What’s Happening?

WHERE DID HE COME FROM!?!?!? In the closing laps of the 68th running of the Daytona 500, everyone was jostling for position up front. You had the Spire cars, Logano, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Michael McDowell all battling hard for the race lead. After a crash in Turn 2 that took out the Spire cars, it looked like NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott, had it in the bag. But, heading into the trioval, the No. 45 had a head of steam, and Chase Elliott got tagged from behind. In the end, it was 23XI’s Tyler Reddick who capitalized on NASCAR allowing the pack to race back to the line to win the Daytona 500!

Reddick had a quiet performance throughout the race, leading only one lap, but it was the one that counted. This win is 23XI’s first in the Daytona 500 after the antitrust lawsuit that plagued the team and the sport as a whole all last year.

TYLER REDDICK WINS THE DAYTONA 500! pic.twitter.com/nOAjUM4Buu

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2026

• With help from his Ford Teammate Austin Cindric, Zane Smith took the Stage 1 win, earning him 10 stage points. The rest of the top 10 from stage 1 include Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, and Noah Gragson.
• A massive wreck out front, which saw Justin Allgaier throw a bad block on Denny Hamlin, ended Stage 2. The winner of the stage was Bubba Wallace, as he was able to make it through the incident.
• Inside 10 laps to go and we got the wreck that shaped the ending of the race. It happened when Denny Hamlin got loose of the nose of his own Corey Heim. This sent him sideways into teammate Christopher Bell. This shot Bell up the track where he made hard contact with the outside retaining wall, effectively ending his Daytona 500 hopes.
• Going into today’s Daytona 500, William Byron was facing three straight victories in the Great American race. It is a feat that has never been done in the history of the sport. Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson both came the closest but saw their streaks snapped at two. But it was hardly a clean race for Byron as he found himself involved in a number of crashes. Still, as the laps wound down, he found himself in the top 5 with a chance to make NASCAR history.
• After a difficult 2025 and offseason with his son’s health issues and his team’s lawsuit against NASCAR, Tyler Reddick rose to the occasion. He led only the final lap, but that was all that counted. This marks Reddick’s first Daytona 500 victory and 9th career win after going winless in 2025.

Race Results

Finalized results pending.

A Daytona 500 victory slide through the infield for Tyler Reddick. pic.twitter.com/q6INDlvxXJ

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2026

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