Reddick Wins First Daytona 500 After Crash-Filled Finish
DAYTONA BEACH — Tyler Reddick once thought winning the Daytona 500 was something he could only ever dream about. On Sunday, that dream became a reality.
Reddick captured his first career Daytona 500 victory at the 68th running of the Great American Race that delivered a wild finish worthy of its legacy.
“Just speechless.” Reddick said. “I didn’t know if I’d ever win this race. It’s surreal, honestly. The best part is my son asked before this race, ‘Are you finally going to win this race?’ Something about today just felt right.
“It doesn’t seem like a reality, so I’m just trying to soak in the moment.”
The closing laps were nothing short of chaotic. Reddick found himself all alone in front of Chase Elliott in the final moments of the race, narrowly avoiding a last-lap wreck around him to secure the checkered flag. It was the only lap he led the entire race.
Driving the No. 45 car for 23XI Racing, Reddick not only claimed his maiden Harley J. Earl Trophy but also delivered the organization its first Daytona 500 triumph. The victory made team co-owner Michael Jordan a Daytona 500 champion for the first time – an early birthday present just days ahead of the NBA legend’s celebration.
“It’s incredible to be able to have him as an owner,” Reddick said. “It’s nice to be able to deliver for him.”
The victory ended a drought for Reddick, who had not won since Homestead in 2024. This year’s 500 featured the largest purse in motorsports history with more than $31 million on the line; as the winner, Reddick will reportedly earn more than $1.6 million.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was second and Joey Logano was third. Elliott fell to fourth, while Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five.
The race featured numerous crashes, including a 20-car pileup on Lap 123. Denny Hamlin thought race leader Justin Allgaier left the door open, but Allagaier swiftly shifted right in a late block causing the two to collide. Hamlin rear-ended Algaier, causing chaos for the cars behind.
In all, nearly three dozen cars were involved in at least one wreck over the course of the 200-lap race. But it was the wreck in the final sprint that cost numerous drivers a chance at victory.
“Yeah, a lot of chaos,” said Keselowski, who was also seeking his first Daytona 500 victory. “[On the] last restart, I gave William Byron a great push, and just wasn’t enough to move our lane. I was giving him all I had, and then right here at the end I had this huge run and the 35 [Riley Herbst] wrecked us. Really disappointed.
“Tore up the 9 [Elliott], tore up the 22 [Logano], a bunch of cars that didn’t deserve to be wrecked, so that was a big bummer and really stupid. Still a decent day for us to come home with a top-five [finish] and to be competitive and have a shot to win.”
Reddick, fortuitously, managed to avoid the big ones.
For Reddick, 30, the victory was another milestone in a career defined by steady progression. It was his first Daytona 500 win and his fourth top-10 finish in 14 Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway. Long before Sunday’s breakthrough, he had already proven he could conquer the superspeedway — winning at Daytona in the Truck Series in 2015 and in the Xfinity Series in 2018.
“I watched a lot of NASCAR racing growing up, but I would never miss a Daytona 500 as a little kid growing up out in California, sitting with my family on Sunday watching this race,” Reddick said. “I, again, dreamed of one day just having an opportunity to run in this race. I’ve had — this is my eighth opportunity to run this race, I believe, and it wasn’t the smoothest day, but when it mattered at the end, we did a really good job of being in the mix.”
For the second year in a row, NASCAR moved up the start of The Great American race due to inclement weather. On Saturday, it was announced that the start would move up an hour. The green flag dropped at 2:15 p.m. ET, and the race wrapped before storms hit Daytona International Speedway.
Category: Auto Racing, Motor Sports, NASCAR
