In a moment that will be etched into NASCAR history for years to come, rookie sensation Tyler Grady stunned the motorsports world by winning the 2025 Daytona 500 his first-ever Cup Series victory following a dramatic, crash-filled final lap that turned the legendary race on its head.
Grady, a 21-year-old newcomer from Charlotte, North Carolina, was widely seen as a longshot entering Sunday’s season-opening spectacle at Daytona International Speedway. Driving the No. 62 AllSouth Electric Chevrolet for the underdog Fulton Motorsports team, Grady started the race in 29th and remained under the radar for much of the event. But in true Daytona fashion, the tides turned quickly and violently in the final moments.
With two laps to go, a tight lead pack featuring veterans like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and reigning champion Ryan Blaney jostled for position. Hamlin and Larson appeared poised to battle it out to the checkered flag until disaster struck.
Heading into Turn 4 on the final lap, contact between Larson and Hamlin triggered a chain-reaction wreck involving nearly a dozen cars. Blaney was caught in the melee, and Elliott was sent spinning into the infield grass. Amid the chaos, Grady running in 8th at the time narrowly threaded his way through the carnage, emerging unscathed and charging across the finish line just before the caution flag was thrown.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Grady said in the post-race interview, still visibly shaken. “I saw smoke, cars flying everywhere… I just kept my foot in it and aimed for clean air. I didn’t even know I had the lead until my spotter started screaming, ‘You won! You won the Daytona 500!’”
The victory is one of the most improbable in the storied history of the Great American Race, making Grady the first rookie to win the Daytona 500 since Trevor Bayne’s miracle run in 2011 and only the second in NASCAR history.
Fulton Motorsports, a relatively new and low-budget operation in only its second full Cup season, celebrated wildly on pit road. Team owner Sarah Fulton, holding back tears, called the moment “a dream come true” and “the kind of story you just don’t see anymore in racing.”
“This win changes everything for us,” she said. “We’ve been grinding, doing everything on a shoestring budget. We didn’t come here expecting to win, but we knew Tyler had the talent. Today, the world got to see it too.”
While Grady’s fairy-tale win stole the headlines, the aftermath of the final-lap crash raised questions and tempers. Hamlin, who was seeking his fourth Daytona 500 win, criticized Larson in a fiery post-race interview.
“He just turned me. No other way to put it,” Hamlin said. “You don’t make those kinds of moves at 200 mph on the final lap. It’s reckless, and it cost a lot of us a shot at the win.”
Larson defended his actions, saying, “I was going for it. That’s Daytona. You either push or get pushed. Unfortunately, things went wrong.”
NASCAR officials confirmed that the caution flag was displayed after Grady crossed the line, making the result official despite the controversy.
With this victory, Grady earns an automatic berth into the playoffs and immediately becomes one of the season’s most talked-about drivers. Fans and analysts alike are already comparing him to previous breakout stars, and social media exploded with reactions ranging from awe to disbelief.
“Racing gods were smiling on that kid today,” tweeted NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. “That’s what makes this sport so incredible anything can happen at Daytona.”
Indeed, the 2025 Daytona 500 will be remembered not just for its breathtaking finish, but for the arrival of a new star. Tyler Grady may have come in as a rookie, but he left as a champion and NASCAR may never be the same again.
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