William Byron won the Daytona 500, a marathon on Sunday night. It’s after the rain delay and the yellow warning flag finally led to overtime laps.
And these two overtime laps were an absolute thrill to see multiple spinouts and crashes that allowed Byron to win the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row.
Six of the last eight Daytona 500 races ended with overtime. Just like overtime in sports, there was a sense of despair when all drivers came to the top.
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NASCAR Cup Series drivers Noah Gragson (4), Austin Syndric (2), and driver Ryan Place (60) will race in three races and three three at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Peter Casey-Imagn Images)
However, as they tried to reach the front of the pack, Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car was leading by lap one lap as Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe were trying to move ahead of him.
However, as Custer was on the right side of Hamlin, Briscoe hit the back of 11 cars, eventually leading the three Daytona 500 winners to a spin-out, hitting No. 2 Austin Sindrick in the process.
But with a bit of luck, Byron came out of the unharmed shipwreck, but the warning flag never appeared as he eventually straightened to the checkered flag for victory.
Trump praises NASCAR drivers for “courage” ahead of the Daytona 500 and sends a special message
Tyler Reddick (No. 45), Jimmy Johnson (No. 84), Brisco and John Nemeschek rounded out the top five.
Speaking of yellow flags, the 67th run of the Great American Race came into bunch, especially after a 5-lap wreck, when Ryan Place’s No. 60 flew through the air. Thankfully, he left the truck unharmed in Daytona.
Christopher Bell came in first place with Hamlin when Custer’s Ford pushed Bell’s No. 20 multiple times.
NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch (8), drivers Ryan Branny (12) and driver Bubba Wallace (23) will race in three races and three at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Mike Watters-imagn image)
Bell’s car was dancing a little as Custer continued to slam him. Ryan Place’s 60 cars took over the air as a result of a collision by Bell, but thankfully no one was injured.
Ryan Branny was in a position to run in victory, and was knocked out of the running after Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s front left tire wiped him off with a crash, causing the yellow flag to take 14 laps. It’s coming out. That included Joey Logano and others.
The wreck occurred after Logano tried to make a move that passed through the Stenhouse. Kyle Bush was in a good position to win that, but he saw his No. 8 car spinning as well.
The race faced two delays due to bad weather as rain fell on the track.
President Donald Trump also appeared in Daytona, leading the driver on laps before the race began. It was his second time at the event, and he praised the NASCAR driver while talking to Jamie Little of Fox Sports.
“They have the courage to do this,” Trump said. “I saw it and I was here. They have a lot of courage, as they say.”
William Byron (24) is the driver of the NASCAR Cup Series at the Daytona 500 on the Daytona International Speedway. (Peter Casey-Imagn Images)
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Trump, whose granddaughter joined the track, highlighted US progress since starting his second term as president.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s great for the country,” he said. “This country is on track again. We have a spirit all over the world. We have a spirit again, we have a spirit, we have it back, and we don’t take four weeks. You’re what we’re doing. You can see what it is. But this is very exciting.”
Ryan Gaydos of Fox News contributed to this report.
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