Daytona 500 wreck: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney among drivers knocked out due to 22-car collision

The Big One loomed ominously over the Daytona 500 on Monday night.

With eight laps remaining in The Great American Race, it snapped.

On Lap 192, Daytona’s iconic colosseum turned into a scrapyard. Eighteen cars were swept up in the wreck at Daytona International Speedway, including some of the biggest names in NASCAR.

The collision looked almost predestined. Trackhouse star Ross Chastain raced out in front as the 500 approached its final stretch. But his reign at the top was under assault: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, William Byron and Ryan Blaney all counted themselves as contenders under the gleaming Daytona starlight.

It was a powder keg. And all it took was one miscue for debris to dance across the track.

Byron and teammate Alex Bowman found themselves in the first stage of the chaos. Bowman lost control as carriages slalomed back and forth in front of him, and he ended up tapping his Hendrick Motorsports’ counterpart.

That contact sent Byron veering towards Keselowski, who found himself just behind Chastain.

Keselowski attempted to hold up on the throttle and avoid collecting former Team Penske colleague Logano. But it didn’t work. Logano went spiraling. So too did a whole cadre of vehicles, 22 in total.

Involved per #NASCAR:

Cindric
Larson
Keselowski
Elliott
Gragson
Hamlin
Blaney
Briscoe
Buescher
Truex Jr.
Bell
Logano
Byron
Hemric
Gilliland
Preece
Jones
Stenhouse Jr.
Bowman
Gibbs
Alfredo
Suárez

22 cars. #NASCAR

— Cameron Richardson (@therichreport) February 20, 2024

Strong showings by Joey, Brad and Todd end with this crash. #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/QiAhPfHVGh

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2024

Nine cars were knocked out of the race after the crash, including supernovas such as Keselowski, Logano and reigning Cup Series champion Blaney. The wreck prompted a 20-minute red flag delay.