Hamlin, trying to become the third driver to win four Daytona 500s, spun into the infield grass. Former race winner Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Shane van Gisbergen, Ross Chastain, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek were among those involved.
Two-time Daytona 500 runner-up Bubba Wallace slipped through the wreckage unscathed, took the lead and won the stage under caution. Wallace drives for 23IX Racing, which is owned by Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
The start of the race was moved up an hour in hopes of avoiding afternoon showers that are expected in the area.
Kyle Busch, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, led the field to the green flag in hopes of winning “The Great American Race” for the first time in 21 tries. He holds the race's longest active skid.
William Byron is trying to become the first driver in history to win the Daytona 500 three consecutive years. But Byron had to switch to a backup car following a qualifying crash and landed on pit road in the opening laps Sunday after B.J. McLeod spun in front of him, leading Byron to hit the outside wall.
Byron won last year’s event in overtime after race leader Denny Hamlin got spun on the final lap, igniting a multicar crash. Byron ended up passing eight cars on the last lap to return to victory lane.
Can he make it three in a row? Four others — Richard Petty in 1975, Cale Yarborough in 1985, Sterling Marlin in 1996 and Hamlin in 2021 — came up short in three-peat bids at NASCAR’s signature race.
The field includes seven other previous Daytona 500 winners, most notably three-time winner Hamlin and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin is trying to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss in the 2025 season finale and the December death of his father. Johnson, meanwhile, is again driving the No. 84 Toyota for his team, Legacy Motor Club.
McLeod, who grabbed a spot in the race when Anthony Alfredo was disqualified following an inspection after Thursday's qualifying races, spun five laps into the race and had to get towed to the garage. Casey Mears, who claimed one of the few open spots in his qualifier, sustained car damage when McLeod lost control.
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