Pit Stops : Daytona International Speedway

• Wednesday, February 12th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Chase Briscoe earns Toyota’s first pole position for DAYTONA 500

Chase Briscoe spoiled Ford’s pole position party during Wednesday night’s qualifying session for the 67th running of the DAYTONA 500.

Fastest in both rounds of time trials, Briscoe turned a lap in 49.249 seconds (182.745 mph) to secure the top starting spot for Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The pole position was the first for a Toyota driver in the Great American Race. Briscoe edged 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric (182.463 mph) by 0.076 seconds for the top spot on the grid.

Given the race’s unique qualifying format, Briscoe, in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, and Cindric are the only two drivers locked into their starting positions for Sunday’s race.

“A great way to start our season,” said an ecstatic Briscoe, who earned his third career pole. “Unbelievable way to start off the year. Unbelievable way to start off with Toyota. To be able to be the guy to deliver them the first anything when they’ve already accomplished so much is pretty cool.

“Can’t thank (owner) Coach Gibbs enough, the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization. The whole offseason, everybody kept telling me the focus was trying to qualify better at superspeedways. That’s something I really struggled at last year. For our 19 group to come here and sit on the pole at the biggest race of the year is pretty special.”

The rest of the field will be set in Thursday night’s Duel at Daytona 15-mile qualifying races, though both Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson know they’ll be in the field for NASCAR’s most prestigious race after posting the two fastest qualifying times among nine drivers of unchartered cars.

Truex qualified 22nd overall and Johnson 29th.

“Definitely a big relief,” said Truex, who is driving the first TRICON Garage entry in the Cup Series. “You never know what can happen in the Duels, they can get crazy, something on pit road can get you in trouble. Great job to all of the guys. They worked their butts off on this car.

“They were sweating all afternoon, and luckily, we were able to put a good lap in… All of the guys at TRICON and also at JGR, Toyota and TRD. I’m sure, it’s a big deal for them—both cars that just locked in are Toyotas. Big night for them, and hopefully, we can have some fun the rest of the weekend.”

Johnson drove the No. 84 Toyota fielded by Legacy Motor Club, the team he co-owns.

“What I went through last year (in the Duels) was so frightening, and I’m glad I don’t have to go through it again,” Johnson said. “I certainly respect this process and don’t envy the guys that have to race their way in.”

In the final round, Ford drivers were second through fifth fastest, with Cindric, Ryan Preece, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and Josh Berry occupying those respective positions on the speed chart.

Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon (in the fastest Chevrolet), Christopher Bell, Ty Dillon and Kyle Larson were sixth through 10th fastest in the money round.

Briscoe will start from the pole in Thursday’s first Duel, with Cindric leading the field to green in the second qualifying race. Preece will start second in Duel 1, with Logano on the outside of the front row in Duel 2.

Qualifiers in odd-numbered positions fill the field behind the pole winner in Duel 1, with even-numbered qualifiers filling the field of Duel 2. The highest-finishing unchartered driver in each of the Duels will advance to the DAYTONA 500.

• Daytona International Speedway
• DAYTONA 500
• Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Chase Briscoe
• Age: 30
• Team : No 19 - Bass Pro Shops Toyota
• Owner: Joe Gibbs
• Crew Chief: James Small
• Chase Briscoe won the Pole Award for the DAYTONA 500 with a lap of 49249 seconds, 182745 mph
• This is his third pole in 145 NASCAR Cup Series races
• This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2025
• This is his second pole in nine races at Daytona International Speedway
• Austin Cindric (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2025 and his fifth in eight races at Daytona International Speedway
• Ryan Preece (third) posted his third top-10 start at Daytona International Speedway It is his first in one race this season
• Riley Herbst (27th) was the fastest qualifying rookie
• This is Toyota's first pole in the Daytona 500
• TRICON Garage's Martin Truex Jr (No 56) and Legacy Motor Club's Jimmie Johnson (No 84) have qualified into the DAYTONA 500 as the two open cars on speed

• Sunday, February 16th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

A little luck, good instincts give William Byron second straight DAYTONA 500 win

Like Houdini making an unlikely escape from a straitjacket, William Byron trusted his instincts and emerged from a smoky, last-lap wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway to win the DAYTONA 500 for the second straight time.

On Sunday night, after a long rain delay and a Presidential visit, Byron took full advantage when contact from Cole Custer turned three-time DAYTONA 500 winner Denny Hamlin at the front the field and started a wreck that gave Byron the opportunity he needed.

When Byron crossed the finish line 0.113 seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Reddick in overtime, he became the first driver since Hamlin in 2019 and 2020 to win the Great American Race in consecutive years.

“Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” Byron said after climbing from his car. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom, and I was honestly going to go third (top) lane regardless, because I was probably sixth coming down the back.

“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. Worked super hard all week and had an amazing car. Just had a really hard time with the fuel saving and kind of staying towards the front.”

“Crazy. I can’t honestly believe that. But we’re here. So proud of it.”

