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 ahead and take the lead as he somehow went unscathed through the wreck. The caution continued through the end of Stage 2, giving Wallace the stage victory. The green flag emerged again on Lap 136.
Allgaier, Alex Bowman and Todd Gilliland’s days came to an end as a result of the crash. They were tended to in the infield care center and were quickly released. Hamlin had no exterior damage, but his car was having radio issues following the wreck.
Here’s a look at all 20 cars involved during Sunday’s “The Big One” at 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 here are some other angles of how “The Big One” went down at Sunday’s race:
