William Byron — winner: “"Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but I just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” Byron said. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom. Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. Worked super hard all week and had an amazing car. Just had a really hard time with the fuel saving and kind of staying towards the front. Crazy. I can’t honestly believe that. But we’re here. So proud of it.
“It’s obviously really special. It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving. But just really proud of our team. I can’t stress that enough. I’m just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the offseason to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here. We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to (the championship race at) Phoenix.”
Tyler Reddick — Second: “Yeah, with that restart with 15 to go, we kind of checked up in the middle and ended up further back than we wanted to be. We didn’t really want to, we ducked out of it hoping for the caution. We got it. But we were still lined up 16th there on the green-white-checkered. When they started to spin on the dogleg, I kind of jumped out of line thinking that was going to be it, and we just kept going.
“I knew that me and (Byron) had a good run, and they were throwing big blocks, and when they started spinning on the inside and I had a run on (Byron), I thought, ‘Man, if I can just make it through on (Denny Hamlin) and not scrub my speed, I would have had at least an opportunity to do something. All in all, I never really finished a race here unless it was 40 laps down, so I’ll take second. We wanted to get a good start to the year, and we scored a lot of points today. So I’m really happy with everyone’s effort on this 45 Toyota Camry.”
Jimmie Johnson — Third: “This feels incredible. I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have. I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it’s really opened up a different set of emotions. And the pride that I have in this result and the pride that I have in this company, now that we’re trying to achieve and the journey we’re on. I am so satisfied, so happy right now. Excited that we have two cars in the top five. I hope Shaq is watching. Thank you, buddy. We got your car in the top 3. It’s been an interesting couple of years and to have our cars come out and be this strong, this Toyota was rocket ship fast. I’m just smiling inside and out.”
Chase Briscoe — Fourth: “Man, it was crazy. We restarted I think eighth and the seas kind of just kept parting for me. Everything honestly went my way up until the very end there down the back straightaway. They all split off kind of three-wide and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) car was just sitting there for me, and I was like, ‘I’m going to push Denny to the win. JGR is going to win with my first race here. When I hit him, we all came together – I haven’t seen it yet – and somehow I was able to keep it straight and obviously move forward. A great way for us to start the year. Obviously, would’ve loved to win the race, but for us to come here and run in the top five is really cool for our first race. Hopefully this is what we’ll be doing all year long.”
John Hunter Nemechek — Fifth: “It’s a green-white-checkered at Daytona. I wouldn’t really expect anything less. I don’t really know what happened on the back straightaway there. I know everyone was pushing hard and the next thing I knew there was smoke. I got hit in the left side door, right side door and managed to keep it straight. Jimmie blew my doors off. I don’t think he ever lifted for it. Strong run by Legacy Motor Club. Erik (Jones) in the Duels and then up front for the majority of the day. Then, Jimmie came home third and myself fifth so a solid day. A solid week I would say and Speedweeks for the Legacy Motor Club group. Excited to see what this year has. We already know that we’re better than last year, it’s just how much better is unknown. Daytona really won’t make your season – unless you win it – but I feel like coming out of Daytona wrecked and in a hole, isn’t very good either, so that definitely sucks, when you are deep in a hole like that and you have to crawl your way out of a points deal, but having a solid run like we did, coming home fifth was a really solid day, a really solid effort, really solid Speedweeks from the whole Legacy Motor Club group. Excited to see where 2025 goes. We already know we are better than 2024, just how much is the question. We hired a lot of good people in the offseason, so looking forward to seeing what all of the hard work, processes, procedures, personnel, everything that went into the offseason. See what it does for us in 2025.”
Alex Bowman — Sixth: “I hate that I pulled out of line when they crashed underneath me there on the last lap. I probably gave up some spots that way. Congrats to the No. 24 team. We had a pretty solid day; good race car, executed well, got Stage points in both stages and another almost top-five at least. Seems like the story the last couple of years. We keep putting ourselves in position, and hopefully we can capitalize on it.”
