Joey Logano was one of the fastest cars all evening and everyone in the stands had thought that this Daytona 500 belonged to him. Yet he ended up wrecking and losing momentum, which caught Ryan Blaney in the haywire as well. The fight for the best then transferred to Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric.
The dreams for a fourth Daytona win looked real for Hamlin, however soon it got blurry. While entering overtime in the front row, it seemed poised for the #11 to take home the Harley J. Earl trophy yet again. However, an incident on turn three ended all his hopes.
Hamlin didn’t quite understand what happened
Denny Hamlin was sure that NASCAR would come up with a caution flag after Riley Hebrst spun himself through the infield grass. NASCAR had thrown a caution to end the Xfinity Series race just a day earlier. But the caution never came. Instead, Herbst regained control, and the race continued at full throttle. As desperate drivers made their final pushes, Hamlin found himself in a battle with Austin Cindric. This is when Cole Custer clipped his car and triggered a massive wreck. William Byron slipped through the chaos to claim his second consecutive Daytona 500 win. This left Hamlin with a disappointing 24th-place finish.
Hamlin later admitted that he expected the caution but quickly refocused on trying to secure the win. He said, “I need to see the other wrecks, but I knew they were wrecking. We were surprised that they kept going. Once I realized that they are not gonna throw yellow, all I was focused on then was let me get a run on this 2 (Austin Cindric), get beside them, and win this race. And then apparently, I think they went green all the way to the checkered right. So I mean I was destroyed.”
Denny Hamlin was surprised the caution didn’t come out on the final lap and the race finished under green despite a couple of wrecks. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/10M8JPGNeR
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 17, 2025
Although Custer had something to do with the wreck, Hamlin did not blame him. However, what stings most for him is the inconsistency in NASCAR’s officiating. Denny Hamlin added, “They’ll react. When they feel like if they get trashed, socially, on a call, they will over-go the other way on the next one.” Hamlin takes a subtle dig at NASCAR here, alluding to the change in the way they dealt with the Damaged Vehicle Police last season. After backlash for not letting Josh Berry race due to flat tires in Kansas in 2024, they towed Chase Elliott back to the pit road in Talladega, highlighting their inconsistencies.
While Hamlin is left disappointed with the result, a silver lining would be his 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick securing a second-place finish after avoiding the carnage ahead of him. Now the focus shifts to Atlanta, where Hamlin would hope to clinch a victory and lock himself into the 2025 playoffs nice and early.
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