The Great American Race didn’t disappoint during the celebration of American’s 250th brithday.
Last lap melees, a last corner pass, and the crowning of a new Daytona 500 championship driver and team headlined the 200-lap 68th running of The Great American Race. California’s Tyler Reddick led 23XI to victory lane in NASCAR’s most prestigious race with a thrilling last straightaway pass to bring the young team their first Daytona 500 title.
The win also represents a Daytona 500 title as an owner for three time winner as a driver, Denny Hamlin, and for six-time NBA champion, Michael Jordan. the No. 45 team ended 2025 winless following a Championship 4 appearance at Phoenix Raceway the year prior. Reddick was the 25th different leader, setting the race record. Over the course of 200 laps, Reddick only led just one lap: the last one.
“Just speechless. I didn’t know if I’d ever win this race. It’s surreal, honestly,” Reddick said on the front straightway. “The best part is my son asked before this race, ‘Are you finally going to win this race?’ Something about today just felt right.”
One final morning to soak it all in. #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/FENiJkPLYt
— Devon Henry (@devonhenry77) February 16, 2026
With a push from teammate Riley Herbst, Reddick powered past Chase Elliott and drove his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota to the checkered flag. Chaos erupted behind him when Herbst’s late block on Brad Keselowski triggered a scramble of sliding cars across the finish line, but Reddick was already celebrating a 0.308-second win over 2023 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Glendale’s Michael McDowell was up leading with just three laps to go in a bid for his second career Daytona 500 victory. McDowell’s crew chief, Travis Peterson, had the team setup on a unique fuel strategy that allowed the No. 71 to stay out during the last cycle of lap pit stops. The 41-year-old inherited the lead with just 11 laps to go, with a lead of over 20-seconds (nearly half a track) over the rest of the field.
The race’s final caution flew just laps after the pit cycle concluded, setting up a restart with just three laps to go. After the field passed the white flag, chaos ensued as Carson Hocevar spun from leading the top lane and collected McDowell just two miles from the checkered flag. McDowell, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, finished 22nd.
Tucson’s Alex Bowman was caught up in “the big one” that collected 20 different cars midway through the race. Bowman had to settle for a 40th place finish.
The race featured 665 lead changes among 25 drivers. Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Brad Keselowski, eight weeks after breaking his femur, rounded out the top 5. William Byron finished 12th and was a contender for the win in the final restart after a trying day in his bid for a third straight Daytona 500 win. Pole sitter Kyle Busch placed 15th.
NASCAR storms back to Arizona with a historic doubleheader with INDYCAR at Phoenix Raceway. Catch all the action from the ARCA Menards Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NTT INDYCAR Seres, and NASCAR Cup Series over four days March 5-8. Get your tickets now at phoenixraceway.com.
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Devon Henry
Arizona native, Devon Henry, joined the Sports360AZ crew in 2018 after graduating from Arizona State's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. Devon has avidly partaken in coverage of the Arizona high school sports scene since 2013 and has covered NASCAR and INDYCAR at Phoenix Raceway since 2017. Devon is also a play-by-play announcer, calling over a dozen different sports and hundreds of events.