Daytona 500 pileup drama: NASCAR fans clash on who’s responsible between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano

Fans debated the crash during the final stage of the Daytona 500 as multiple drivers were taken out after Ricky Stenhouse Jr's hard blocking met Joey Logano's Ford, creating a pile-up. Many on social media debated on whose fault it was.

The 2025 running of the Daytona 500 was seemingly about to be finished with just two multi-car crashes at the start of the race as drivers pushed for the final run in the third stage. Joey Logano's #22 looked strong throughout the race and was accelerating ahead of the field throughout and seemed to be in contention of winning shortly when Ricky Stenhouse Jr's Chevy showed up on the scene.

The latter was on the outside line when Logano seemed to overtake from the middle lane. In an attempt to block him, Stenhouse Jr. changed lanes suddenly, causing them to crash out, taking multiple cars with them, including the likes of Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney. The latter was in contention to win the race.

It was quite debatable to understand who was at fault during the crash. Stenhouse Jr. attempted a defense and Logano didn't seem to have any intentions to back down from the position which ultimately cost the crash. Fans on social media shared blame for both drivers, however, each seemed to have their opinion on the crash. Like a fan wrote:

"Stenhouse just doesn't belong up there."

"It’s all Joeys fault," contradicted a fan.

"Should have known it was coming when Logano got back up there," mentioned another user.

Many users also shared an opinion for the drivers who were involuntarily involved in the crash as it collected many potential race winners, too.

"Yikes that's brutal for all those taken out," read a comment.

"Right after talking about 20 years of trying.... Y'all jinxed it," a fan wrote about Busch.

"Yes Ricky made a block but Joey kept trying to force his car where the wasn't a spot for it," commented another user.

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William Byron collects his second consecutive Daytona 500 victory

The Hendrick Motorsports driver started the race in fifth position after finishing second in the first Duel for qualifying. There were moments in the race when his #24 Chevrolet was ahead, competing for a victory. But the situation changed after a major crash involving Ryan Preece occurred during the closing laps of the race.

Denny Hamlin took the lead of the field on the final lap with Austin Cindric behind him. The two shared a battle while Byron was driving back in ninth position. The Daytona 500, known for its unpredictable nature, lived up to its reputation as the leaders were involved in a major crash.

NASCAR let the remaining drivers race without a caution, and the path opened up for William Byron to clinch the victory for Hendrick Motorsports. This was his 14th Cup Series win and second consecutive win at the Daytona 500.