Tyler Reddick Delivers 23XI Racing Its First Daytona 500 Victory in a Wild, Wreck-Filled Finish
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Just two months ago, Michael Jordan and NASCAR CEO Jim France were on opposite sides of a federal antitrust lawsuit. Fast forward to Sunday, and the two were shaking hands in victory lane after one of the most unpredictable Daytona 500s in recent memory.
Jordan’s 23XI Racing not only survived the chaos - it conquered it. Tyler Reddick, the California-born wheelman known for his raw driving talent, claimed his first-ever win in the Great American Race, giving 23XI its most significant victory to date.
For a team that was facing existential questions not long ago, this was a resounding answer.
“It’s like winning a championship, like a huge championship,” Jordan said. And he wasn’t exaggerating.
Reddick Survives the Mayhem
The final laps of the 500 turned into a demolition derby as multiple crashes broke out, including a vicious final wreck after the checkered flag. NASCAR opted to let the race play out under green, a decision that proved pivotal. Reddick kept his foot in it, avoided the carnage, and crossed the finish line before the caution flew.
Even the drivers who finished second and third were caught up in the final wreck and had to visit the infield care center. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but the majority of the field left Daytona with battered or destroyed cars.
For Reddick, who had been shut out of victory lane all last season, this wasn’t just a win - it was validation. The 23XI driver has long been considered one of the most naturally gifted racers in the Cup Series, and now he’s got a Daytona 500 trophy to prove it.
Allgaier’s Mistake Triggers the Big One
The race took a dramatic turn late in Stage 2 when Justin Allgaier, running part-time in the Cup Series, drifted up the track and made contact with Denny Hamlin. The result: a massive 17-car pileup that reshaped the entire complexion of the race.
Among those caught in the wreck were Austin Cindric - one of the pre-race favorites - Todd Gilliland, who had been running in the top five, and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman. Several others continued on but with significant damage that took them out of serious contention.
Allgaier, a regular in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, isn’t as experienced in the draft-heavy world of Cup superspeedway racing. Still, he had a top-10 finish in last year’s Daytona 500 and showed flashes of speed again before the incident.
But this moment was a reminder of how quickly things can unravel at Daytona - one misstep, and half the field pays the price.
Kyle Busch’s Daytona Drought Continues
Few drivers have experienced more heartbreak at the Daytona 500 than Kyle Busch. Sunday marked his 21st attempt at winning NASCAR’s crown jewel, and once again, he came up short.
It started with promise. Busch put his No.
8 Chevrolet on the pole in qualifying, looking every bit like a contender. But just past the halfway point, he got swept up in the same Lap 123 crash triggered by Allgaier.
His team at Richard Childress Racing made repairs, but the car never truly recovered.
Busch finished 15th - a respectable number on paper, but far from what he was aiming for. He left pit road without speaking to reporters, the frustration of another missed opportunity clearly weighing on him.
At this point, the Daytona 500 has become Busch’s white whale. He’s won just about everything else in the sport, but this race continues to elude him.
Fuel Strategy Now a Permanent Fixture
If you’re wondering why the Daytona 500 looked a little more calculated than chaotic early on, thank fuel strategy. What started as a niche approach a few years ago has now become the norm in superspeedway racing.
Chase Elliott summed it up best: “It was a lot more fun when there were about three of us who knew it was going on in like 2022.” Now, the secret’s out. Nearly the entire field is playing the fuel-saving game, especially with the spec Next Gen car leveling the playing field in terms of speed and setup.
Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, was one of the early adopters. He realized quickly that with cars being virtually identical under the current rules package, the edge had to come from somewhere else - and that somewhere was pit strategy and fuel mileage.
And once a team figures out how to gain an advantage, it’s tough to put the genie back in the bottle.
“You rewind time and watch Bobby Allison over here (at Daytona) with a square car and you look at what we have now - we’re not going back there,” Gustafson said. Same goes for fuel-saving tactics. They’re not going away, no matter how much fans might long for the days of flat-out racing from green to checkers.
A Daytona 500 to Remember
From legal battles to victory lane, from strategic chess matches to last-lap wrecks, this year’s Daytona 500 had a little bit of everything. For Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing, it was a breakthrough moment. For veterans like Kyle Busch, it was another chapter in a long-running Daytona saga.
And for NASCAR, it was a reminder of why this race still matters - not just as a spectacle, but as a proving ground for talent, teamwork, and timing.
The Great American Race delivered once again.