The best and the worst from a wild Daytona 500

For the second year in a row, the 500 ended under the caution flag due to a crash on the last lap. This time, it was just as the field was crossing the line to begin the final circuit. 

Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric made contract, causing both cars to spin, and Byron was deemed to be running ahead of teammate Alex Bowman when the yellow came out.

Not exactly the ideal way for the biggest race of the year to be decided.

Best: Byron picks up where he left off in 2023

In 2023, Byron won six races, most of any driver. He won many of those by out-dueling his competition on late race restarts, which isn't always a sustainable method of success, but you can generally count on a late yellow or two at Daytona. 

That was the case on Monday, and Byron did an impeccable job of pacing himself to be in position at the end.

The key moment for Byron was somehow being able to save his car from crashing during "the big one," after he was pushed by Bowman into Brad Keselowski to set off the wreck with under 10 laps to go. Byron kept it straight after driving down to the apron, allowing him to restart near the front for the final four laps.

Worst: Ryan Blaney's title defense begins with DNF

One driver who was unable to escape the carnage was Ryan Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion. After taking a vicious hit during his Thursday Duel race, Blaney was once again right in the middle of the pack when disaster struck.

Blaney won the race's second stage but ultimately finished 30th, a much less than desired beginning to his quest for a championship repeat.

Best: Corey LaJoie ties career-best finish with strong top-5

There's always those surprise finishers in the Daytona 500, and on Monday, perhaps the biggest of those was Corey LaJoie. The second-generation driver tied his career-best Cup Series finish of fourth, a result he achieved twice in 2023 — both times on superspeedways.

LaJoie didn't just suddenly appear at the front, either. He ran inside the top 10 for the majority of the race's third and final stage, and briefly led on Lap 151.

Worst: Carson Hocevar's first 500 lasts five laps, finishes last to start rookie campaign

One driver who did not have a promising start to the 2024 season was LaJoie's Spire Motorsports teammate Carson Hocevar, who finished in dead-last after being caught up in the race's first accident five laps into the action.

John Hunter Nemechek got turned around by Brad Keselowski, collecting Hocevar and Harrison Burton. Burton then spun back into traffic and caught up several more cars, including seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson. 

Most of the wrecked vehicles were able to continue, but the promising rookie wasn't one of them. Better luck next week.

Best: Todd Gilliland shows speed, doubles career laps led mark

Of the 20 drivers who led the Daytona 500, one of the most surprising was Todd Gilliland, who was in front for 16 circuits, trailing only Joey Logano and Christopher Bell in the laps led column.

Entering the race, Gilliland had only led 11 laps in his Cup Series career. He didn't lead at the line a single time in 2023, and his previous race-high in the statistic was five. He more than tripled that on Monday, and more than doubled his prior cumulative total. 

Though he eventually crashed out and finished 35th, Gilliland has to be pleased with his Daytona performance.

Worst: Michael McDowell's Front Row start turns sour with engine woes

Much like Spire, Front Row Motorsports' success with one driver did not translate to the rest of the team. Kaz Grala was wrecked out in the Lap 5 incident in addition to Hocevar and Michael McDowell, who started on the outside pole and led six laps early on, began to suffer from engine issues late in the first stage.

McDowell finished the race, limping around while down on power throughout the rest of the action, but he ended up 24 laps down in 36th place. Not the start to the season that he was looking for.