Tyler Reddick wins Daytona 500 with a late pass in a crash-filled last lap
Tyler Reddick is a Daytona 500 champion.
Reddick passed Chase Elliott exiting Turn 4 on the final lap at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday to win his first Daytona 500. Reddick drives for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan.
Reddick passed Elliott, who then crashed into the outside wall before the finish line after Riley Herbst got turned into the wall.
Carson Hocevar was leading when the final lap began, but he too ended up crashed and into the outside wall.
Take a look at how all the chaos unfolded.
TYLER REDDICK WINS THE DAYTONA 500! pic.twitter.com/nOAjUM4Buu
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 15, 2026
“I didn’t know if I’d ever win this race, it’s surreal honestly,” Reddick said.
Reddick was fourth when the final lap began but somehow avoided the wreck that took out Hocevar. He then ended up behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Elliott on the backstretch as Zane Smith pushed Elliott to the lead.
But Elliott was hung out to dry in the final two corners. Reddick got a push from his teammate Herbst after zooming around Zane Smith and went around Elliott before the crash happened behind him as he took the checkered flag.
The final lap was the only lap Reddick led all day.
William Byron entered the race looking to become the first driver to win three Daytona 500s in a row. He was caught up in an early wreck when BJ McLeod had a parts failure on his right rear wheel, but was in position to steal another victory late in the race.
However, Byron was slowed by that wreck that included Hocevar and ended up out of contention for the win.
Though Byron's streak is over, Reddick's win continues a streak of Daytona 500 winners who haven't led many laps in their wins.
Over the last six 500s, Austin Cindric's 21 laps led in 2022 are the most of any winner. Byron led just 14 total laps in his two wins, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led 10 laps in 2023 and Michael McDowell only led the final lap in 2021.
Another NASCAR victory for Michael Jordan
Reddick's win comes two days before Jordan's 63rd birthday.
"I'm ecstatic, I don't even know what to say. It feels like I won a championship but until I get a ring I won't even know," Jordan told Fox after the race.
Jordan became a NASCAR team owner in 2021 when he went in with Denny Hamlin to form 23XI Racing. The team hired Bubba Wallace to drive the No. 23 car and has expanded to three cars with Reddick and Herbst while also fielding a fourth entry on Sunday for Corey Heim.
Just two months earlier, Jordan and Hamlin scored a massive legal victory over NASCAR. The team, along with Front Row Motorsports, sued NASCAR over the sanctioning body's franchising system. The lawsuit made it all the way to trial, where the two parties finally settled after the trial began.
The settlement was a clear win for the plaintiffs. 23XI and Front Row wanted permanent charters — NASCAR's version of franchises — for the teams. NASCAR was relenting. But NASCAR gave permanent charters as part of the settlement and the parties also agreed to financial compensation before the jury was needed to reach a verdict.
After the settlement was announced, NASCAR chairman Jim France and Jordan presented a united front about how the settlement would push NASCAR forward. On Sunday, France was there in victory lane with a hearty handshake to congratulate Jordan and the team after the win.
