Daytona 500 crash tracker: Every wreck and caution at NASCAR’s biggest race
There was no shortage of crashes in last year’s Daytona 500, including the most memorable one, featuring Ryan Newman, in the final lap. And if Saturday night’s Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway was any indication, there will be plenty of chaos on the track this afternoon.
We’re tracking every crash and caution at the Daytona 500 and will update them below. Refresh this page for the latest.
Daytona 500 crashes
Lap 113: Christopher Bell had led 32 laps until his rear driver side tire had low air pressure and cut, causing him to get loose and bring out the fourth caution of the day. He bumped into Kyle Larson, who was passing him, and spun around. Bell’s car has damage but he will stay in the race.
During the caution, Kaz Grala’s wheel bearing caught fire. His No. 16 car will attempt to make minimum speed and stay in the race.
Update: Grala did not stay in the race.
Lap 38: A panel that flew off of William Byron’s car a few laps earlier got run over by Quin Hoff. Once in Lap 38, the damage finally cut his tire and he and Cole Custer got tied up. Houff and the No. 00 car are retired for the night.
9:09 p.m., Lap 17: Caution flag is back out. That’s a good thing, meaning the red flag after the 16-car crash and 5-plus-hour weather delay has lifted.
Update, 4:43 p.m.: We’re still under a red flag at Daytona. Air titans are drying the track.
Update, 4:26 p.m.: Cope, Almirola, Ragan, Blaney, Suárez, Bowman, Newman and Jones are all out of the race.
Lap 14: Did The Big One already happened? A bunch of cars are already out of the race, and we’ll get you the full breakdown and video shortly. The No. 20 of Christopher Bell took a push from new teammate Kyle Busch, then bumped into the back of Aric Almirola down low, who got loose and ran high into Alex Bowman.
Full list of drivers involved in the crash who are now listed as two laps down as of the red flag: Almirola, Bowman, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, David Ragan, Ryan Newman, Matt DiBenedetto, Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron and Jamie McMurray.
Lap 3: Derrike Cope, the 62-year-old driver who beat the late Dale Earnhardt in the 1990 Daytona 500, brings out the first caution of the day by cutting a tire that sent him into the wall. A minor incident, and only Bubba Wallce headed to pit road, but Cope is done for the day.
This story was originally published February 14, 2021 at 3:13 PM.