The 2026 Daytona 500 was relatively smooth-sailing through the first 123 laps, with the yellow caution flag only making three appearances in that span. But on Lap 124, “The Big One” arrived.
A major 20-car wreck occurred at the front of the race on Lap 124 of Sunday’s race. The crash occurred after Denny Hamlin made an aggressive attempt to try and pass leader Justin Allgaier on Turn 4. Allgaier, who was in the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, was way out front of Hamlin, with Ryan Blaney on the outside and Bubba Wallace on the inside.
The outside lane appeared to have momentum, and Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford gave Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota a bump. Hamlin had a path to take the lead, but Allgaier threw what FOX Sports’ Clint Bowyer called a “lazy” block. Hamlin hit Allgaier, and both cars turned toward the inside of the track and collected a huge chunk of the field.
Denny Hamlin bumps into Justin Allgaier, causing ‘The Big One’ at Daytona 500
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The wreck allowed Wallace to sneak forward and take the lead as he one way or the other went unscathed by way of the wreck. The warning continued by way of the top of Stage 2, giving Wallace the stage victory. The inexperienced flag emerged once more on Lap 136.
Allgaier, Alex Bowman and Todd Gilliland’s days got here to an finish because of the crash. They have been tended to within the infield care heart and have been rapidly launched. Hamlin had no exterior injury, however his automotive was having radio points following the wreck.
Here is a have a look at all 20 vehicles concerned throughout Sunday’s “The Massive One” on the Daytona 500:
- Ross Chastain
- Austin Cindric
- Kyle Larson
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Blaney
- Joey Logano
- William Byron
- Todd Gilliland
- Riley Herbst
- Justin Allgaier
- Zane Smith
- Cole Custer
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Erik Jones
- Alex Bowman
- Tyler Gibbs
- Corey Heim
- Michael McDowell
- Shane van Gisbergen
And listed below are another angles of how “The Massive One” went down at Sunday’s race:
