Full highlights and race results from the 2023 Daytona 500
Summary
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won NASCAR's Daytona 500 on Sunday after two overtime restarts, staying ahead of Joey Logano. NASCAR deemed Stenhouse was in the lead when a caution was called on the final lap of the race.
Ross Chastain topped Stage 2, while Brad Keselowski picked up a Stage 1 win. Alex Bowman started on the pole alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson on the front row.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and action sports legend Travis Pastrana also joined this year's field as open entries, qualifying for Sunday's race along with Zane Smith and Conor Daly.
Follow along here for full highlights and results from the 65th running of the Daytona 500.
Required reading
(Photo: Getty Images)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and JTG are an ideal fit — and it showed at the Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Over a morning cup of coffee with his wife on Sunday, Tad Geschickter shared something. The co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing sensed that his driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., was going to win the Daytona 500 later that day. It was the same thought he had prior to the August 2014 race at Watkins Glen when JTG won its lone NASCAR Cup Series race with then-driver AJ Allmendinger.
Normally, the feeling Geschickter was experiencing Sunday morning would call for an immediate trip to a nearby medical facility. The harsh truth is that most weeks, JTG, co-owned by the Geschickters and retired NBA player Brad Daugherty, is simply not a team whose owner can confidently state that his team can win.
“I was up at 3:30 tossing around just thinking through the day, and when Tad woke up, I’m making coffee, and he said, ‘We’re going to win today,’” Jodi Geschickter said. “I said, ‘Do you really think so?’ He said, ‘I do. I feel it. I feel like we’re going to win today.’ We prepare every week, and sometimes you know when you’ve got a better shot than others, but Tad really felt it.
But here at Daytona International Speedway, Tad Geschickter’s feeling couldn’t be chalked up to foolish optimism. Daytona represents a style of racing where Stenhouse is at his best. He is one of NASCAR’s elite talents on drafting tracks, where his ability to understand the nuances of running in a large pack with horsepower-restricted engines makes him a perennial contender. Both his career victories occurred on such ovals, winning the 2017 spring race at Talladega Superspeedway and then, a few months later, the summer race at Daytona. And there have been other near wins since, including last year’s Daytona 500.
“Ricky has a mindset of knowing when to press, when to attack,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of performance and motorsports for Chevrolet. “He just has a sense of knowing how to get to the front in these races.”
(Photo: Getty Images)
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Historic win for NASCAR team owners
When Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won Sunday's race, former NBA player Brad Daugherty became the first Black car owner to win the Daytona 500. Daugherty co-owns Stenhouse's JTG Daugherty Racing team along with Tad and Jodi Geschickter.
Jodi Geschickter also adds to the short list of women to win the race as a car owner, joining Teresa Earnhardt.
Daytona 500 reaction: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and JTG Daugherty get a massive win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won his first Daytona 500 on Sunday night, going to victory lane after a double-overtime finish, which ended in a crash. The Athletic's motorsports writers Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi share their quick reactions:
The big story
Gluck: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been one of the most overlooked drivers in all of NASCAR. He hasn’t finished inside the top 20 of the season-ending point standings since 2018. He had just one top-five finish in each of the last two seasons. And entering this year, Stenhouse had just two career wins in 364 career starts.
Well, make that three.
Stenhouse is a Daytona 500 champion, something no one can ever take away. Even if he never does anything else in his career, he’ll always be introduced as a Daytona 500 winner.
But the victory does give him a chance for more; it’s highly likely the victory will send him to the NASCAR playoffs this fall, where he’ll be one of 16 drivers competing for a title.
Will he win the championship? No. But knowing the team will be part of the playoffs could result in JTG Daugherty Racing trying to increase its resources to get more competitive heading into the final 10 races.
Bianchi: The initial reaction from some corners is that Stenhouse’s win is a shocker, another in a succession of upsets following victories by Michael McDowell in 2021 and Austin Cindric in 2022. But when it comes to racing on a superspeedway, Stenhouse is in his element. He’s one of the best in this form of racing, a driver who, if he can avoid getting swept into a crash, is likely going to factor into the outcome. A look at his record attests to this belief, with all three of his Cup wins occurring on superspeedways — and his latest triumph is his biggest one yet.
Read the rest of their reactions here.
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NASCAR points leaders after Daytona 500
After Race No. 1 of 36, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano is the points leader.
