Who won the Daytona 500? Full results, winner from NASCAR’s 2021 season-opening race

The winner of the 2021 Daytona 500 wasn’t in the lead until the very end of the race after a fiery crash on the final lap opened a path for him to drive through.

Michael McDowell was tracking leaders (and Penske teammates) Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski on Lap 200 of the 200-lap race when Logano and Keselowski wrecked and NASCAR subsequently turned on the caution lights. McDowell was ahead of Chase Elliott by a car length at the time of the caution, giving him the lead and the race win. He crossed the start-finish line first for good measure after securing his first Cup Series victory in his 358th career start. 

“I can’t believe it,” McDowell said. “I’ve got to thank God. So many years of just grinding it out, hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank (team owner) Bob Jenkins for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful.

“What a great way to get a first victory — in the Daytona 500!”

McDowell, who led only the final lap at 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, is the eighth driver to get his first Cup win in the Great American Race. His victory is the third for Front Row Motorsports — all coming in the No. 34 Ford with three different drivers: David Ragan at Talladega, Chris Buescher at Pocono and McDowell at Daytona.

Keselowski, meanwhile, threw his gloves and helmet in frustration after he exited his heavily damaged car.

“Had a big run down the backstretch, went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad,” he told Fox Sports. “I don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everybody else’s car.” It was unclear whether Keselowski was referring to Logano appearing to block him or McDowell bump-drafting him just prior to the wreck.

“Chaos struck,” Logano told Fox Sports. “The 2 (Keselowski) kept trying to back up, trying to get a run, (I) was trying to back up to him to keep the run from being too big. I guess he got back up to the 34 (McDowell) and it ended up being a really big run coming at me and seemed like we all just collided in one spot. Real bummer.”

The wild finish early Monday capped a marathon race day that was bracketed by big wrecks.

Mother Nature grudgingly allowed NASCAR Cup Series drivers to kick off a new season. Inclement weather loomed over the 500 on Sunday, and then rain over Daytona Beach, Fla., caused almost six hours of delays.

Sporting News tracked live updates and lap-by-lap highlights from the Daytona 500. Follow below for complete results from NASCAR’s 2021 season-opening race.

Contributing: Tom Gatto. Material from the NASCAR Wire Service also was used in this report.

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Daytona 500 results 2021

(Official order of finish)

Daytona 500 live updates, highlights from 2021 race

(All times Eastern)

12:16 a.m.  — Huge, fiery crash on the last lap takes out leaders Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski and opens it up for Michael McDowell to win NASCAR’s premier event under caution. 

12:10 a.m.  — Down to 10 laps remaining. It’s go time.

Midnight  — Unscheduled green-flag stop for Bubba Wallace; Fox Sports reports he told his crew his car had a vibration. Right-side tires for the 23, who goes a lap down.

11:55 p.m. — The final green-flag stops of the night begin on Lap 170, with each manufacturer group pitting separately.

11:45 p.m.  — The calm before the storm. Denny Hamlin still leads the way, and everyone else is lined up behind him.

11:35 p.m. — Denny Hamlin leads with 52 to go. The field is running single file on the high side before the serious racing begins. 

11:20 p.m.  — Denny Hamlin wins Stage 2 of the Daytona 500, building on his Stage 1 victory. The top 10 in the stage: Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece and Austin Cindric.

Just 70 laps remain in this year’s Great American Race. It’s about to get wild. 

11:05 p.m.  — Scary-looking moment as the right rear of Kaz Grala’s car catches fire on pit road. Safety crews are there to extinguish it. Grala was one of the drivers involved in the wreck that Bell triggered. Amazingly, Grala tried to keep racing before being told to call it quits for the night. 

11 p.m.  — CAUTION NO. 5. Christopher Bell causes a multi-vehicle wreck as his left rear tire goes down. Kyle Larson is one of the half-dozen drivers caught up in it. Bubba Wallace escapes and is scored in second at the time of the yellow.

10:55 p.m.  — Kyle Larson is the leader after all the pit stops. Fewer than 20 laps to go in Stage 2.

10:45 p.m.  — Green-flag pit stops are near in the second half of Stage 2. (Oh, by the way, the race is now official after moving past Lap 100.)

10:30 p.m. — The worst of the rain appears to be behind us, but there are some concerns about fog.

10:10 p.m. — Denny Hamlin takes Stage 1 of the Daytona 500. The rest of the top 10:

9:55 p.m. — OK, switching out yellow for green. Can we please be careful, guys?

9:45 p.m. — And the yellow flag is back on Lap 38. Quin Houff is out of the race.

9:35 p.m. — Green flag is waving. We are a full go on Lap 30.

9:20 p.m. — Well, this seems problematic. Still under a yellow flag at the moment.

9:05 p.m. — A quick recap of where we stand as the restart approaches:

8:20 p.m. — Hey, a restart time! This might actually happen.

7:55 p.m. —  Trending in the right direction…

6:50 p.m. — The Air Titans are back on the track, but NASCAR has not offered any additional details on a possible restart time.

6:20 p.m. —  Good news: There could be a window to dry the track in between waves of rain. Bad news: That second wave could be ugly.

5:15 p.m. — OK, this rain really needs to chill out for a minute.

4:55 p.m. — Chase Briscoe just hitting the Panda Express drive-thru during the delay. A real power move.

4:10 p.m. — So, uh, this isn’t ideal.

3:55 p.m. — After just 15 laps, the Air Titans are out with the Daytona 500 under a red flag. Kevin Harvick is the current leader.

3:40 p.m. — Here’s a full list of the drivers involved in the crash on Lap 14, per the FOX broadcast: Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, David Ragan, Anthony Alfredo, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, Jamie McMurray and Daniel Suarez. 

3:35 p.m. — And now a red flag because of a lighting strike. What a wild start.

3:25 p.m. — Whoa. We’ve got huge crash involving at least a dozen cars.

3:10 p.m. —  The caution flag goes up after Derrike Cope hits the wall on Lap 3. He’s done for the day.

3 p.m. — A new season. Daytona 500. Pitbull. Here we go.

2:40 p.m. — Let’s hope those rain clouds float right on by the track.

What time does the Daytona 500 start?

The Daytona 500 broadcast will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14, but the race itself may not start until closer to 3 p.m. ET. It will be held at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

MORE:  Remembering Dale Earnhardt’s deadly crash at Daytona 20 years later

Daytona 500 starting lineup 2021

Wednesday’s pole qualifying set the front row for the Daytona 500 with Alex Bowman earning the nod and William Byron recording the second-fastest lap. The results of Thursday’s Duels races won by Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon set the remainder of the field.