Tyler Reddick triumphs in last lap Daytona 500 wreck-fest
Cars crashed on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

A four-lap dash was set up when the three Toyotas of Corey Heim (#67 23XI Racing), Denny Hamlin #11 Joe Gibbs Racing, and Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing) crashed into the outside wall coming towards the tri-oval with 10 laps to go.

Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell led the field to the green flag with Reddick on his inside.

McDowell and his teammate Carson Hocevar worked together to get to the front of the field until the penultimate lap when the pair got separated.

The Spire Motorsports pair got several car lengths clear, but a run from Erik Jones in the #43 Legacy Motor Club Camry on the high line pushed the #77 Hocevar Camaro clear of the #7 McDowell Camaro.

Hocevar led at the white flag, but moments later got a shot from behind the #43 Jones Camry and spun to the inside. Jones and McDowell followed suit.

Despite the spinning cars, the race remained green.

Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Tyler Reddick were line astern at the front of the field.

Behind them, Zane Smith pushed Elliott clear to the lead of the race. Then Reddick got a run with support from fellow Toyota driver Riley Herbst.

Then came the decisive move. As Elliott swerved left and right, Reddick went low and shot through to the lead to take the win, leaving Herbst to wreck with Brad Keselowski, who took Elliott, Smith, Joey Logano, and Chris Buescher out too.

TYLER REDDICK WINS THE DAYTONA 500! pic.twitter.com/nOAjUM4Buu

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2026

It was an emotional first-time Daytona 500 win for Reddick, who last year raced while his son was ill.

“I know. Last year was really hard for all of us, hard for me,” said Reddick.

“When you’re a Cup driver and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, it’s expected you win every single year.

“For us to go on that drought we did made us look hard in the mirror, and really proud of everyone on our Chumba Casino Toyota Camry.

“Worked really hard in the off-season, and there was many points in this race where we weren’t making decisions we wanted to, but we just reset, and every opportunity we got to reset we went back at it.

“Just speechless. I didn’t know if I’d ever win this race. It’s surreal, honestly. Honestly, the best part is my son asked before this race, Are you finally going to win this race? Something about today just felt right.

We HAVE to take another look at the final lap of the Daytona 500. pic.twitter.com/1sAaD5FZM4

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2026

“We had the lead there when that caution came out, lined up next to McDowell, and we just kind of kept getting hung a couple times in the closing laps there,” he added.

“Just every time we’d kind of break up, there would be nowhere left to go but to push, and they pushed me, obviously.

“My teammate Riley Herbst gave me a lot of pushes there and then tried to win the race for himself, as he should at the end there. Just incredible how it all played out. Just true Daytona madness.

“It’s going to be a long night if I’ve already lost my voice from screaming. Never thought I’d be Daytona 500 champion.”

Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen finished a lap down in 30th.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway

Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Car
Laps
Diff
Gap

1
45
Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
200

2
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Hyak Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
0.308
0.308

3
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
Ford Mustang
200
0.442
0.134

4
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
0.477
0.035

5
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
Ford Mustang
200
0.547
0.07

6
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
Ford Mustang
200
0.573
0.026

7
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
Ford Mustang
200
0.61
0.037

8
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
200
0.675
0.065

9
21
Josh Berry
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford Mustang
200
1.209
0.534

10
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
200
1.985
0.776

11
4
Noah Gragson
Front Row Motorsports
Ford Mustang
200
2.076
0.091

12
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
2.714
0.638

13
7
Daniel Suarez
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
3.897
1.183

14
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
200
18.412
14.515

15
8
Kyle Busch
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
200
19.06
0.648

16
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
20.346
1.286

17
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
200
21.123
0.777

18
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
22.292
1.169

19
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
200
22.293
0.001

20
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
200
33.462
11.169

21
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
Toyota Camry
200
37.603
4.141

22
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
200
44.56
6.957

23
54
Ty Gibbs
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
200
1:02.390
17.83

24
41
Cole Custer
Haas Factory Team
Chevrolet Camaro
200
2:15.848
1:13.458

25
60
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing
Ford Mustang
200
2:55.048
39.2

26
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Club
Toyota Camry
199
0.386
-2:54.662

27
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
Ford Mustang
199
0.466
0.08

28
67
Corey Heim
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
199
0.551
0.085

29
84
Jimmie Johnson
Legacy Motor Club
Toyota Camry
199
0.64
0.089

30
97
Shane Van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
199
1 lap

31
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
198
2 laps
1 lap

32
66
Casey Mears
Garage 66
Ford Mustang
195
5 laps
3 laps

33
88
Connor Zilisch
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
195
5 laps

34
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
Ford Mustang
193
7 laps
2 laps

35
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
191
9 laps
2 laps

36
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
188
12 laps
3 laps

37
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
137
63 laps
51 laps

38
40
Justin Allgaier
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
123
77 laps
14 laps

39
34
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
Ford Mustang
123
77 laps

40
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
123
77 laps

41
78
BJ McLeod
Live Fast Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
4
196 laps
119 laps

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