NASCAR delivered their first race of the 2025 season Sunday night time with the Daytona 500. The #24 of William Byron returned to victory lane, marking him the primary back-to-back race winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019 and 2020. It was a chaotic end that noticed Byron half the seas in a last-lap wreck going from P7 to P1 and working away from the sphere to gather the checker. It was an entertaining spectacle that may now enable the several-hour rain delay to remove from the thrill.
Like final yr, I wish to offer you my six drivers of observe. Three of which galvanized and deserve recognition. The opposite three… Who didn’t shine within the sport’s largest race within the brightest moments. It’s time for the primary “Three Up, Three Down” of the 2025 NASCAR season! Let’s get it underway!
Three Up
#24 William Byron
Embed from Getty Photographs
I strive to not go together with the winner for these items… However the Daytona 500 is particular. What’s much more particular is profitable the race two years in a row. Byron cemented his legacy amongst NASCAR’s biggest with this achievement. As we talked about earlier, he’s the primary since Hamlin and the youngest since his boss and former driver of the #24 Jeff Gordon. He’s 4 months youthful than when the Marvel Boy went again to again on the Nice American Race.
Positive, we are able to all complain about how random the race is. How Byron hadn’t been an element up entrance all race was in a position to simply keep away from a wreck and win the race. All these criticisms and loathing of the end are truthful and I’m even with you. However that is an achievement that must be acknowledged and flowers have to be given. The #24 automotive begins sizzling but once more, and we’ll see if he can keep it for the remainder of the season.
#40 Justin Allgaier (However principally Dale Earnhardt Jr/JR Motorsports)
Embed from Getty Photographs
This was perhaps my favourite story from the weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jr took one other step in his father’s footsteps placing collectively a NASCAR Cup Sequence debut for his workforce, JR Motorsports, on the Daytona 500. With the assistance of driver and 2024 Xfinity Sequence champion Justin Allgaier, the #40 Traveller Whisky Chevrolet raced their manner into qualifying for the Daytona 500 in Thursday night time’s duel race. Beating J.J. Yeley and Chandler Smith for the fitting to compete in Sunday’s race. That in itself was a trigger for celebration.
However it wasn’t accomplished there, Allgaier stored the #40 clear and aggressive by the length of the race and landed it a P10 in its Cup Sequence debut on the Nice American Race. Avoiding the large one, and beating a few of NASCAR’s most interesting within the last laps. This was a greater end result than anyone might have fairly predicted for that workforce. After an outing like that, perhaps Dale Jr could possibly be swayed to take a tougher take a look at coming to the Cup Sequence… Perhaps he already is.
#84 Jimmie Johnson
Embed from Getty Photographs
Perhaps much more surprising than the success of Allgaier, Dale Jr, and the #40 workforce was the one 7x NASCAR Cup Sequence Champion Jimmie Johnson notching a top-three end on the Daytona 500. That is the primary time the Corridor of Fame driver has completed within the prime three since his final full season in 2020. Johnson has had a tough go of it in his part-time spots along with his workforce Legacy Motor Membership. Normally barely scratching the highest 15 on a very good day, and most occasions, simply outright wrecking. However as a driver, he got here fairly rattling near profitable the factor and as an proprietor, the #42 of John-Hunter Nemechek completed within the prime 5 with him. It’s an excellent begin for Legacy MC and it was an excellent piece of nostalgia seeing Johnson working up entrance on the Daytona 500 as soon as once more.
Three Down
#22 Joey Logano & #47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Embed from Getty Photographs
Frankly, simply a picture doesn’t do that justice. So go forward and watch the video under and we are able to break all of it down.
Appears to be like like Joey Logano took himself and another drivers along with his excellent driving abilities …… pic.twitter.com/Oo9Fkf7tSG
— Mooses Felix 🇺🇸 (@MoosesFelix) February 17, 2025
There’s simply no want for this. Let’s begin with Logano. He’s clearly forcing it in a spot he doesn’t must nor ought to. There have been nonetheless 20 laps to go when this incident occurred. The opening closed up, and he determined to drive his nostril in there anyway. Taking out his teammate #12 Ryan Blaney, and lots of different vehicles behind them. It was a waste of what was really a race-winning automotive that the #22 dropped at the monitor that day. Group Penske was going to run away with it whether or not it was Logano, Blaney, or Austin Cindric. Proper up till that second.
So far as the gripe with Stenhouse Jr, it’s lesser than Logano, however that was a particularly late block. That and he crowded the #22 as an alternative of giving the vehicles the area to breathe and regroup. It was most likely a bit too aggressive and contributed to the foremost accident. So each vehicles go on the down for me.
#41 Cole Custer
Embed from Getty Photographs
As soon as once more, check out the video under and we’ll talk about…
Christopher bell acquired an opportunity to win the Daytona 500 however Custer had different issues and yeeted him to wall pic.twitter.com/drbMetQqn0
— spcny88 🔜AnimeNYC25🌿👧🗿💍📛🐔💭 (@sebasti10002704) February 17, 2025
Tremendous Speedway racing 101 people, don’t push on someone’s left rear. If/if you’re going to push, you must hit him sq. within the center. Or wrecks like that occur. Custer, a real Xfinity driver, confirmed why he hasn’t succeeded on the Cup Sequence degree fairly rapidly by making this main error, and inadvertently despatched Ryan Preece for a second flight at Daytona Worldwide Speedway. This introduced out the NASCAR Extra time end the place but once more, he makes a mistake:
Cole Custer sides draft Denny Hamlin to attempt to win the daytona 500! pic.twitter.com/Bbi2iF0Xt2
— The Every day Downfords (@dailydownfords) February 17, 2025
This isn’t as unhealthy as wrecking the #20 of Christopher Bell and inflicting the large one, however this opened the door for the #24 and others to blow proper by the leaders, costing Cindric and the #11 of Denny Hamlin, in addition to himself, the chance of profitable the Daytona 500. Only a unhealthy re-entry to the Cup Sequence for Custer.
When you loved this content material, or hate it and wish to argue with me, observe me on Twitter @KalebMcChesney! Additionally, learn up on the remainder of the NASCAR content material Stomach Up Sports activities has to supply right here!