A trail of devastation unfurled at Daytona. With 8 laps to go for the 2024 Daytona 500, a multi-car wreck collected about half of the grid and triggered a long red flag period at the Daytona International Speedway. Some of the most notable names to have been collected by the crash are Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson, among many more.

With the race nearing its end, the urgency of the situation had risen to another level. As soon as the #1 Chevy of Ross Chastain took the lead, a bump from Alex Bowman onto his teammate William Byron triggered a violent turn of events. Discouraging messages followed the crash, with Denny Hamlin claiming on his team radio, “Left rear is killed.”

Unfortunate Daniel Suarez gets caught in the collateral damage

Trackhouse Racing enjoyed a solid performance in the Daytona 500. Despite not having the best of finishes, its drivers led the race in brief spells. With most of the drivers approaching the race with special emphasis on fuel consumption, leading the race for a long stretch was a rare instance for any driver on Monday. Owing to the same, #99 driver Daniel Suarez also exchanged leads in the final stage.

When the Big One materialized, Suarez wasn’t near the cars that caused it. However, the damage and debris eventually caught up to him. Addressing a cruel twist of fate, the Mexico-born driver said, “I mean, it was a very strong day, I thought. Strong car, strong strategy, strong calls — everything was playing the way it was supposed to. It just wasn’t meant to be at the very end. I hear that we got hooked in the left rear by a foot or two.”

Another driver to get wound up in the big crash was Denny Hamlin. #11 crew chief Chris Gabehart hoped to put Denny and the #11 Toyota back in the Daytona 500, as he responded to his driver’s damage report, “We’ll do our best. Get in there and take a look.” 

Crashes are a common occurrence in the Daytona 500. Usually, race leaders and drivers at the back of the pack are safe from them. Due to their placement during such crashes, it burdens the remaining cars with the task of avoiding the cars that originally caused the wreck. Some of the drivers that survived the multi-car crash on lap 191 were Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, and Chase Elliott.

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Tyler Reddick laments his luck at the Daytona 500

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The Daytona International Speedway is one of the tracks that has posed a big problem for Tyler Reddick. The #45 Toyota driver has tried and tested different approaches to the race, but alas, they have gone in vain. Reddick was yet again a part of the Big One at Daytona. Moving around the middle of the grid, the 23XI Racing driver couldn’t find a way past the three debris-infested lanes and wrecked yet again.

“I mean, every year I’ve made it this far, I’ve been in that wreck. So yeah, it’s just a part of it. I’ve experienced it many times now, so it’s unfortunate,” Reddick said. “I don’t even know where I finished, but I’d say we had probably the best all-around Daytona 500 we’ve had yet. Still just trying to finish one of these things.”

Defending champion Ryan Blaney didn’t have a clear idea of what ensued ahead of him. Despite being a part of another big wreck in the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel, he hadn’t expected the crash until it collected him. Explaining his stance on the crash, he said, “I mean, I don’t put my mind like expecting it to happen. I try to figure out how to move our lane.”

“That’s all you’re thinking about in the moment is moving your lane forward and helping out as much as you can, when you can. It looks like Brad kind of made a move as the 48 and 24 (Bowman and Byron) were kind of trying to figure their deal out, and Brad got tagged in the right-rear. Like I said, I don’t expect it. You’re trying to push as hard, but it’s normally something that happens and you just hope you get away scot-free, and unfortunately tonight, we didn’t.”

With the NASCAR season off to a familiar start at Daytona, it remains to be seen how drivers adapt to the takeaways from the Daytona 500. While it held more significance for drivers in search of a maiden Daytona 500 win, it could also have sealed a playoff spot for some unexpected names on the list.

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