DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin surged into the lead on the final lap of the Daytona 500, and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver thought he had a fourth victory in “The Great American Race” within his reach Sunday night.
Especially when Riley Herbst, who drives for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin, went spinning through the infield grass in his No. 35 Toyota. NASCAR was for sure going to throw a yellow flag in the regular-season opener for the top-tier Cup Series, Hamlin thought, especially after the second-tier Xfinity Series race a day earlier ended under caution.
When Herbst was able to save his ride, though, NASCAR didn’t need to throw the caution and Hamlin wound up collected in the inevitable crash that comes from drivers making desperate moves on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. He was three wide in the middle when Cole Custer’s Haas Factory Team No. 41 Ford wiggled into Hamlin’s Toyota to trigger a race-deciding crash.
William Byron slipped through the carnage in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to win the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year. Hamlin wound up 24th, missing a chance to become the third driver with four or more Daytona 500 wins, alongside Richard Petty (seven) and Cale Yarborough (four).
“I thought the race was going to be over when (the Herbst) wreck happened,” Hamlin said, “and then when I realized they’re not going to throw this caution … all I focused on was, ‘Let me get a run and win this race.'”