain
22. Austin Cindric
23. Ryan Preece
24. Riley Herbst
25. Josh Berry
26. Justin Haley
27. Anthony Alfredo
28. Jimmie Johnson
29. Tyler Reddick
30. Ryan Blaney
31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
32. Joey Logano
33. Brad Keselowski
34. Daniel Suarez
35. Todd Gilliland
36. Michael McDowell
37. Austin Dillon
38. Kaz Grala
39. Harrison Burton
40. Carson Hocevar
Read more such news on techinsighttoday
Thank you so much for reading.