NASCAR
Shot at history slips away for Elliott, Keselowski in Daytona 500 chaos
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 16, 2026) – Two former NASCAR Cup Series champions took the white flag signaling one lap to-go in Sunday’s 68th Daytona 500 in position to perhaps at last add DAYTONA 500 champion to their already accomplished racing resumes.
And in a blink of an eye, both Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski were instead collected in a multi-car crash and finished the day at the Daytona International Speedway AdventHealth Medical Center in the infield instead of the track’s famous Victory Lane. Both of them were okay physically but frustrated having to salvage top-five finishes in the biggest race of the season – the major Crown Jewel event that has “just” eluded them – 10 times for Elliott and now 17 times for Keselowski.
Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet patiently and methodically moved forward in the closing laps, avoiding several big multi-car accidents in the second half of the race to put himself in position to make a run at NASCAR’s most celebrated trophy.
While maintaining a spot in the lead pack of cars – even leading a lap with five laps to go – the 2020 series champ was collected in a multi-car accident about 100 yards from the checkered flag. Riley Herbst’s No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota barely clipped Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet but was enough to collect other cars and launch Elliott’s car across Daytona’s famed finish line.
It was good enough for a fourth-place finish, Elliott’s third top-10 and best work in the Daytona 500 since a runner-up effort in 2021.
“Obviously looking back, you could run it through your mind a thousand times, do you do something different — I feel like if I had thrown a double block on the 45 [race winner Tyler Reddick], probably would have just crashed us at that point in time,” Elliott said of the front pack’s frantic bob-and-weave toward the checkered flag.
“I felt like you had to pick your battles. I thought maybe if somebody would pick me up on the top, you might have one more run to the line, but unfortunately ended up getting turned around.
“Appreciate all the effort. …thought we had a good Speedweeks down here. Obviously hate to — this really sucks to be that close and come off Turn 4 with the lead and not finish it off.
“But that’s part of this event, and unfortunately we were on the bad end of it today.”
Keselowski came into the race already in recovery from a broken leg he suffered in an offseason incident at a ski resort. Sunday night he came out of the Infield Care Center leaning on the cane he’s used all weekend – and aggravated at the field’s aggression on that final run to the checkered as well.
Although he did not lead a lap Sunday, the 2012 series champion put himself in position to be in contention in the closing laps and was visibly frustrated by the turn of events and also being collected in the multi-accident triggered by Herbst.
“A lot of chaos,” Keselowski said of the final push.
“The 35 [Herbst] just wrecked me out of nowhere for no reason. That was one of the dumbest things I’ve seen. He had no chance of blocking my run. I had a huge run. I don’t know if I could have gotten the 45 (race winner Tyler Reddick) or the 47 (runner-up, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) but I would have liked to have found out because my run was coming fast and the 35 just wrecked us and himself.
“Pretty stupid!” he added, noting that Herbst block wasn’t just one lane, but three lanes coming up from the bottom of the track. “To wreck yourself and everybody else is just stupid. Very, very stupid.”
“Tore up the 9 (Elliott), tore up the 22 (Logano), a bunch of cars that didn’t deserve to be wrecked, so that was a big bummer and really stupid,” Keselowski added of the finish. “Still a decent day for us to come home with a top-five and to be competitive and have a shot to win.”
As for his injury, Keselowski said, he felt “great” and “couldn’t feel it” while in the car and was actually – on some level – heartened that it was tested with the crash.
“I felt really good in the car and felt really good getting through the crash,” Keselowski said. “I’m proud to make it this far. A few weeks ago, I didn’t know if I’d be able to run this race. To get to run the race and have an opportunity to win it feels pretty good, just disappointed not to bring it home.”
The fifth-place showing for Keselowski was his third top-five in 17 career Daytona 500 starts and first since a third-place showing in 2014 after being collected in accidents in six of the last 10 Daytona 500s.
“I felt good about just being in position, for sure,” he said. “At the end it’s a roll of the dice and who’s going to making good moves or bad moves and the dice didn’t roll our way.”
BROOKLYN, MI (June 6, 2026) – Kris Wright and the No. 81 McAnally Hilgemann Racing team a hoping for better days after a frustrating DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Wright started 27th in the No. 81 iHeart Radio Silverado RST on the 2-mile oval. The race was only 7-laps old when Wright was involved in an accident, causing him to lose a lap while his team made repairs.
Wright was quickly back on pit road on Lap 18 after a left rear tire issue required additional work by his crew. Wright returned to the race three laps down at that point.
“Brutal day for our iHeartRadio team,” said Wright. “The No. 81 crew worked hard all weekend to get speed in the truck, and we never really had the opportunity to show what we were capable of.”
Fuel-only pit stops during the races final stage enabled Wright and his team to finish 31st. Corey Heim was the race winner.
Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland, in only his second series start, rallied from a late race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags – and finished 25th on the lead lap.
The trucks are off next week and will return to action June 19 in the inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race in San Diego on the Naval Base Coronado (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m looking forward to getting to San Diego in a couple of weeks,” said Wright. “Road courses have always suited my driving style, and it’ll be special to spend the weekend in Coronado celebrating the military members who will be in attendance.”
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
BROOKLYN, MI (June 6. 2026) – Reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Corey Heim held off a dramatic checkered flag charge – in lapped traffic – from his TRICON Garage teammate Kaden Honeycutt to claim his first career win at the iconic Michigan International Speedway in Saturday’s DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics.
