The 68th running of the Daytona 500 took place on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Tyler Reddick claimed victory in the “Great American Race.” Reddick drives for 23XI, the race team co-owned by Michael Jordan. It is the first timer Jordan’s team has won the Daytona 500.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
As is customary now, fuel savings were a big part of the early portion of this race. Drivers were trying to position themselves to make it to the end of stage one with enough fuel. By the end of stage one, it was Zane Smith who grabbed a surprising stage victory.
Stage two saw more action, specifically with a fairly big wreck near the top five. Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, and several others were impacted by the incident.
That would only be the second biggest wreck of the stage. Towards the end of it, Justin Allgaier was leading. Denny Hamlin got into him, and that triggered a massive wreck, involving nearly half the field. Bubba Wallace survived the carnage and won stage two.
In stage three, again fuel savings became a focus and the action slowed down for a while. Drivers prepared for their final pit stop, with Wallace maintaining his lead for much of the stage.
As green flag pit stops were taking place late in the race, Michael McDowell chose to stay out. When the caution came due to Christopher Bell and Hamlin, McDowell was in the lead.
In the final few laps, chaos would ensue. Chase Elliott momentarily took the lead and took control of the race. However, momentum came from behind, and Reddick made the race-winning move and took home the title.