Sports

Tyler Reddick and 23XI Win 63rd Daytona 500

By Luke Womack

The 63rd annual Daytona 500 began at 1:30 p.m. EST, one hour ahead of the initial starting time, due to oncoming inclement weather. The 41 cars took to the green flag, waved by fictional character Bart Simpson, at Daytona International Speedway in front of over 150,000 fans. The event also marked the 25th anniversary of the death of the sport's most popular and biggest icon, Dale Earnhardt. Tributes and documentaries played throughout the week leading up to the race.

With 41 cars, the Daytona 500 was highly anticipated to be the most challenging race to predict of the weekend. Seasoned champions and veterans like seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and reigning back-to-back Daytona 500 champion William Byron made up a decent chunk of the field. Other young sensations like Carson Hocevar and Connor Zilisch ensured that fans wouldn’t know what to expect.

Crashes in the first and second stages on laps six, 88, and 124 took out multiple cars, including race favorites like outside pole-sitter Chase Briscoe and reigning back-to-back winner William Byron. Over 25 cars were damaged by the end of the second stage, with Todd Gilliland and Bubba Wallace becoming the winners of stage one and two, respectively.

The third and final stage was mostly calm as drivers drove at 60% throttle to save fuel in the draft. Many die-hard fans let their frustrations be known online, with many criticizing the NASCAR-mandated aero package for the weekend. At the end of the race, young phenom Carson Hocevar led the field across the line to start the final lap, but he was then promptly turned after contact from behind. Multiple cars spun and crashed out, leaving only a handful of cars left at the front entering the backstretch.

With the green flag still waving, the eight-time consecutive fan favorite, Chase Elliott, led the field, with around seven cars behind, two of which were 23XI teammates Tyler Reddick and Riley Herbst. 23XI saw an eventful past year, with only one win across all three of their teams, as well as their highly publicized lawsuit against the governing body of NASCAR. 

Entering the final turn, Herbst managed to push Reddick alongside Elliott, giving him a chance to race him to the line. As Herbst moved up the track to try and win the race for himself, he was turned into the wall, then bounced back into the track, sending Elliott head-first into the barriers. The crash left only Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher as the lone cars not involved in the wreck, with Reddick sealing victory of the 63rd annual Daytona 500.

NBA Legend and co-owner of 23XI, Michael Jordan, was seen jumping up and down in elation in the pit lane, with Reddick doing celebratory burnouts across the start/finish line. The NASCAR fan base rejoiced as 23XI won NASCAR’s biggest event, mere months after winning their lawsuit against the sport, leaving them at a new peak of their popularity. The team would also go on to win three races in a row, marking the first time in NASCAR’s 78-year history that a single team and driver had done so. Reddick and 23XI would also go on to win at Darlington on March 22, making them 4 for 6 on the season.