Nascar raced their 68th Daytona 500 Feb. 15 at the Daytona International Raceway. To promote interest in the race, Busch Light gave away $25 thousand in cash to fans during the event to celebrate the high-stakes moments that occurred during the race. Through #Buschdashforcash, his was meant to help boost social media presence and online interaction with the race. While the cash prize has previously been awarded to a driver, this year, Busch focused more on rewarding fan engagement.
This race was dedicated to Dale Earnhardt Sr., and his tragic death in this same race in 2001, Pit Crew Announcer Jamie Little told attendees. “[I]n a last-lap crash at the 43rd Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Earnhardt was driving his famous black No. 3 Chevrolet and vying for third place when he collided with another car, then crashed into a wall. After being cut from his car, Earnhardt, whose tough, aggressive driving style earned him the nickname ‘The Intimidator,’ was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead of head injuries.” This race and memory of Earnhardt Sr. took place 25 years after his passing.
This was the first race in six years for retired competitor and seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. When Johnson retired in 2020, so was his iconic No. 84 car, sponsored by Carvana. Though he raced under his typical number, his colors were black with blue accents rather than his more traditional navy with white accents. When the starting line-up was announced, Johnson was to start with the youngest competitor of the race, 19-year-old Connor Zillsch, No. 88. The pair started in row 16 of 20.
Four laps into the race, No. 78, B.J. McLeod, and No. 24, William Byron, crashed, leading to McLeod getting stuck in the 41st position, eventually not finishing the race. Although Byron’s car had a lot of body damage when coming of the wreck, he was able to revive himself and finish 12th.
At the end of Lap 14, No. 22, Joey Logano, was in the lead, competing in his 10th consecutive Daytona 500.
By the middle of Stage 2, No. 5 Kyle Larson was leading the other 40 cars. This was Larson’s 13th start in the Daytona 500. Only a few laps later, 20 cars were involved in a crash, including No. 11 Denny Hamlin, and No. 48 Alex Bowman. The crash was so bad that the remaining cars had to slow down while the debris was cleaned up and the cars were assessed, resulting in caution laps and a car.
The final 50 meters ended in similar fashion to the rest of the race: No. 35, Riley Herbst, drove into the wall, spun out, and caused another multicar wreck which included Logano, Chase Elliot, Brad Keselowski, Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemecheck, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The only driver who made it through was No. 45, Tyler Reddick, which secured him his first Daytona 500 win.
