William Byron wins second-straight Daytona 500 amid massive last-lap wreck

What a scene to end the Daytona 500. William Byron is now a two-time, back-to-back Daytona 500 champion in an unthinkable finish. Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric were out front in this race and were both wrecked on the final lap. NASCAR allowed Byron and Tyler Reddick to race to the line.

William Byron is now a two-time Daytona champion. He did it in the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy with the flames and all. Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon have their next superstar.

In the last few years, Byron has made incredible breakthroughs on the track. A year ago, he won it under caution, this time around, he raced to the finish line.

On the final lap, Riley Herbst was pushed out of line. He kept driving and avoided the caution flag. On the backstretch, Cole Custer tried to make a move to the middle. From there, Byron reacted by going to the outside. That was the winning move in the end.

Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric were putting on quite a show at the front of the field. Then it was carnage. Out of the chaos was William Byron and Tyler Reddick. Jimmie Johnson and John Hunter Nemechek both came out in the top five. A great result for Legacy Motor Club.

From the rain delays to President Trump being at the track and all the way into the night. This Daytona 500 was memorable for many reasons. Most importantly, the second Daytona 500 win for William Byron.

William Byron can’t believe second Daytona 500 win

Perhaps more unbelievable than winning his first Daytona 500 is William Byron winning his second. He is the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-2020. Even in an organization like Hendrick with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, William Byron is doing everything he can to rise above.

Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but just trusted my instincts on the last lap there. I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom and I was honestly going to go third lane regardless because I was probably sixth coming down the back.

“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. Worked super hard all week and had an amazing car. Just had a really hard time with the fuel-saving and kind of staying towards the front.

“Crazy. I can’t honestly believe that. But we’re here. So proud of it.”

William Byron, two-time Daytona 500 champion. Who would have thought the iRacing kid would rise to such heights in the Cup Series?