DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron raced to his second straight Daytona 500 victory, surviving a string of late-race wrecks that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Ninth in the No. 24 Chevrolet with one lap left, Byron became the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20.
Bryon took advantage of another wreck on the final lap — NASCAR did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish — and took another, familiar burnout in Daytona International Speedway.
The 27-year-old Byron held on to win after two weather delays totaling more than 3 1/2 hours, and with President Donald Trump set to watch the rest of the race in Florida, after he earlier led drivers on two laps around the track in his heavily armored presidential limousine known in Washington as “The Beast.”