William Byron won Daytona 500 after a late incident brought out the caution flag.
Byron, who was involved in a multi-car crash with under 10 laps remaining in the race, took the white flag right before NASCAR threw the caution for Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric crashing. Byron was just ahead of teammate Alex Bowman at the time of caution.
A race he'll never forget! @WilliamByron is a #DAYTONA500 Champion! pic.twitter.com/TRAPvHjZni
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2024
Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five. AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe scored top-10 finishes.
MORE: Daytona 500 results
Only 20 cars finished the Daytona 500 on the lead lap after multiple incidents. The biggest was a multi-car crash that occurred on Lap 192. This incident involved 23 cars and brought out the red flag for 15 minutes and 27 seconds.
Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez were all unable to continue in the race.
Byron’s win, his 11th in Cup, took place on the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ first-ever race, the 1984 Daytona 500. Geoff Bodine was the team’s sole driver that season. He finished eighth in the Daytona 500.
“Just so proud of this team, whole Axalta team,” Byron told Fox Sports after winning the Daytona 500. “40th anniversary, to the day (of Hendrick Motorsports’ first race) on Monday. Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities, and now we just want to keep it going.
“We have a lot to prove this year and this is a good start. Obviously, Daytona 500, it’s freaking awesome.”
Byron now has five consecutive seasons with at least one Cup win.
Byron becomes the sixth driver to win the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports and the first since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. He joins Jeff Gordon on the list of drivers to win the crown jewel race in the No. 24 Chevrolet and he locks up the first spot in the playoffs after leading the series last season with six wins.
“I’m telling you, you couldn’t write the script any better,” team owner Rick Hendrick told Fox Sports. "(The) 24 and 24. When we think about coming down here the first time, we didn’t think we should be here, felt so out of place.
“And to win this on the 40th (anniversary), to the day, tying the record now, it’s awesome.”
Hendrick Motorsports has now tied Petty Enterprises for the most Daytona 500 wins in NASCAR history. Both organizations have nine wins in the crown jewel race.
“To win this race, I guess since it’s been 10 years,” Hendrick said during his post-race media availability, “I forgot how thrilling it really is because the disappointment of coming off (Turn 4) leading and getting crashed.
“It’s hard to put into words how I feel about NASCAR, the sport and being able to participate in it and, I guess, tying the all-time record for wins here and the 500. I think it’s going to sink in next week a little bit more.”