1. Joey Logano
2. Chris Buescher -2
3. Ricky Stenhouse -4
4. Christopher Bell -8
5. Alex Bowman -11
6. Ross Chastain -14
7. Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick -15 (tie)
9. AJ Allmendinger -18
10. Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski -20 (tie)
Official race results
Daytona 500 official race results:
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Christopher Bell
- Chris Buescher
- Alex Bowman
- AJ Allmendinger
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Blaney
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
- Travis Pastrana
- Kevin Harvick
- Zane Smith
- Cody Ware
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Corey LaJoie
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson (accident)
- Kyle Busch (accident)
- Bubba Wallace (accident)
- Aric Almirola (accident)
- Brad Keselowski (accident)
- Austin Cindric (accident)
- Noah Gragson
- Ty Gibbs
- Harrison Burton
- Todd Gilliland (accident)
- Michael McDowell
- Conor Daly
- BJ McLeod
- Jimmie Johnson (accident)
- Justin Haley (accident)
- Austin Dillon (accident)
- William Byron (accident)
- Chase Briscoe (accident)
- Ryan Preece (accident)
- Erik Jones (accident)
- Chase Elliott (accident)
- Tyler Reddick (accident)
- Ty Dillon (engine)
How this Daytona 500 stacked up
With 52 lead changes (among 21 different drivers), this race saw a tie for the second-most lead changes in Daytona 500 history. But much of that was a product of a car that has created two very even lines for much of the race. Drivers can't make big moves with the Next Gen car on superspeedways like they used to, so they largely become stuck in line and wait for their turn to gain momentum and inch ahead. It wasn't a bad show, but also continued to demonstrate how the superspeedway package could use some little tweaking (as seemed to be the case in the Next Gen's debut season in 2022).
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What the win means for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse was once discussed as one of the better superspeedway racers in NASCAR. He won at Talladega and Daytona (summer race) in 2017 and made the garage take notice of his drafting skills. But in the years since, he became a target of fans' ire at times for causing crashes with some of his aggressive moves (to the point where some call him "Wrecky" instead of Ricky).
But in pairing Stenhouse with his former Xfinity Series crew chief Mike Kelley this year, it seemed like a fresh start for a team and driver that really needed one. Sure enough, they've now won together in their first start, and will turn an eye toward a surprise playoff berth this fall.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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Ricky Stenhouse describes how he gained the lead
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. described on Fox what made the difference in the race.
"When the 8 (Kyle Busch) went to the bottom there, I was able to push the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 5 (Kyle Larson)," he said. "We had a huge run. I was hoping we were going to get to the white there, and we didn't, so I knew I was going to take the top. I was hoping the 22 was going to follow, and he did. He was able to push us out.
"I went to the bottom, the 8 and the 22 got a huge run. The 5 split me in the middle, but another fellow dirt racer with (Christopher) Bell gave me a good shot down the little short chute into (Turn) 1, and we were out front when the caution came out. We were out of fuel so the fuel light was going crazy."
"I hope y'all had fun," Stenhouse continued. "That was a heck of a race."
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins Daytona 500
A massive wreck on the final lap involving Kyle Larson ensues and the race ends when a caution comes out. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was in the lead. NASCAR determines he's the winner.
Top 10 running order at the caution:
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Christopher Bell
- Chris Buescher
- Alex Bowman
- AJ Allmendinger
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Blaney
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
Who's left?
Dirt racers Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell will be the top three for the second overtime restart, followed by Joey Logano, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Travis Pastrana, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick in the top 15.
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The Big One
A wreck ensues after the first overtime restart, collecting many cars. William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. are among those with damage.
Austin Dillon, who was shuffled from the top two to the middle of the pack with Kyle Busch, got turned and it set off a big melee. He hit Denny Hamlin, then Byron got taken out. Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith were also involved.
"I'm OK," Dillon says. "Car's not."
RFK returns to front
Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher move to the outside lane and work together to surge to the lead with 10 laps to go. AJ Allmendinger shuffles to the back.
So it's RFK-RFK-RCR (Kyle Busch)-RCR (Austin Dillon)-Hendrick (William Byron).
Can Dillon and Busch get around the RFK cars with Byron's help?
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Restart with 13 laps to go
Restart coming with just 13 laps to go in the Daytona 500. This is going to be nuts.
Harrison Burton, Joey Logano, William Byron, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, Brad Keselowski and Noah Gragson are in the top 10. Then, it's Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Jimmie Johnson, Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain and Cody Ware to round out the top 20.
Crash! Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell involved
With 19 laps left, cars merge together rounding a turn, with MTJ, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell and more involved. Kevin Harvick's car also suffers some damage.
This is the fifth caution of the day (second for an incident) and the second multi-car wreck of the race.
As Fox broadcast reporter Mike Joy points out, Truex, driver of the No. 19, crashed with 19 laps left in his 19th Daytona 500 on Feb. 19.
Pit stops underway
Green flag pit stops are underway. The leaders come in, as do a group of Chevys. RFK Racing cars had smooth stops with Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski having no apparent issues and leaving pit road together.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets flagged for exiting too fast on pit road.