Last season, Byron claimed all three of his NASCAR Cup Series victories in the first 11 races. This year, after another Daytona win, he plans to sustain the momentum throughout the season.

“It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving,” said Byron, who picked up his third victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway and the 14th of his career.

“But just really proud of our team. I can’t stress that enough. I’m just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the offseason to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here. We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix (in the Championship 4 race).”

The wreck on the second lap of overtime frustrated both Hamlin, who was late to the lead and 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric, who led a race-high 59 laps and combined with Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney to lead 125 of 202.

“Frustration—you’re taking the white as the leader,” said Cindric, who qualified on the front row and won Thursday’s second Duel at Daytona race. “I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage. I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better.

“Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”

Hamlin had just pulled ahead of Cindric on the backstretch when Custer made a move to the outside and then steered down the track toward Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, triggering the crash.

“I measured up the 2 (Cindric), and got a run on him,” Hamlin said. “I stayed with him long enough where I could kind of control which side I wanted to pass him on, and then we had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was going to come.

“The 41 (Custer) had a run, and I chose not to block him because these races, you have to live to make it off of Turn 4, and we just didn’t.”

Legacy Motor Club owner and part-time driver Jimmie Johnson finished third in his best result since 2020 at Dover. Pole winner Chase Briscoe was fourth and John Hunter Nemechek fifth, giving Legacy two drivers in the top five.

Alex Bowman, Blaney, Cindric, Justin Allgaier (in JR Motorsports first Cup race) and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

The race was just over four laps from completion in regulation when a bump from Custer turned Christopher Bell hard into the outside wall on Lap 196. Bell’s Toyota bounced off the SAFER barrier and collected the Ford of Ryan Preece, whose car got airborne and landed on its roof before finishing upright.

That sort of wreck wasn’t unfamiliar to Preece, who endured a spectacular series of barrel rolls in the 2023 spring race at Talladega.

“When the car took off like that, it got really quiet, and all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said. “So, I’m lucky to walk away.”

That wreck, which involved 10 cars, forced the race to overtime. An earlier melee on Lap 186, triggered by contact between Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., changed the complexion of the race—eliminating Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Noah Gragson from contention for the win.

The 67th running of the Great America Race started in short bursts. With President Donald Trump in attendance and the grandstands packed with fans—reflective of a 10th straight sellout—drivers ran just nine green-flag laps from the start before rain interrupted the proceedings.

After a red-flag period that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes, 59 seconds, drivers took to the track for a second time and ran another 12 laps under caution before a brief rainstorm halted the race for another 20 minutes, 29 seconds.

With Logano in the lead, the DAYTONA 500 resumed on Lap 24 and ran without incident until Lap 63 when the bottom lane checked up, and Zane Smith turned Hamlin’s Toyota on the backstretch.

Smith’s Ford slid up the track into the Ford of Josh Berry, seriously damaging that car. Smith took his car to the garage for attempted repairs, while Hamlin was able to continue without losing a lap.

Logano won the first stage under caution, but because of a problem with debris in the throttle body of his No. 22 Ford on the subsequent restart on Lap 71, Logano stacked up the top lane and ignited a seven-car melee in Turn 1. The accident eliminated the cars of Martin Truex Jr., Helio Castroneves and Ross Chastain.

Intense three-wide action throughout the race produced 56 lead changes among 15 drivers. Byron led five times for a total of 10 laps. There were eight cautions for 47 laps.

• Drivers Entered: 45 (5 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 200
• Laps Actual: 201 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
• Margin of Victory: 0.113 Seconds
• Time of Race: 3 Hours 53 Minutes 26 Seconds
• Average Speed: 129.159
• Cautions: 8 for 47 laps
• Lead Changes: 56
• Green Flag Passes: 16,389 (106.4 passes per green flag lap)

• Daytona International Speedway
• DAYTONA 500
• Race Winner: William Byron
• Age: 27
• Team : No 24 - Axalta Chevrolet
• Owner: Rick Hendrick
• Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
• William Byron won the DAYTONA 500, his 14th victory in 253 NASCAR Cup Series races
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2025
• This is his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 15 races at Daytona International Speedway Fifth driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, first since Denny Hamlin (2019-2020)
• Tyler Reddick (second) posted his third top-10 finish in 12 races at Daytona International Speedway It is his first top-10 finish in 2025
• Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 17th top-10 finish in 41 races at Daytona International Speedway Johnson's best Daytona 500 finish since his win in 2013, first top five finish since 2020
• Riley Herbst (17th) was the highest finishing rookie
• Ryan Blaney leads the point standings by 6 points over Alex Bowman
• Youngest driver to win multiple Daytona 500s breaking the record held by Jeff Gordon also in the #24 (Younger than Gordon by 4 months - Gordon was 27y, 6mo, 10 days) Byron is 27 years, 2 months and 18 days old
• This is the 10th Daytona 500 win for Hendrick Motorsports, the series-most