As usual, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season kicked off with its biggest race of the season in the Daytona 500. After a lengthy three-hour weather delay, the 67th running of the “Great American Race” was completed under the lights Sunday evening.
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With the first weekend of the season in the books, see who has the upper hand to start 2025 and who used their mulligan as the Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
THREE UP ⬆️
1. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 5th
Finished: 1st
What happened: Guess who’s back? William Byron became just the fifth different driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s as he was the benefactor of a big last-lap crash down the backstretch. Byron and Tyler Reddick were the only drivers to slip by the final-lap calamity unscathed and were the first two back to the checkered flag. Byron now joins rarified air of back-to-back Daytona 500 winners, joining Denny Hamlin (2019-20), Sterling Marlin (1994-95), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Richard Petty (1973-74).
What’s next: One race in and one playoff berth. Byron will once again have a step up on the competition when it comes to playoff preparation. He can enter weekends looser than the rest of the field and go for wins without the pressure of trying to make the 16-car field as the season progresses. Next up is Atlanta, and the No. 24 driver is one of the best since the reconfiguration at the 1.5-mile oval. He owns two wins at Atlanta and finished ninth in the summer last season.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Started: 11th
Finished: 2nd
What happened: Reddick followed Byron through the last-lap crash into Turn 3 and tried chasing down the No. 24 for the win to no avail. Reddick scored three stage points in the opening frame but was not much of a player throughout the night, so the runner-up result was a big one to get the No. 45 team’s season started in the right direction. Both Byron and Reddick were Championship 4 drivers last season.
What’s next: Reddick should continue to thrive in the coming weeks, but Atlanta has been hit-or-miss for him. He finished sixth in the summer race last season and will have Circuit of The Americas coming up after the trip to the Peach State.
James Gilbert | Getty Images
3. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Started: 18th
Finished: 5th
What happened: Nemechek was not afraid to mix it up for the lead in the closing stages of the race, and running toward the front on the final lap, the No. 42 driver held a pretty wheel to stay out of the mess into Turn 3. Nemechek joined his team owner Jimmie Johnson as well scoring top-five finishes on the biggest stage.
What’s next: Two top fives to start the year for Legacy Motor Club is exactly what this organization needs to kickstart 2025 after a forgettable 2024 campaign. Nemechek will need to turn his fortunes around at Atlanta after two finishes outside the top 20 last year.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 9th
Finished: 40th
What happened: Chastain was a victim of wrong place, wrong time at the start of Stage 2 as Joey Logano stacked up the outside lane on a restart where Chastain was lined up. As Logano’s car didn’t get up to speed, the whole lane accordioned, triggering a multicar wreck that ended the day for Chastain, as well as Hélio Castroneves and Martin Truex Jr.
What’s next: With Atlanta being another drafting track to start the season, Chastain will have to turn luck in his favor next weekend to avoid even more setbacks to begin the season. The reconfigured 1.5-mile oval has been a mixed bag for the No. 1 pilot, with two second-place finishes in 2022 but just one top-10 result since.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Started: 21st
Finished: 34th
What happened: Once again, Kyle Busch had the car fast enough to finally break through for his first Harley J. Earl Trophy in his 20th start, but an aggressive move from Joey Logano with 13 to go started a wreck that saw Busch get turned down to the backstretch. The resulting damage was too much for the No. 8 to return to action, and the two-time Cup champion will have to wait until 2026 to capture that elusive Daytona 500 win.
What’s next: Busch was 0.007 seconds from a playoff berth at Atlanta one year ago in that epic three-wide photo finish that saw Daniel Suárez outduel Busch and Ryan Blaney. Still as one of the best superspeedway racers since joining RCR, Busch has been quite good at the 1.5-mile oval recently, snagging top 10s in the last three events in Hampton, Georgia.
Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images
3. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 20th
Finished: 31st
What happened: Bell looked to be in prime position toward the end of Sunday’s Daytona 500 but was dealt the bad hand after too many pushes from Cole Custer sent the No. 20 into the outside wall, triggering a multicar crash that saw Ryan Preece go airborne and upside down in Turn 3. It’s the first time Bell has finished outside the top three in the “Great American Race” since 2022.
What’s next: Starting off on the wrong foot is probably not the way Bell wanted to start his 2025 campaign after the heartbreak last year at Martinsville that left him out of the Championship 4. Atlanta was mixed for Bell last year where he was caught up in a Lap 2 wreck in the spring and finished fourth in the summer race.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
