How NASCAR determined Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the winner of the 2023 Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 morphed into the Daytona 530 on Sunday as overtime added 30 miles to the distance of the race. The ending was messy as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finally declared the winner over Joey Logano in the second overtime.
Adding to the chaos was the fact that Stenhouse’s car was out of fuel, so he might not have finished but for the crash that would have ended the race.
There was much confusion after the yellow flag was raised as NASCAR tried to figure out who won. Stenhouse was eventually determined to be just ahead of Logano when the warning came out.
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How did NASCAR declare Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the winner of the Daytona 500?
Although Logano crossed the finish line first, NASCAR announced the race as soon as the warning flag went out after Kyle Larson fell trying to move.
Stenhouse was credited as race leader the moment the yellow came out, meaning he was the race winner.
The timing of the warning flag was important as Stenhouse and Logano were running side by side on the final lap.
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This is Stenhouse’s third career win and his first Daytona 500 triumph. His other two wins came in 2017, including one at the Daytona summer race.
“I think this whole offseason (Crew Chief Mike Kelley) has just been preaching about how much we all believe in each other. They left me a note in the car saying they believe in me and get the job done,” Stenhouse told Fox Sports after the win (as reported by The Associated Press). “Man, that’s amazing. That was the place of my last win in 2017. We worked really hard.
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Why can a NASCAR race end on caution?
Finishing races under caution is a contentious issue in NASCAR circles.
If a warning flag comes out after the leader has started the last lap of the race (ie taken the white flag) – or after three restarts – then the results are official as soon as the yellow is thrown.
However, there is a second condition to the rule: cars must be able to cross the finish line and complete the lap. If Stenhouse couldn’t finish Sunday’s final lap due to running out of fuel, then Logano would have been declared the winner.
Because Stenhouse finished while lagging behind Logano on the line, he was able to consolidate his winning position.