Daytona 500 sees highest total of cars involved in crashes in that race since 2019
Sunday's Daytona saw the most cars involved in crashes in that event since the 2019 race and ended a Daytona Speedweeks that saw nearly 100 vehicles in the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series involved in accidents.
This year's Daytona 500 had 35 of the 41 cars in the race involved in an accident based on the NASCAR race report and information from Racing Insights.
That's the most number of cars in a crash in the Daytona 500 since 37 were involved in incidents in the 2019 race.
William Byron was running seventh on the backstretch on the final lap when the leaders wrecked Sunday. He escaped the chaos and went on to win the race for the second consecutive year.
Denny Hamlin led on the backstretch of the final lap before contact caused him to crash, ending his bid for a fourth Daytona 500 victory.
'It's such a (expletive) crapshoot now,' Hamlin said on his podcast 'Actions Detrimental' of what racing at superspeedways has become 'I hate that what is supposed to be our most prestigious race, a showcase of heroes, is luck. It is luck. I don't care how else you want to say it.
'It is luck. It's luck because … you just have to avoid the wrecks. … I've grown really, really agitated with how we've gotten here.'
Ryan Preece was among those who crashed in Sunday's Daytona 500. His car went airborne. It marked the second time in the past two years his car has gotten up in the air at Daytona International Speedway.
That Preece walked away from such an accident showed the focus on safety NASCAR has had for years, but Preece doesn't want to continue to be in accidents where his car gets off the ground.
'I don't know what the right thing to say right now is,' Preece said after exiting the infield care center Sunday, 'but I think the thing I want to say as a father, as a racer, is we keep beating on a door hoping for a different result.
'I think we know there's a problem at superspeedways. I don't want to be the example of when it finally gets somebody. I don't want it to be me. I've got a 2-year-old daughter. … Something needs to be done because cars lifting off the ground like that. That felt, honestly, worse than Daytona in (August) '23.'
NASCAR officials inspected the safety elements of the car at the track and were scheduled to go to RFK Racing on Tuesday to look further at the car, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Since 2017, every Daytona 500 has had at least 25 cars involved in crashes. In that time the average number of cars in crashes per Daytona 500 is 31.
But it's not just the Daytona 500 that has seen a number of cars wreck.
There were 13 cars involved in crashes in the two qualifying races Thursday night, meaning 48 Cup cars were involved in accidents this past week.
That is half the total of 96 vehicles in accidents last week in Cup, Xfinity and Trucks. There were 30 cars involved in crashes in the Xfinity race and 18 vehicles involved in the Truck race.
The 96 vehicles in crashes this last week in NASCAR's top three series was thee shy last year's total.
From 2015-21, there were an average of 95.3 vehicles in accidents during Daytona Speedweeks in Cup, Xfinity and Trucks. Those numbers included the Clash, the exhibition race that moved from Daytona after the 2021 season.
The number of cars in crashes during Daytona Speedweeks saw a brief decline after the Clash left. The first two years (2022 and '23) without the Clash, the average number of vehicles in a crash during Speedweeks was 69.5.
The past two years has seen the average number of vehicles in a crash during Speedweeks climb to 97.5.
A big crash on the backstretch sends Ryan Preece for a wild ride as his No. 60 catches air inside of five laps of the Daytona 500.
Ryan Preece collects his thoughts following his violent crash with four laps to go in the Daytona 500, saying "'something needs to be done" about conditions that led to the crash and confirming he's "good" physically.