Ryan Blaney — Seventh: “Honestly, we did a good job fixing it after we got turned on the backstretch off of Turn 2 there and fixed it the best they could. We rode around and missed the first big wreck and kind of went racing the second one, and I went to the bottom, and kind of got to the apron and was able to miss a lot of that junk and wound up seventh. It was a good recovery. We did a really good job today just got hit in the right rear there and spun around and hurt us a little bit. It was a good finish at least. I thought Austin and I were in a good position. We had control of the race for a while. The middle kind of came a little bit, but I felt like we were still going to have a shot. It was just people pushing hard at the end of this thing and sometimes it just doesn’t work. Unfortunately we were part of the wreck but fortunate that we didn’t have night-ending damage. Austin and I did a good job. I thought we timed the strategy perfect of he and I being out front together the last run of the race and just lost a couple of us there.”
Austin Cindric — Eighth: “I’m clearly disappointed. You take the white, and you’re in the lead. I wish we had a better chance to bring that home for everyone at Team Penske and Ford Performance. It was just an exceptional effort all the way through Speedweeks. There’s definitely a lot to review there, trying to figure out when I need to actually be leading, so just frustrating to be that close. It says the same things it’s said about our program the last year and a half to two years and it’s a shame we don’t have enough wins to show for it. I feel like there’s an opportunity to make the playoffs for all three of us tonight. I know it’s super early in the season, but it’s super critical and it’s a big race to try and win. To be that close it definitely stinks. Frustration. You’re taking the white as the leader. I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage. I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better. Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Ford Mustang in Victory Lane. I’m not sure (what happened on the final lap). We had one wreck when I took the white and then Denny (Hamlin) wanted to take his run right away, and I still got a good shot from (Corey LaJoie) and whoever was pushing Denny clearly wrecked him. There was just a ton of momentum with the field getting broken up. I didn’t really know what point of the lap I needed to actually be the leader, it’s just frustrating to be that close.”
Justin Allgaier, ninth: “I think we checked all the boxes. Really proud of JR Motorsports and everybody on this team. We hit all the markers. We had DVP. We had pit stops. We had craziness in picking lines. A lot of uncertainty on my part, just knowing the guys you are around. But all-in-all, it was a solid night. Missing the crash there at the end was cool. I assumed the caution was out and I didn’t know we were racing back to the line. That was cool to race back to the line and get a top-ten. Just want to thank Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and everybody that let me be a part of this. Thank you to everybody at Team Chevy and the Hendrick engine shop. This is a big moment for JR Motorsports, and we are excited about what the future holds for our company.”
Chris Buescher — 10th: “It was just a race that didn’t play out like we needed it to. We practiced a lot of things as a group and got really efficient at it in practice. We had cautions at all the times to where we didn’t have a single green flag stop, which we were prepared for. The cars handled great. We went into a night race with the rain delay. Everybody’s handling was just fine. Everything just kind of piled on top of us, but we had a ton of potential in this race if it would have started the right time and had played out a little bit different. You can’t control that, but we had a ton of potential in the day with our Mustang, and we didn’t really get to realize it.”
Daniel Suarez, 13th: “It was an OK day for the No. 99 Chevy team. We didn’t have as much speed as I thought we were going to have. We didn’t have a great, clean day.”
