RICK WARE RACING
66th Running of the Daytona 500
Date: Feb. 19, 2024
Event: 66th Running of the Daytona 500 (Round 1 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (65 laps/65 laps/70 laps)
Race Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
RWR Finish:
● Riley Herbst (Started 36th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 199 of 200 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 22nd, Finished 26th / Running, completed 199 of 200 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (27th with 12 points)
● Note: Herbst is a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and is not eligible for points in the NASCAR Cup Series.
RWR Notes:
● This was Herbst’s second career start in the Daytona 500. His best Daytona 500 finish remains 10th, earned last year.
● This was Haley’s fourth career start in the Daytona 500. His best Daytona 500 finish remains 13th, earned in 2020.
Race Notes:
● William Byron won the Daytona 500 to score his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his second at Daytona.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 20 laps.
● Twenty of the 40 drivers in the Daytona 500 finished on the lead lap.
● Byron leaves Daytona as the championship leader with a four-point advantage over second-place Alex Bowman.
Sound Bites:
“Obviously, we would’ve loved to have had a better finish for the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar team, but Daytona is such an unpredictable race, and you never know what’s going to happen in those last laps. We did our best to stay out of trouble and probably would’ve been in a good position if we didn’t have to spend some extra time on pit road early on. I’m proud of the team. They stuck with me and if there had been another caution at the end, I think we could’ve had something for them.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang
“Our No. 51 team did great working through the adversity that comes with a race at Daytona. It was good to get up front and work with our Ford teammates. That was something I was really looking forward to and it was nice to be able to show early on that we’re capable of being there. We’ve got some things to clean up on pit road, but that’s expected with a new team. I feel good about what we did overall.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Tree Top/Fraternal Order of Eagles/Jacob Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, Feb. 25 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
