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By the end, it was tough to tell who was still in the race. Or who won. Following a rain delay that pushed the 66th Daytona 500 to Monday, William Byron took the win with a white flag following his involvement in a multi-car crash with less than ten laps to go. For many fans, watching their favorite driver get taken out of the race, or out of contention, so late, sparked a rush of conspiracy theories.
It was the 11th career victory and first Daytona 500 win for No. 24 Byron, racing for Hendrick Motorsports. Alex Bowman, also racing for Hendrick, took second, his best finish in the Great American Race. Many fans were not happy, owing to the fact that Bowman pushed Byron, his teammate, and that set off a massive crash that took out multiple contenders, including perennial hopeful Brad Keselowski, and other fan favorites.
Bowman told the AP, “being this close to winning the Daytona 500, it certainly hurts. But 30th probably hurts worse.”
Jeff Gordon, the former NASCAR champion and now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, used to drive the No. 24, and was ecstatic with the result. And as Hendrick owner, Rich Hendrick, told Fox Sports after the race, “I’m telling you, you couldn’t write this script any better. Twenty-four and Twenty-four,” alluding to the fact both Gordon and now Byron won the Daytona 500 driving No. 24.
For many fans, the “script” remark was too close to “scripted.” To complicate matters, even after the big crash there was still a chance that Bowman would take the victory, but a collision between Ross Chastain, admittedly getting a bit too aggressive, and Austin Cindric, brought out a caution that ended the race. It took the cameras to confirm that Byron, in the historic No. 24, crossed the line to start the final lap before the caution started, earning him his first Daytona 500 victory.
Bad Day for the Fords
The 66th running of the Daytona 500 was a mostly clean race till the final 10 laps or so. Byron turned Brad Keselowski, which led to a big crash that took out Keselowski, current Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney, plus Joey Logano, all in Fords. In all, twenty-two cars were involved.
A caution came out, awfully fast according to some viewers, just as Byron took the white flag. Though for viewers at home — and in the stands — it was tough to tell, as was the sequence of events.
Nevertheless, NASCAR deemed the race official as the white flag came out before the yellow was thrown. According to NASCAR, “with the white flag displayed, the next flag would end the race.” NASCAR used the aerial photo above to determine the finishing order, which confirmed Byron’s win.
Finally, “Drivers, Start Your Engines”
The ending of the 500 was marred in a bit of controversy, but not the start. Rains forced NASCAR to push the race from Sunday to Monday. But they still managed to put on a show. On Monday afternoon, the sun came out and fans showed up en masse. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stayed over, serving as Grand Marshall, and brought his familiar brand of big energy to start the race.
Though even The Rock’s energy couldn’t match that of the Thunderbirds, who once again managed an awe-inspiring flyover.
No conspiracy theories, necessary. The 66th running of the Daytona 500 was a mostly clean race. Not everyone was happy with how the final laps played out, but the drivers generally acknowledged these types of accidents happen, especially at the Daytona 500.
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