Winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 is instant history. What comes after is far less predictable.
Tyler Reddick added his name to that history Sunday, driving the No. 45 Toyota to victory in the 2026 Daytona 500 and delivering 23XI Racing — co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — its first win in “The Great American Race.”
Under the 2026 return to The Chase format, the triumph is worth 55 regular-season points but does not guarantee a postseason berth.
But what happens after the confetti falls?
A look at the last five Daytona 500 winners shows that the sport’s most prestigious trophy can lead to very different seasons.
2025 — William Byron
GettyDAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 2025 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
William Byron’s 2025 Daytona 500 victory was not just another superspeedway win. It made him a back-to-back champion in The Great American Race.
That kind of accomplishment carries weight. Byron spent much of the season inside the championship conversation. He added two more wins over the 36-race schedule and ultimately finished fourth in the final Cup Series standings with 5004 points.
The season showed that Byron remained one of the sport’s elite drivers, but even a rare back-to-back Daytona triumph was not enough to secure the championship. The title ultimately went to Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate Kyle Larson.
2024 — William Byron
GettyDAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 18: William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 2024 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
William Byron opened the 2024 season by winning the Daytona 500, immediately putting himself in the title conversation.
And unlike many superspeedway winners before him, he sustained that level across the full schedule. Byron finished third in the final Cup Series standings with three wins, 13 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s.
He was firmly in the championship mix deep into the season, but the title ultimately went to Team Penske’s Joey Logano.
The 2024 campaign showed that a Daytona victory can signal a legitimate contender. It just does not guarantee the final trophy.
2023 — Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
GettyDAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 19: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 2023 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
The 2023 Daytona 500 delivered one of the biggest surprises of the modern era.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survived a chaotic double-overtime finish and edged Logano to win the season opener. For a mid-tier team, it was a seismic moment. It locked Stenhouse into the postseason conversation before the season had barely begun.
But the weeks that followed told a different story.
Stenhouse did not find Victory Lane again in 2023. He finished the season with one win, two top-five finishes and nine top-10s. While the Daytona triumph secured a playoff berth under the format in place at the time, he never established week-to-week dominance.
By season’s end, Stenhouse finished 16th in the final Cup Series standings. The Daytona 500 trophy remains one of the defining moments of his career but it did not translate into a championship run.
2022 — Austin Cindric
GettyDAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 20: Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 2022 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Austin Cindric did not ease into his Cup career. He won the 2022 Daytona 500 in just his eighth Cup Series start, holding off Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney in a dramatic finish that immediately stamped him as a future contender.
What followed was not a dominant season, but it was a steady one.
Cindric finished the year 12th in the final standings with 2,226 points. Beyond the Daytona 500 victory, he never found his way back to the front of the field. He posted five top-five finishes and nine top-10s, numbers that reflected flashes of speed but also the learning curve of a rookie navigating a full Cup schedule.
He qualified for the postseason thanks to his Daytona win, but he was eliminated in the Round of 16. The year ended as a clear building block rather than a championship charge.
The takeaway from 2022 was simple. A Daytona 500 win can fast-track a driver’s reputation but does not guarantee sustained dominance over the next three dozen races.
2021 — Michael McDowell
GettyDAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 14: Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 2021 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Michael McDowell opened the 2021 season by winning the Daytona 500, earning his first NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Wheeling Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 Ford, McDowell survived a chaotic final lap crash involving Logano and Brad Keselowski to secure the win in his 358th career start. It was one of the biggest opening-race surprises in the modern era.
But the breakthrough did not turn into a championship charge.
McDowell did not reach the checkered flag first again that season. He finished 2021 with one win, two top-five finishes and five top-10s. The Daytona victory locked him into the playoffs, but he was quickly eliminated in the Round of 16 and ultimately placed 16th in the final Cup Series standings.
The Daytona 500 changed his career overnight but it did not change the competitive balance of the season.
History offers both encouragement and warning for Reddick and 23XI Racing.
Recent Daytona 500 winners have experienced everything from sustained championship contention to early postseason exits. The trophy secures a place in NASCAR history but it does not secure the season that follows.
The Daytona 500 delivers headlines. The schedule that follows decides everything else.
Last 5 Daytona 500 Winners: What Happened Next