DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 in a car owned by Michael Jordan when Chase Elliott crashed as he and Reddick were battling for the win.
Reddick, in a Toyota for 23XI Racing, led only one lap on Sunday: the one to the checkered flag for the team owned by the NBA Hall of Famer and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, was involved in the final caution when he and teammate Christopher
Bell collided with nine laps remaining. It set up the final push to the finish over the final four laps.
Elliott had control on the final lap after leader Carson Hocevar was spun off the track and it appeared the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott would finally win his first Daytona 500.
Instead, Reddick made a huge surge, hit Elliott to cause Elliott to crash and sailed past to take Jordan to the Daytona International Speedway victory lane.
Jordan was the face of the December federal antitrust lawsuit that NASCAR settled on the ninth day of trial. The settlement changed the revenue-sharing model in the United States' top motorsports series.
The victory marked a Daytona sweep for three team owners heavily involved in the trial. Bob Jenkins, who joined 23XI in suing NASCAR, opened the weekend with a victory when Chandler Smith won the Truck Series opener on Friday night for Front Row Motorsports.
Richard Childress, who testified on behalf of 23XI and Front Row and was the subject of disparaging text messages by since-departed NASCAR chairman Steve Phelps, was the winning team owner Saturday when Austin Hill won.
Then came “The Great American Race” and Jordan and Hamlin, the two front-facing litigants got their first Daytona 500 victory. It was an early birthday present for Jordan, who turns 63 on Tuesday.
Former race winners Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano finished second and third as Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford each placed a driver on the podium. Elliott wound up fourth and sat dejected and in disbelief on the outside wall of the track after climbing from his car.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
