DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron celebrated his second consecutive Daytona 500 triumph on Sunday evening at Daytona International Speedway, successfully navigating a series of late-race collisions that eliminated numerous competitors from contention.

Starting from ninth place in his No. 24 Chevrolet with just one lap remaining, Byron made history by becoming the first driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500 races since Denny Hamlin accomplished the feat in 2019-2020.

On the final lap, Byron capitalized on yet another wreck—NASCAR chose not to call a caution, allowing the race to continue to its conclusion. He then performed a celebratory burnout, a familiar tradition at Daytona International Speedway.

The 27-year-old driver maintained his lead after enduring two weather interruptions that totaled over three and a half hours. Notably, President Donald Trump was present to witness the final moments of the race, having earlier accompanied drivers for two laps around the track in his heavily armored presidential vehicle, affectionately known in Washington as “The Beast.”

This victory marked Hendrick Motorsports’ 10th Daytona 500 win, allowing the team to surpass Petty Enterprises for the most wins in the event’s history.

“We were just lucky it turned out in our favor,” Byron reflected post-race. “It’s a bit surreal. I honestly can’t believe we’re here.”

No Daytona 500 would be complete without the dramatic late-race collisions that often push the event into overtime.

With just four laps to go, Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Ford overturned, performing a wheelie before flipping onto its roof and then righting itself before crashing into the outside wall. Preece quickly dropped his safety net to signal that he was unharmed.

Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Brad Keselowski all saw their chances for victory thwarted, leading to a red flag during the race just 11 laps after another significant crash had already reshuffled the field and eliminated four former Cup Series champions.

The multi-car incident began with reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse. Logano’s move to the middle was met with a block from Stenhouse, resulting in a chain reaction that left several cars—including those of past champions Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott—skidding in various directions.

Busch’s vehicle ended up on a wrecker, extending his streak to 20 attempts without a win in the prestigious “Great American Race.”

Tyler Reddick secured second place, while two-time Daytona 500 champion Jimmie Johnson wrapped up the race in third.