Who won 2024 Daytona 500? William Byron holds off Alex Bowman for wild finish after 'big one'
William Byron won the 2024 Daytona 500 on Monday by narrowly holding off Alex Bowman, giving Hendrick Motorsports a 1-2 finish in The Great American Race.
Byron, 26, led only four laps in his No. 24 Chevrolet in the race that included a pair of wrecks in the last eight laps, including a 17-car pileup that accounted for "the big one." Byron received the white flag as the wreck occurred.
Christopher Bell finished third, Corey LaJoie fourth and A.J. Allmendinger fifth.
A huge crash happened with eight laps to go as Ross Chastain was in the lead and fending off Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. When Bowman tried to give Byron a push Byron spun out and ran into Keselowski, which set in motion the wreck that took out 17 cars at the end of the back straightaway.
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Chastain escaped by inches unscathed from only the second crash in the race, which brought out the red flag. Chastain would not be so fortunate after the next wreck.
Drivers in the pileup included 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Todd Gilliand, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Anthony, Alfredo and Daniel Suarez.
After the restart, the green flag was waved with four laps to go. Chastain was still in the lead at that point.
Austin Cindric, however, got into Chastain at the finish line and the two drivers slid into traffic. Officials decided Byron was in the lead when the yellow flag was waved on the final lap.
It was Byron's first Daytona 500 win. The Charlotte, North Carolina native became the first Hendrick driver to win the Daytona 500 since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. He became the sixth Hendrick driver to win the Daytona 500.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who won 2024 Daytona 500? William Byron holds on for wild finish
