As standard, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Sequence season kicked off with its largest race of the season within the Daytona 500. After a prolonged three-hour climate delay, the 67th working of the “Nice American Race” was accomplished underneath the lights Sunday night.
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With the primary weekend of the season within the books, see who has the higher hand to start out 2025 and who used their mulligan because the Cup Sequence heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway subsequent Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
THREE UP ⬆️
1. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Began: fifth
Completed: 1st
What occurred: Guess who’s again? William Byron grew to become simply the fifth totally different driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s as he was the benefactor of an enormous last-lap crash down the backstretch. Byron and Tyler Reddick had been the one drivers to slide by the final-lap calamity unscathed and had been the primary two again to the checkered flag. Byron now joins rarified air of back-to-back Daytona 500 winners, becoming a member of Denny Hamlin (2019-20), Sterling Marlin (1994-95), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Richard Petty (1973-74).
What’s subsequent: One race in and one playoff berth. Byron will as soon as once more have a step up on the competitors with regards to playoff preparation. He can enter weekends looser than the remainder of the sector and go for wins with out the strain of attempting to make the 16-car area because the season progresses. Subsequent up is Atlanta, and the No. 24 driver is among the finest for the reason that reconfiguration on the 1.5-mile oval. He owns two wins at Atlanta and completed ninth in the summertime final season.
2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Began: eleventh
Completed: 2nd
What occurred: Reddick adopted Byron via the last-lap crash into Flip 3 and tried chasing down the No. 24 for the win to no avail. Reddick scored three stage factors within the opening body however was not a lot of a participant all through the night time, so the runner-up consequence was an enormous one to get the No. 45 workforce’s season began in the precise course. Each Byron and Reddick had been Championship 4 drivers final season.
What’s subsequent: Reddick ought to proceed to thrive within the coming weeks, however Atlanta has been hit-or-miss for him. He completed sixth in the summertime race final season and may have Circuit of The Americas arising after the journey to the Peach State.
3. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Membership Toyota
Began: 18th
Completed: fifth
What occurred: Nemechek was not afraid to combine it up for the lead within the closing levels of the race, and working towards the entrance on the ultimate lap, the No. 42 driver held a fairly wheel to remain out of the mess into Flip 3. Nemechek joined his workforce proprietor Jimmie Johnson as nicely scoring top-five finishes on the most important stage.
What’s subsequent: Two prime fives to start out the 12 months for Legacy Motor Membership is strictly what this group must kickstart 2025 after a forgettable 2024 marketing campaign. Nemechek might want to flip his fortunes round at Atlanta after two finishes exterior the highest 20 final 12 months.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Began: ninth
Completed: fortieth
What occurred: Chastain was a sufferer of fallacious place, fallacious time firstly of Stage 2 as Joey Logano stacked up the surface lane on a restart the place Chastain was lined up. As Logano’s automobile didn’t rise up to hurry, the entire lane accordioned, triggering a that ended the day for Chastain, in addition to Hélio Castroneves and Martin Truex Jr.
What’s subsequent: With Atlanta being one other drafting monitor to start out the season, Chastain should flip luck in his favor subsequent weekend to keep away from much more setbacks to start the season. The reconfigured 1.5-mile oval has been a blended bag for the No. 1 pilot, with two second-place finishes in 2022 however only one top-10 consequence since.
2. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Began: twenty first
Completed: thirty fourth
What occurred: As soon as once more, Kyle Busch had the automobile quick sufficient to lastly break via for his first Harley J. Earl Trophy in his twentieth begin, however an aggressive transfer from Joey Logano with 13 to go began a that noticed Busch get turned all the way down to the backstretch. The ensuing injury was an excessive amount of for the No. 8 to return to motion, and the two-time Cup champion should wait till 2026 to seize that elusive Daytona 500 win.
What’s subsequent: Busch was 0.007 seconds from a playoff berth at Atlanta one 12 months in the past in that epic that noticed Daniel Suárez outduel Busch and Ryan Blaney. Nonetheless as top-of-the-line superspeedway racers since becoming a member of RCR, Busch has been fairly good on the 1.5-mile oval lately, snagging prime 10s within the final three occasions in Hampton, Georgia.
3. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Began: twentieth
Completed: thirty first
What occurred: Bell seemed to be in prime place towards the top of Sunday’s Daytona 500 however was dealt the unhealthy hand after too many pushes from Cole Custer despatched the No. 20 into the surface wall, triggering a that noticed Ryan Preece go airborne and the wrong way up in Flip 3. It’s the primary time Bell has completed exterior the highest three within the “Nice American Race” since 2022.
What’s subsequent: Beginning off on the fallacious foot might be not the way in which Bell wished to start out his 2025 marketing campaign after the heartbreak final 12 months at Martinsville that left him out of the Championship 4. Atlanta was blended for Bell final 12 months the place he was caught up in a Lap 2 wreck within the spring and completed fourth in the summertime race.
