Tyler Reddick Delivers 23XI Racing Its First Daytona 500 Win in a Wild, Wreck-Filled Finish
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Just two months ago, 23XI Racing was locked in a courtroom battle with NASCAR. Fast forward to Sunday, and the team co-owned by Michael Jordan was celebrating in Victory Lane at the Daytona 500 - a scene that felt straight out of a NASCAR fever dream.
Tyler Reddick, one of the sport’s most naturally gifted drivers, navigated a chaotic final lap to secure the biggest win of his career and deliver 23XI Racing its first-ever Daytona 500 victory. The California native, known for his aggressive driving style and raw speed, finally broke through after a winless 2025 season.
“It’s like winning a championship, like a huge championship,” Jordan said after the race. And given the rollercoaster ride 23XI has been on - from legal disputes to now standing atop the sport’s biggest stage - it’s hard to argue.
Final Lap Mayhem, But NASCAR Keeps It Green
As is often the case at Daytona, the finish didn’t come without drama. A flurry of late-race crashes turned the final lap into a demolition derby, but NASCAR held off on throwing a caution until after the checkered flag waved. That decision allowed Reddick to race to the finish line and claim the win, even as chaos unfolded behind him.
The second- and third-place finishers were involved in the final wreck and had to visit the infield care center - a mandatory stop after hard hits - though fortunately, no drivers were injured. Still, the aftermath left a field of battered cars and a pit road filled with twisted sheet metal.
Allgaier’s Mistake Triggers the First Big One
The race’s complexion shifted dramatically late in Stage 2 when Justin Allgaier, a part-time Cup driver and regular in NASCAR’s second-tier series, slid up the track and clipped Denny Hamlin. The contact triggered a massive 17-car pileup that wiped out several frontrunners.
Austin Cindric, one of the pre-race favorites, was among those taken out. Todd Gilliland, who had been running inside the top five at the time, also saw his day end in the wreck. Alex Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports car was destroyed, and several others limped on with damage that effectively ended their chances.
Allgaier has experience at Daytona - he scored a top-10 finish in last year’s 500 - but he’s not a full-time Cup driver and doesn’t have the same level of familiarity with the draft-heavy dynamics of superspeedway racing. That unfamiliarity may have played a role in the chain reaction that followed.
Kyle Busch’s Daytona Drought Continues
If there’s one driver who knows heartbreak at Daytona, it’s Kyle Busch. Sunday marked his 21st attempt to win the Great American Race - and once again, he came up short.
Busch came into the day with momentum after earning the pole in qualifying, raising hopes that this might finally be the year he checked the elusive Daytona 500 box. But his day unraveled in the Lap 123 wreck - the same incident sparked by Allgaier - which left his car wounded and his chances dashed.
While Richard Childress Racing managed to patch up the No. 8 Chevrolet well enough to keep him on track, the damage was done.
Busch lost valuable track position and never regained it, ultimately finishing 15th. He exited pit road without speaking to the media, another frustrating chapter in a Daytona saga that continues to haunt one of the sport’s most accomplished drivers.
Fuel Strategy Is Now the Name of the Game
One of the more subtle - but significant - storylines from this year’s race is the continued evolution of fuel-saving strategy at superspeedways.
Chase Elliott, who’s never shy about speaking his mind, put it bluntly: “It was a lot more fun when there were about three of us who knew it was going on in like 2022.” Back then, only a few teams were leaning into extreme fuel conservation.
Now? It’s the norm.
Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, was one of the early adopters of the tactic when NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car. With every team running nearly identical equipment, Gustafson realized the edge would have to come from somewhere else - and that “somewhere” turned out to be the fuel tank.
Now, the entire field is playing the same game. Drivers lift earlier, coast more, and run in tighter packs to save fuel. It’s a strategy that’s less about raw speed and more about discipline, patience, and engineering precision.
Even if NASCAR were to loosen the rules to allow for more performance disparity between cars, Gustafson doesn’t believe teams would abandon what they’ve learned.
“You rewind time and watch Bobby Allison over here with a square car and you look at what we have now - we’re not going back there,” he said. The same goes for fuel-saving: “No matter how nostalgic you want to be about it, it’s not going back.”
A New Chapter for 23XI
For 23XI Racing, the win represents more than just a trophy - it’s a statement. After a turbulent offseason that included a high-profile antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, the team now finds itself squarely in the spotlight for all the right reasons.
Reddick’s victory is validation of the team’s long-term vision and investment in talent. It also underscores just how unpredictable and dramatic NASCAR’s biggest race can be.
From courtroom clashes to Victory Lane celebrations, 23XI’s Daytona journey is one that could only happen in this sport. And with a driver like Reddick behind the wheel, it may just be the beginning.