Ty Dillon, 14th: “Our Chevy was really strong, and our car was very fast. We were able to lead laps early in the race and the car wanted to be up front most of the time. In the middle of the race, you kind of get stuck in the pack, so we tried to play it smart. Our first goal of the day after having a successful Duel and finishing third, getting some points there, was to finish the race. We played it smart through the first couple of stages and we had planned to race pretty hard in the final stage, we had a loose wheel that put us a couple of laps down. We fought really hard and got those laps back, stayed out of the crashes and were able to get a good finish. To leave the Daytona 500 with a top 15 is a conundrum because you want to do well, you can see the pie in the sky is right in front of you, it’s the biggest race of our year. To leave with a top 15, leading laps, scoring points in the Duel, starting our year off on the right foot - that was a major goal of ours. I am very proud of our team and our resilience of fighting through the day.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — 18th: “I haven’t seen a replay yet, but I feel like the holes were pretty small (Joey Logano) was trying to fill. I got a couple of late blocks on him as we were making our runs up through there, and we were still 10 to go. I was hoping he would stick with me, him and LaJoie. We were getting ready to drive to first, second and third with still 10 to go. I’d have to go back and watch. I feel like maybe he was trying to fill the gap and then him and somebody else got together and hit me in the left rear. I was kind of leaning down to try to run the middle lane with LaJoie to get us back going again. I pretty much pushed him around the racetrack for 10 to 12 laps, and we were really fast doing it. So I’d have to go back and watch the replay to tell you exactly what happened.”
What Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said about his wreck with Joey Logano late in the Daytona 500. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/3Wxu2dBRt8
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 17, 2025
Cole Custer — 21st: “Everybody was just pushing hard and side drafting hard. Everybody is going for it. This is the biggest race of our lives here in Daytona. It’s the pinnacle of our sport. I had a huge run on (Denny Hamlin). I wish I waited one more corner, but it was such a big run that I just felt like I had to take it. (Chase Briscoe) went with (Hamlin) and then we were kind of hung out and it just didn’t work out there at the end, but I can’t say enough about our team. To have a shot at the win there it definitely says a lot about our team with how hard they had to work on this car fixing it from the Duels. We’ll move on to Atlanta and see what we can do. There was a lot going on. There was a lot of pushing and a lot of shoving. I wish we could have stayed hooked together with Austin, but just with how it worked out with people blocking and everything, it didn’t work out. Everybody was just going for it.”
Corey LaJoie — 22nd: “Here, for what we are trying to do, it doesn’t matter if you don’t win. Certainly, there is a lot of money involved from potentially finishing third to 22nd or wherever we finished. Nonetheless, I think we had a great showing this week, making it into the Duels and to the front at Daytona with 10 laps to go was a pretty special experience. I just hate that we couldn’t finish where we should have.”
Denny Hamlin — 24th: “Yeah, I thought we were in a great spot many times in the last 10 laps. We had the caution on the front straightaway spin, I measured up (Austin Cindric), and got a run on him. I stayed with him long enough where I could kind of control which side I wanted to pass him on, and then we had pulled away from the pack slightly so I knew a run was going to come. (Cole Custer) had a run, and I chose not to block him because these races, you have to live to make it off of Turn 4, and we just didn’t. I thought (Custer) came down. I’m pushing (Cindric) down as low as I can to give him all of the space, and not stopping his run, and I thought he, not hung a left, but steered left and was trying to crowd it. I understand what he was trying to go for – he’s going for it – all of us are, but in those situations, you’ve got to do it off of (Turn) 4, but we never made it, and someone else won. I don’t even know where (Byron) was running.”
Cody Ware — 25th: “We did everything we could. We slipped our way through it. We were on the bottom and making our way through and just got clipped at the last second. Super frustrating because the RWR cars were fast. I was just hanging back and playing my normal strategy. The 01 also showed pace and was running up front all day. To have two top-fives taken away from us on the last lap is pretty frustrating. Definitely been a long week between issues in qualifying, getting wrecked it the Duels and then wrecking out again today. This is one to reset and move on to Atlanta next weekend. Thankful we had fast Ford Performance Ford Mustang Dark Horses on the race track and know that we will have two more fast cars at Atlanta next weekend.”
Christopher Bell — 31st: “Just superspeedway racing. That’s how it goes. It takes pushes. You’ve got to be pushing otherwise you’re going backwards. I don’t know. I was in position and that’s all you can ask for. “I had my hands full for a while. It’s Daytona. You have to be doing that otherwise you’re not going to be going forward. It’s a product of the racing that we have here.”
Ryan Preece — 32nd: “We had a really good car. Honestly, I don’t even know what happened in front of me. I haven’t seen the replay. I was in line, pushing, and when you get down to the end of these races, we are all just really aggressive because you have to be aggressive. It is just the position we are in. We had a really fast Ford Mustang, and it is just frustrating when you can’t do anything with it.”
Shane van Gisbergen — 33rd: “Everything was good in the first stage, ran a lot up front and even led a lane but got some damage to my 88 Chevrolet early in the second stage. Showed a lot of speed, just wish our race could’ve went a bit better.”
Kyle Busch — 34th: “Looks like the fastest car got in a hurry to get to the wreck. Logano was by far the fastest car today. Saw a lot of laps led. And he could about do anything, the Penske cars were very strong. We still got 20 laps to go, and he’s trying to go through the middle and make a hole that isn’t there and just created chaos. I hate it for all of our guys. We had a fast car, and we were in position and just kind of biding our time. You’ve got to know how wide your race car is to be able to find a hole that it’ll fit in, and he obviously doesn’t know that.”
Joey Logano — 35th: “From my perspective, I felt like to win the race I had to get to the second row in my line there. I was in third and needed to get to second. I saw the opportunity to drop down and get underneath the (No.) 47 and have the (No.) 4, another Ford, behind me. Then (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) threw a late block there. I checked up for it and it looked like he was going to go back up and grab the top lane so I went back in to try and close the gap again but he kept coming down. I am checking up but at that point the checkup has already happened behind me and everybody is all over each other. I can’t get out of it and then we made contact. It is unfortunate. We had a good Mustang. We had a good car but just couldn’t get it done.”
Martin Truex Jr. — 37th: “It’s always disappointing when you don’t finish no matter what situation especially in a race like this when it’s probably our only shot this year. Thanks to TRICON and everybody that helped us put this together. It was fun while it lasted, but unfortunately, we were just wrong place, wrong time there. A big stack up and by the time they got to me, it was really aggressive. Just no time to react and knocked the nose off of the thing. Just unfortunate for all of our guys. We had a fun week down here, making the race. We were hoping to have a lot more fun than that. We were just biding our time, and just in a bad place on the restart there. Don’t know when or where or what (his next race is). We will see.”
Helio Castroneves — 39th: “I tried stopping it and Martin Truex Jr. came really hard and hit me, but I don’t think that was the issue. I think the issue was that I guess someone on the bottom hit me from the side and it broke the axle. Disappointed, of course. I was learning so much. It’s incredible when you have more laps in it and how you understand the air flow and what the guys are doing, like saving fuel. There were some sketchy moments, but what a shame. I wish I was still out there because there’s still more to understand and more to learn. I was starting to get a little more comfortable with the whole process, but it is what it is. I just have to thank NASCAR, as well, to be able to put together this type of a show. Now let’s go for the Indianapolis 500! It’s such a different show. You know, this has an incredible feeling and incredible energy. Both events are incredible. That’s why I decided to do this, and that’s why I want to do the Indianapolis 500, as well.”
Ross Chastain — 40th: “If I would have made some better moves in our No. 1 Chevy like 30 laps earlier, I wouldn’t have been back there in the first place. I thought the middle and the top would be a little more dominant and that I could save more fuel in that run and stay upfront. Slowly over the whole first stage, I worked my way from third all the way to basically the back of the field. I just made some bad decisions there and that put us back there with the accordion coming back. I didn’t see the hit coming to the right-rear, and then of course, I take out my teammate (Helio Castroneves) on my way to the wall. I hate that for Helio and the No. 91 Chevy team. Our Chevy drove good. We made some progress on handling here this weekend. I’m excited for the future and we’ll move onto Atlanta (Motor Speedway).”