It’s Heim’s 26th career victory, but first ever on the two-mile Michigan high banks giving him series wins now on 22 different tracks – second best all-time only NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. has won at 31 venues. It’s Heim’s third win in only five truck starts this season and comes a week after announcing he will join the championship-leading 23XI Racing organization in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2027.
Heim’s No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota passed the day’s most dominant truck driven by NASCAR Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar with 15 laps remaining and crossed the line only .065-second ahead of Honeycutt’s No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota – the truck Heim drove to the championship last season.
He immediately thanked Honeycutt for the push forward in the final laps – his only laps out front all day – acknowledging the help put just enough distance on Hocevar, who led a race best 65 of the 126 laps.
“We discussed it pre-race that we were going to race it out in the end and that’s what we did,” the 23-year-old Georgia native Heim said. “He tried to get to my right rear there which would have probably won the race and I had to protect it.
“Props to Kaden there and to [fellow Toyota driver] Christopher Bell, I don’t know where he ended up but he was strong all day. The last couple laps there at the end, were pretty awesome.
“That was a lot of fun, I had a blast,” he added.
The 21-year-old Honeycutt certainly kept Heim honest in the closing run to the checkered, hoping to earn his second career win – matching his work at Watkins Glen, N.Y. in May.
“Good race there at the end, us five up there and I’m sure it was a good race for the fans so that was good,” Honeycutt said. “It was unfortunate I didn’t get the win there. Just feel like I’ve lost too many of them on my part so I think that’s what bothers me the most.”
Although boosted by a strong showing all day at his “home track,” the Michigan-native Carson Hocevar was clearly disappointed with his finish, explaining his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet truck had been overheating all day. He was hoping to win for the hometown crowd and especially for his mother, who is celebrating her birthday this weekend.
“Everyone did a good job,” he said, adding, “Just sucks we didn’t close it out there. Felt like I could have done a better job but don’t know what I could have done differently. Would like to see what I would have had full power.
“A lot of reasons to win here at Michigan.”
Front Row Motorsports teammates Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-five – an especially valiant effort from Riggs, who went a lap down early after a pit stop issue. A winner in the previous two races, Riggs’ comeback to fifth place keeps him atop the championship standings by 26 over Honeycutt.
Bell finished sixth in the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Toyota after sweeping both stage wins and leading 37 laps – one of six race leaders on the afternoon. Fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr was seventh, followed by Connor Mosack, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum.
Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland rallied from a late race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags – and finished 25th on the lead lap in only his second series start.
After six consecutive races, the trucks go into an off-week and will return to action June 19 in the inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at San Diego on the Naval Base Coronado (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
LEBANON, TN – Call it victorious whiplash.
Race polesitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the drop of the green flag – was penalized and re-set to last in the 38-car field for jumping that start – then rallied his way forward again in the ensuing 300 laps to be in front for the checkered flag of Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
After a back-and-forth among teammates on a final restart with four laps remaining – featuring a three-wide last-lap challenge for the win among three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas – Hamlin delivered the manufacturer its first victory at the 1.33-mile Nashville concrete oval, his No. 11 Toyota finishing a slight .115-second ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.
“The 20 [Bell] and 19 [Briscoe] were battling so hard on that first corner it just let me get to the inside of the 20 at the first corner after the restart and from there, side-by-side with the 20,’’ Hamlin, 45, said describing the dramatic final laps that resulted in his 62nd career win.
“He [Bell] drove in so deep on that last lap into [turn] one that it just allowed me to barely clear off of [turn] two.
“What an unbelievable day starting first, going to last and then back to first.’’
For Bell, the close finish marked his second runner-up showing in as many weeks – simultaneously frustrating and encouraging. As with Hamlin, he recovered from an early race challenge – a pit stop miscue dropping his No 20 JGR Toyota from running among the top five to 30th place for a restart just before the finish of Stage 1.
“It was great racing, I hope the fans enjoyed that,’’ Bell said. “Just disappointed in myself, disappointed for my team. We brought a great race car and I didn’t get the job done.’’
The finish was certainly indicative of the close racing, important strategy calls and just flat-out team speed ultimately necessary to finally settle a race that featured a race record 31 lead changes among a record 15 drivers.
The race was delayed almost two hours because of weather, but when the action resumed, there was plenty of drama and intrigue.
The sold-out Nashville crowd issued a silent salute on lap eight to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 41, a beloved four-time Nashville winner (twice each in the CRAFTSMAN Trucks and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), who passed away last week of sepsis.
In the laps thereafter, the intense action quickly settled in. Hamlin’s 57 laps out front were a race high, but nine different drivers led double digit laps. And 11 caution flags affected strategy throughout the night.
Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished fourth in the No. 47 Chevrolet, followed by a career-best fifth-place effort by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. The popular New Zealand road course ace turned in one of his best flag-to-flag oval performances running among the top 10 all night. His 12 laps led in the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet were most for him on an oval track.
Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott were scored sixth and seventh but were collected in an accident just after taking the checkered flag in a hard push by the field to the finish.
Last year’s race winner, Ryan Blaney was eighth followed by Zane Smith, whose No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was leading until 12 laps to go. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was 10th. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson – the reigning series champion – led 56 laps (only one lap less than Hamlin) but finished 23rd.
The race featured two first-time stage winners on the season – Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger (Stage 1) and last week’s Charlotte race winner, Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez (Stage 2).
With his sixth-place finish Reddick remains atop the standings, 97 points ahead of Hamlin and 174 points up on Blaney in third place.
The series moves a few hours north to Michigan Speedway for next Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.
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