Daytona 500 Recap: Reddick Steals One for the Ages from 26th

Tyler Reddick did not lead a single lap through the first 199 circuits of the 68th Daytona 500. He ran inside the top 15 for most of the afternoon while bigger names traded haymakers at the front — Bubba Wallace commanding 40 laps, Kyle Busch flexing from the pole, Chase Briscoe showing front-row speed early. Reddick was patient, almost invisible, content to let 23XI teammate Riley Herbst and the other Toyotas do the heavy lifting.

Then came the white flag — and everything changed in two and a half miles.

Carson Hocevar, the 22-year-old who had taken the lead for the first time in his Cup career, got turned into the outside wall by Erik Jones's front bumper before the field even cleared Turn 1. Three lead changes happened on that final lap alone. Chase Elliott inherited the lead briefly, but Riley Herbst — in one of the most consequential teammate pushes in Daytona 500 history — shoved Reddick around Zane Smith and past Elliott exiting Turn 4. Elliott crashed into the wall. Reddick crossed the line 0.308 seconds ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with the only lap he'd led all day.

"Just speechless," Reddick said, his voice already shredded from screaming on the cool-down lap. "I didn't know if I'd ever win this race. It's surreal, honestly."

His young son had asked him before the race: "Are you finally going to win this race?"

This was not a race that rewarded early aggression. 25 different drivers led at least one lap across 66 lead changes — both Daytona 500 records — and the complexion of the race shifted on virtually every restart. Bubba Wallace was the class of the field for most of the afternoon, leading a race-high 40 laps with the 23XI Toyota, including a dominant Stage 2 run. Kyle Busch led 19 laps from the pole. John Hunter Nemechek led 19 of his own. But at Daytona, leading laps and winning the race are two very different things.

Lap 5 brought the first wreck when something broke on B.J. McLeod's No. 78, sending him spinning into the back of the field and collecting six cars — including William Byron, whose bid for a historic three-peat was immediately in jeopardy. Byron pitted for repairs and soldiered on in a battered car.

Lap 124 brought the Big One. Justin Allgaier was leading when Denny Hamlin dove to the inside for the pass. Allgaier threw what FOX's Clint Bowyer called a "lazy" block — too late, too high. Hamlin hit him, and both cars turned into the middle of the pack, triggering a chain reaction that swept up 20 cars including defending champion Kyle Larson, 2022 winner Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, and Byron — who was now involved in his second wreck of the afternoon. Stage 2 ended under caution with Wallace out front.

Allgaier, who accepted responsibility afterward — "It was my fault. I was halfway in, and that's not the right spot to be in" — joined Alex Bowman and Todd Gilliland as drivers whose days ended in that wreck.

Nine laps to go, Denny Hamlin, Corey Heim, and Christopher Bell tangled on the frontstretch. The field, which had just cycled through green-flag pit stops, was shredded again. By the time the white flag flew, only the survivors remained.

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Stage 1 belonged to Zane Smith (#38), the 25-year-old who started 30th and carved his way to the front of the field to claim the first stage win of his Cup Series career. Smith's Front Row Motorsports Ford held the top line through a series of aggressive three-wide battles to earn 10 bonus points. It was a masterclass in superspeedway positioning from a driver nobody had circled on their fantasy sheet.

Stage 2 ended under caution after the Big One, with Bubba Wallace (#23) inheriting the lead by threading through 20 cars of carnage. Wallace's 40 laps led were the most by any driver in the field, and his stage win added another 10 bonus points to what looked like a dominant day — until the final restart shuffled him back to P10. Ryan Blaney, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch, and Riley Herbst also earned Stage 2 points.

The Final Lap: Carson Hocevar took the white flag as the leader — the first time the 22-year-old had led the biggest race in NASCAR. He never made it to Turn 1. Erik Jones's push turned Hocevar into the wall, triggering the first of two wrecks on the final circuit. Hocevar, who'd battled team radio issues all afternoon, later said he didn't even know it was the last lap. He finished 18th.

Two days before his 63rd birthday, Michael Jordan watched from the 23XI pit box as his driver pulled off one of the most dramatic finishes in Daytona 500 history. The NBA Hall of Famer bear-hugged Reddick in Victory Lane, and the two hoisted the Harley J. Earl Trophy together — Jordan's first piece of stock-car hardware at NASCAR's biggest event.

"I can't even believe it," Jordan said. "We had four guys that were really fighting, helping each other out. Riley did an unbelievable job pushing him at the end. That shows you what teamwork can do."

Jordan, who co-owns 23XI with Denny Hamlin, called it "like winning a championship" — and immediately requested a size 13 ring to go with it. The victory came just weeks after 23XI won a landmark antitrust settlement against NASCAR over charter rights, making the Daytona 500 trophy a particularly sweet piece of vindication.

The team placed three cars in the top 10 — Reddick first, Herbst eighth, Wallace tenth — the best collective result in 23XI history.

• Survival is everything at Daytona — Reddick won with 43.1 fantasy points despite leading a single lap. The lineups that stacked survivors crushed those loaded with premium favorites who got swept up in the Big One.
• Zane Smith ($5) was the play of the race — Stage 1 winner from 30th, 9 laps led, P6 finish. At 8.38 points per dollar, he was the kind of value pick that wins fantasy contests outright.
• Riley Herbst ($4) was the quiet difference-maker — P8 with Stage 2 P5 at minimum salary, then delivered the push that won his teammate the race. Nobody rostered him, and that was the edge.
• Premium picks got massacred — Bell ($13), Bowman ($14), Cindric ($15), Hamlin ($15), and Briscoe ($12) combined for just under 28 fantasy points on $69 of salary. The Big One is the great equalizer.
• 23XI's teamwork model is the future — three cars in the top 10, with Herbst's push physically creating the winning moment. Multi-car teams that can coordinate on restarts own superspeedway fantasy.
• Hocevar's heartbreak is a reminder: at Daytona, the race isn't over until the checkered flag waves. He led at the white flag and finished 18th. Your fantasy lineup can be winning and losing on the same lap.