Joey Logano looks inside of Ricky Stenhouse Jr, who attempts to block his move, and a big wreck ensures at the front of the field of the Daytona 500.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘A UFC fight': Tensions rise in Stanley Cup Final as the Panthers get the upper hand on the Oilers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Things got chippy in the Stanley Cup Final late in Game 3 when the Florida Panthers were well on their way to blowing out the Edmonton Oilers. Brawls ensued, Darnell Nurse and Jonah Gadjovich dropped the gloves, and eight guys got sent to the showers early with misconduct penalties. 'When we get into garbage time, those things happen, and I don't mind when those things happen,' Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. 'It's what good teams do: fight your way out of the rink. I don't mind that in garbage time.' Long before garbage time, Florida took it to Edmonton, with the defending champions dictating their style of play and knocking their opponents off kilter to take a 2-1 series lead with a 6-1 laugher. If more of that continues in Game 4 on Thursday night, it's advantage Panthers because they thrive on making other teams feel uncomfortable. 'We played our game, our style, stuck up for each other when we needed to,' Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. 'If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check — a spear, a slash, whatever the case is, you've got to take it.' It should not be surprising that tensions boiled over given the lopsided score in the 10th game in the Cup final between these two teams over the past year. The Oilers and Panthers have grown a healthy distaste for each other with all that familiarity. With that comes plenty of hits, shoves and jabs that lead to slashes, punches and gear strewn all over the ice. The 140 combined penalty minutes in Game 3 were the most in a final since Game 4 between Montreal and Calgary in 1986. 'The game's over with 11 minutes left,' Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said Tuesday after practice. 'Then all hell breaks loose. It's a UFC fight.' The penalties that mattered to the result came early. The Oilers were not shy about criticizing the officiating and the Panthers for allegedly influencing it. Goaltender Stuart Skinner said, 'Some guys are flaking and going down trying to cause penalties,' and Evander Kane questioned some of the calls. 'There seems to be a little bit more attention on our group,' said Kane, who took two minor penalties in the first period alone. 'They seem to get away with it more than we do. It's tough to find the line.' Toeing that line is what the Panthers do best, and it is a recipe that has them in the final for a third consecutive year under coach Paul Maurice , who credited Tkachuk for having 'a little bit more impact on the tenacity of the team than the guy who wears a suit behind the bench and never takes a shift.' Florida's roster is full of truculence with talent to match. Sam Bennett delivered a big, open-ice hit that led to his breakaway and playoff-leading 14th goal, and finishing checks on John Klingberg has hampered the veteran defenseman's play in the series compared to the first three rounds. 'That's part of their DNA, that's what they do,' Draisaitl said. 'It's an emotional time. It's two teams that want to win, two teams of doing it their own way, but I don't think anybody is going crazy here. They're good at what they do.' Maurice did not buy into the idea that Game 3 was the Panthers showing what they can do at their best. The opener went to overtime and Florida needed double OT to win Game 2 . 'I think the first two games are indicative of what Game 4 is going to look like,' Maurice said. 'We're not going to look at (Game 3) and say, 'That's the way it should look if we play our game.'' The Oilers certainly look at it as the opposite, discombobulated and nothing resembling the group that had gone 12-2 since a couple of losses to open the first round. They've dropped two in a row for the first time since. 'We just got to play our game,' Nurse said. 'We got guys that can do all that kind of stuff. But is that our game? So I think we just got to stick to play the way that we play. We're such a good hockey team when we just play hockey, and we just got to do that.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
'A UFC fight': Tensions rise in Stanley Cup Final as the Panthers get the upper hand on the Oilers
Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Things got chippy in the Stanley Cup Final late in Game 3 when the Florida Panthers were well on their way to blowing out the Edmonton Oilers. Brawls ensued, Darnell Nurse and Jonah Gadjovich dropped the gloves, and eight guys got sent to the showers early with misconduct penalties. 'When we get into garbage time, those things happen, and I don't mind when those things happen,' Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. 'It's what good teams do: fight your way out of the rink. I don't mind that in garbage time.' Long before garbage time, Florida took it to Edmonton, with the defending champions dictating their style of play and knocking their opponents off kilter to take a 2-1 series lead with a 6-1 laugher. If more of that continues in Game 4 on Thursday night, it's advantage Panthers because they thrive on making other teams feel uncomfortable. 'We played our game, our style, stuck up for each other when we needed to,' Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. 'If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check — a spear, a slash, whatever the case is, you've got to take it." It should not be surprising that tensions boiled over given the lopsided score in the 10th game in the Cup final between these two teams over the past year. The Oilers and Panthers have grown a healthy distaste for each other with all that familiarity. With that comes plenty of hits, shoves and jabs that lead to slashes, punches and gear strewn all over the ice. The 140 combined penalty minutes in Game 3 were the most in a final since Game 4 between Montreal and Calgary in 1986. 'The game's over with 11 minutes left,' Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said Tuesday after practice. 'Then all hell breaks loose. It's a UFC fight.' The penalties that mattered to the result came early. The Oilers were not shy about criticizing the officiating and the Panthers for allegedly influencing it. Goaltender Stuart Skinner said, 'Some guys are flaking and going down trying to cause penalties," and Evander Kane questioned some of the calls. "There seems to be a little bit more attention on our group," said Kane, who took two minor penalties in the first period alone. 'They seem to get away with it more than we do. It's tough to find the line." Toeing that line is what the Panthers do best, and it is a recipe that has them in the final for a third consecutive year under coach Paul Maurice, who credited Tkachuk for having 'a little bit more impact on the tenacity of the team than the guy who wears a suit behind the bench and never takes a shift.' Florida's roster is full of truculence with talent to match. Sam Bennett delivered a big, open-ice hit that led to his breakaway and playoff-leading 14th goal, and finishing checks on John Klingberg has hampered the veteran defenseman's play in the series compared to the first three rounds. 