DAYTONA BEACH — Chase Elliott held the lead off Turn 4 in the final lap of the 2026 Daytona 500. But he knew momentum had shifted behind him.
Elliott and Zane Smith separated from the pack, but Tyler Reddick caught the draft, breezed into second on the outside and ducked back to the inside to capture the checkered flag Sunday, Feb. 15.
Instead of prevailing in the Great American Race, Elliott slid backward across the start-finish line in fourth.
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“Top-five, I guess, for whatever that’s worth. Turned around backwards in the fence,” Elliott said with a laugh. “Just hate to be that close, you know. It’s such a big deal. It kind of sucks, but that’s part of this deal.”
Elliott, who won the second of Thursday’s Duels, posted his second-best showing in 11 career appearances in the Daytona 500. He was the runner-up back in 2021.
As the final lap began, Elliott held position along the wall toward Turn 1 as leaders Carson Hocevar and Erik Jones spun out and swept across the track. Elliott and Reddick surrounded Ricky Stenhouse Jr. three-wide, and race officials opted not to put out the caution flag.
Elliott lost his help, while Reddick found some from 23XI Racing teammate Riley Herbst. Reddick made the move, leaving the rest of the pack to wreck in front of the grandstand.
“At that point, it was going to be tough sledding,” Elliott said. “When those runs are coming at that high rate of speed and nobody’s lifting at that point in time, I just felt like I was going to get crashed if I had tried to throw another move on him.
“I felt like the best play for me was to try and re-rack and get one last shove to the line. But it was (Herbst), and he wasn’t going to push me.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Chase Elliott led Daytona 500 before final crash: ‘It kind of sucks’
Reporting by Chris Boyle, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
