The regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway on August 26th, 2023 certainly didn’t disappoint, and The Blue Oval quite literally had ups and downs during the race. Chris Buescher’s No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang defended the top spot on the last lap to win, while several other Ford teams were involved in dramatic wrecks, including the No. 41 of Ryan Preece, who barrel-rolled almost a dozen times on the backstretch.
Buescher’s No. 17 NASCAR Ford was pushed across the line by the No. 6 Mustang driven by Brad Keselowski, his teammate and part-owner. Buescher had restarted second with Keselowski behind him in third on Lap 162, locking bumpers and heading right for the front of the pack. In fact, Buescher only beat Keselowski by 0.098 seconds in an Overtime finish.
“That’s as much Brad’s win as ours right there,” Buescher said. “That was the right help, aggressive, sticking with us. I was waiting for him to do something there coming to the finish. I figured we’d be side by side. Looked like it stalled out a little behind there.”
He added, “Just so thankful for Brad for all those pushes at the right time. Found each other here and there throughout the race, lost each other, and got back on it when it counted.”
In fact, the wreck that put the race into Overtime saw Preece’s No. 41 Mustang turned sideways on the backstretch, struck by the No. 14 Mustang of Chase Briscoe. Preece’s race car went over on its side, then flipped quite a few times in the infield grass, gaining astonishing height as he rolled. Eventually, the car came to rest on its wheels, allowing track crews to attend to Preece, who was alert and talking before he was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. He was discharged on Sunday morning. At this time, it’s not clear if Preece will be able to compete in this weekend’s Cup Series race, or if he will require a backup driver.
The Playoffs field is set for the rest of the season, meaning the following 16 drivers are currently in championship contention:
- William Byron, No. 24 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford Mustang
- Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford Mustang
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota TRD Camry
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford Mustang
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford Mustang
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Ford Mustang
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Ford Mustang
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota TRD Camry
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Bank Ford | 163 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 12 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 163 | 6 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 163 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
| 4 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott | LLumar Chevrolet | 163 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 14 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 163 | 9 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 31 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Arena Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 18 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 163 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 27 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 163 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | GEARWRENCH Ford | 163 | 14 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 37 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | NEGU Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 30 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota | 163 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 39 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Fr8Auctions Ford | 163 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 26 | 62 | * Austin Hill(i) | United Rentals/Beard Oil Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 36 | 13 | * Chandler Smith(i) | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chev |
| 16 | 15 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Yahoo! Toyota | 163 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 25 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 163 | 19 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 24 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 33 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 163 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 22 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway.com Chevrolet | 163 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 28 | 31 | Justin Haley | Celsius Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 29 | 42 | Josh Berry(i) | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 38 | 78 | BJ McLeod | B'laster Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 13 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pros Shops/Ducks Unlimited Toyota | 163 | 4 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 25 | 20 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 163 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 26 | 19 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Cares Toyota | 162 | 12 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 27 | 7 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 161 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 3 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 160 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 17 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 160 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 1 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Magical Vacation Planner Ford | 156 | 67 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 9 | 41 | Ryan Preece | RaceChoice.com Ford | 155 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 35 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Boot Barn Ford | 131 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 32 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Boost by Kroger/Entenmann's Chevrolet | 96 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 5 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 94 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 36 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Advance Auto Parts Ford | 94 | 4 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 16 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford | 94 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 38 | 6 | 36 | * Riley Herbst(i) | Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford | 94 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 39 | 34 | 15 | Brennan Poole(i) | Finance Pro Plus Ford | 93 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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