'That's part of their DNA, that's what they do,' Draisaitl said. 'It's an emotional time. It's two teams that want to win, two teams of doing it their own way, but I don't think anybody is going crazy here. They're good at what they do.' Maurice did not buy into the idea that Game 3 was the Panthers showing what they can do at their best. The opener went to overtime and Florida needed double OT to win Game 2. 'I think the first two games are indicative of what Game 4 is going to look like," Maurice said. "We're not going to look at (Game 3) and say, 'That's the way it should look if we play our game.'" The Oilers certainly look at it as the opposite, discombobulated and nothing resembling the group that had gone 12-2 since a couple of losses to open the first round. They've dropped two in a row for the first time since. 'We just got to play our game,' Nurse said. 'We got guys that can do all that kind of stuff. But is that our game? So I think we just got to stick to play the way that we play. We're such a good hockey team when we just play hockey, and we just got to do that.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and recommended
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
NHL's state income tax debate heats up with the Florida Panthers back in the Stanley Cup Final
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers are two wins away from becoming the fifth Stanley Cup champion in the past six years from a U.S. state with no income tax. The run has made taxes something of a hot topic around the league. Many contenders going deep in the playoffs come from Sun Belt locales, but the financial benefit is one advantage of many for them in attracting and retaining players. Or is it? "The tax thing is marginal at best, and I think the real reasons are that we're trying to do figure out a way to do our best to try to win," Florida general manager Bill Zito said, adding that team ownership and coach Paul Maurice are also key assets. 'The sun doesn't kill us. It's a nice environment to live in. It's a good place for families. It's a good place for singles. It's got a little something for everybody,' Commissioner Gary Bettman said before the final he 'hates the issue," and that was evident Monday night on TNT when retired player-turned-analyst Paul Bissonnette suggested tax problems should be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement. Bettman called it ridiculous and rhetorically asked if the league should subsidize teams in places like New York and Los Angeles. The NHL tax landscape The Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Seattle Kraken are the six NHL teams out of 32 in a place with no state income tax. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said some other franchises have raised it as a concern but added the league does not share that thinking. 'These imbalances have existed forever,' Daly said. 'There are so many reasons why a player may choose to play in a particular location for a particular team for a particular coach that have nothing to do with the tax situation in that market.' The union seems to agreed that nothing needs to be negotiated in the next CBA to mitigate varying tax levels. NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey, who played for seven teams over 17 seasons from 2003-20, cited a run of Cup winners in places like Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh over a decade-plus span as a hole in the argument. 'I'm kind of baffled at times that this is the topic it is,' Hainsey said. 'To react this way out there because Florida and Tampa are having their moment here where they have the players, good teams, took less to stay — it's the same thing that's happened the previous 12 years with all these other things. So, when we talk about, is it really an issue, I'm not certain that it is." Hainsey also pointed out that this is not a top issue in the NFL and NBA. Of course, hockey still has a ways to go to catch up with football and basketball player salaries, even with the NHL cap rising over the next few years because of revenues setting records. Alan Pogroszewski, who has studied and worked with players on tax matters for more than a decade, said a flexible salary cap would account for the range of tax situations. His AFP Consulting found that since 2016, teams in places with no state income tax qualified for the playoffs at a higher rate, providing what he called 'an innate-built-in tax advantage for several of these cities.' 'It's a combination of many things,' Pogroszewski said Tuesday. 'There's more factors than just the amount of money that's spent. It's how it's spent. But when you come into an equal playing field and your dollar's worth more, then that allows you some leeway.' What do players think? Brad Marchand, a Canadian who played in Boston for a decade and a half before getting traded to Florida in March, does not dismiss taxes as a factor in choosing where to play. "The Canadian teams, most of them have an extremely high tax rate, and then the California teams, same thing: Those teams are going to have to pay more money to get certain players than others,' Marchand said. "When you look at a team like Montreal, what are they 52, 54%? Versus a team like here or Dallas or whatever. That's a 15% difference. When you add that up, it's a tremendous amount of money.' Of course, money isn't the only motivating factor. Success for Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas and Dallas directly coincides with Zito, Julien BriseBois, Kelly McCrimmon and Jim Nill being some of the best executives around and knowing how to evaluate talent and manage the cap. Being able to golf in the winter does not hurt either, and some players prefer smaller markets with less pressure. Others are drawn to hockey-crazy places where fans care deeply and hockey is either the top dog or the only game in town. The Edmonton Oilers, in the final for a second consecutive year, are the perfect example of that. 'The passion obviously that this fanbase has for their team is incredible,' said Oilers forward Evander Kane, who has also played in Atlanta, Winnipeg, Buffalo and San Jose. 'Once you actually get here and get to know your way around the city a little bit more, you realize there's actually quite a bit to do and it is a good spot for families and they have great summers.' NHL players get paid in U.S. dollars, even in Canada, taking some of the tax bite out of places like Montreal and Toronto with high tax rates because of the exchange rate. But that can also get cut into based on where guys choose to live. 'It helps while you're there, but also the living costs in Canada are extremely high, too, because you're taxed through the roof on everything: what you buy, what you sell, what you make,' Marchand said. 'So, yes, at the time, the costs are a little bit different but not much, and then when you move back, you have 20, 30% less money, so it absolutely plays a part.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
