Tyler Reddick made NBA icon Michael Jordan a champion again on Sunday in the Nascar Cup Series’ biggest race.
Reddick passed leader Chase Elliott off the final turn to win the thrilling 68th Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Off turn 2 on the final lap, the 23XI Racing driver was running third to Elliott. While Elliott received a push from Zane Smith, Reddick made up ground down the backstretch in his No 45 Toyota owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
The 30-year-old Corning, California, native then went high and swooped low off turn 4 to beat Ricky Stenhouse Jnr by 0.308 seconds as the lead group wrecked wildly before reaching the flag stand.
Joey Logano finished third, followed by Elliott and Brad Keselowski.
“Last year was really hard for us, hard for me,” said Reddick, who became the fourth Daytona 500 winner not to lead until the last lap. “When you’re a Cup driver and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, you’re expected to win every year.”
A lifelong racing fan and six-time champion with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan, who owns four cars, had to let the moment sink in.
“I can’t believe it,” said the five-time NBA Most Valuable Player. “We had four guys helping each other out. You just try to survive. I thought Riley [Herbst] did an unbelievable job by pushing at the end.”
Elliott settled for his second Top 5 finish in 11 starts at Daytona.
“This really sucks to be that close,” Elliott said, “to come off turn 4 with the lead and not finish it off.”
Bubba Wallace led a race-best 40 laps and finished 10th, while Carson Hocevar, who was the leader at the white flag, wound up 19th.
After John Hunter Nemechek took the lead from polesitter Kyle Busch, BJ McLeod spun at the east end of the World Centre of Racing on lap 5. The nose of his No 78 Chevy banged against the No 24 of two-time defending champion William Byron, who was piloting a backup car.
Smith led Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney to Smith’s first stage win in the No 38 on lap 65, as the Ford drivers worked together to keep from making a second pit stop.
The Toyotas of Wallace and Hamlin led the field early in Stage 2, but Cody Ware, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain took off on a three-car Chevy breakaway on lap 80 as skies darkened on the 4.02km superspeedway.
Trouble at the front occurred at the end of lap 85 when rookie Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs made contact and spun down to the grass. Chase Briscoe slid all the way to pit road and was T-boned by Austin Dillon — both, ironically, sponsored by Bass Pro Shops.
Busch returned to the point on lap 106, but the Big One unfolded under the flag stand as Hamlin tried to get by Justin Allgaier as Stage 2 neared its end.
Hamlin’s No 11 was unable to make the pass, turned Allgaier’s No 40 Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jnr and 20 cars were soon involved in the mess on the frontstretch.
Wallace claimed the segment win under caution with Blaney and Nemechek right behind.
Wallace, Corey Heim and Christopher Bell led a Toyota sprint at the front with 40 laps left as every team tried to save fuel by racing cleanly to prepare for the final pit stop.
With nine laps remaining, Heim got Hamlin loose. The three-time Daytona 500 winner hit Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Bell for the fifth caution, with Michael McDowell the only driver who had not pitted.
Reuters
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