The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season opened the way the Daytona 500 so often does: with strategy, survival, late-race chaos and a finish that came down to the final moments. Tyler Reddick emerged from the madness to win the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway, giving 23XI Racing its first victory in NASCAR’s biggest race. Reddick officially won by 0.308 seconds over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after a frantic final lap scramble.
Key event recap
For most of the afternoon, the race had the familiar Daytona rhythm: lead changes throughout the draft, aggressive lane management and a constant feeling that the whole complexion of the event could change in one instant. It did, repeatedly.
The 2026 edition featured 65 lead changes among a record 25 different drivers, showing just how wide open the race stayed from start to finish. Zane Smith captured Stage 1, while Bubba Wallace was scored as the Stage 2 winner under caution after the huge multi-car incident that erupted late in the segment.
The biggest turning point came when Justin Allgaier and Denny Hamlin made contact while battling for the lead late in Stage 2, igniting the “Big One” and collecting a large group of contenders. Even after that, Daytona still had more drama left.
In the closing laps, Chase Elliott looked poised to finally grab the Harley J. Earl Trophy, but the final lap became a superspeedway free-for-all. Reddick got the run he needed, surged forward at exactly the right moment and cleared the wrecking behind him to steal the win. Elliott’s bid unraveled in the chaos, and Reddick celebrated after leading only the final lap.
Top 10 finishers
- Tyler Reddick
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Chase Elliott
- Brad Keselowski
- Zane Smith
- Chris Buescher
- Riley Herbst
- Josh Berry
- Bubba Wallace
Performance highlights
Tyler Reddick
Reddick’s afternoon was the ultimate example of patience paying off at Daytona. He led just one lap, but it was the one that mattered. After a winless 2025 season, opening 2026 with a Daytona 500 win instantly resets the tone for both Reddick and 23XI Racing.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse once again showed why he remains one of the most dangerous superspeedway racers in the field. He finished second and put himself in position to capitalize if the final-lap move ahead of him had stalled.
Chase Elliott
This one had to hurt. Elliott was right there with the trophy in sight, only for the final lap to slip away in the kind of brutal fashion only Daytona can deliver. Even so, a fourth-place finish and race-winning speed made it one of the strongest overall performances of the day.
Zane Smith and Bubba Wallace
Smith’s Stage 1 victory and sixth-place finish made him one of the day’s biggest movers. Wallace also put together a strong points day, winning Stage 2 and finishing 10th, while helping keep 23XI relevant throughout the race before Reddick closed the deal.
Quietly strong runs
Brad Keselowski finished fifth, Chris Buescher came home seventh, and Josh Berry added a ninth-place result. On a day when simply surviving was a major accomplishment, those are the kinds of runs that matter early in the season.
Crashes and near-misses
As expected, the Daytona 500 was far from clean.
An early Stage 1 multi-car crash damaged several notable cars, including Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch, immediately putting teams into recovery mode. Wallace managed to rebound into the top 10 despite that adversity.
Then came the late Stage 2 “Big One,” triggered when Allgaier and Hamlin collided while racing for the lead. That accident dramatically reshaped the field and wiped out a number of potential contenders before the race even reached its decisive final stretch.
There was also late-race trouble for Hamlin in the final stage when he hit the outside wall after a tire issue, another reminder of how quickly a winning-caliber Daytona run can disappear. And on the final lap, the pack erupted again behind Reddick as drivers desperately fought for position to the stripe.
What it means
The 2026 season could not have started in a bigger way for Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing. Winning the Daytona 500 does more than lock a driver into the playoffs early. It changes the energy around an entire organization.
For Reddick, it ends the frustration of a winless 2025 and immediately puts him at the center of the championship conversation. For 23XI, it is a landmark moment: the team now owns one of the sport’s crown-jewel victories. And for everyone else leaving Daytona, the lesson was the same as always: at superspeedways, control is temporary, opportunity is fleeting, and if you hesitate for even a second, the Daytona 500 is gone.
