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02/15 15:40 CST The Big One comes early in the Daytona 500 and involves several
top contenders
The Big One comes early in the Daytona 500 and involves several top contenders
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) --- The "Big One" happened earlier than usual at the
Daytona 500 on Sunday: a 20-car crash just past the midway point that involved
three-time race winner Denny Hamlin and several other contenders.
Justin Allgaier was leading in a car fielded by two-time race winner Dale
Earnhardt Jr. when Hamlin tried to pass on the outside at Daytona International
Speedway. Allgaier threw a late block and squeezed Hamlin into the wall,
igniting the melee with seven laps remaining in the second stage of NASCAR's
season opener.
Hamlin, trying to become the third driver to win four Daytona 500s, spun into
the infield grass. Former race winner Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Shane van
Gisbergen, Ross Chastain, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek were among those
involved.
Two-time Daytona 500 runner-up Bubba Wallace slipped through the wreckage
unscathed, took the lead and won the stage under caution. Wallace drives for
23IX Racing, which is owned by Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael
Jordan.
The start of the race was moved up an hour in hopes of avoiding afternoon
showers that are expected in the area.
Kyle Busch, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, led the
field to the green flag in hopes of winning "The Great American Race" for the
first time in 21 tries. He holds the race's longest active skid.
William Byron is trying to become the first driver in history to win the
Daytona 500 three consecutive years. But Byron had to switch to a backup car
following a qualifying crash and landed on pit road in the opening laps Sunday
after B.J. McLeod spun in front of him, leading Byron to hit the outside wall.
Byron won last year's event in overtime after race leader Denny Hamlin got spun
on the final lap, igniting a multicar crash. Byron ended up passing eight cars
on the last lap to return to victory lane.
Can he make it three in a row? Four others --- Richard Petty in 1975, Cale
Yarborough in 1985, Sterling Marlin in 1996 and Hamlin in 2021 --- came up
short in three-peat bids at NASCAR's signature race.
The field includes seven other previous Daytona 500 winners, most notably
three-time winner Hamlin and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin
is trying to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss in the 2025 season finale
and the December death of his father. Johnson, meanwhile, is again driving the
No. 84 Toyota for his team, Legacy Motor Club.
McLeod, who grabbed a spot in the race when Anthony Alfredo was disqualified
following an inspection after Thursday's qualifying races, spun five laps into
the race and had to get towed to the garage. Casey Mears, who claimed one of
the few open spots in his qualifier, sustained car damage when McLeod lost
control.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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