NASCAR Ford Teams Lead Most Laps At 2025 Daytona 500, Lose To Chevy

Two NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse racers accounted for the most laps led during the 2025 Daytona 500, but a string of bad luck and late-race incidents took them out of contention when it mattered most. In fact, the highest-finishing Blue Oval team was that of Ryan Blaney, whose No. 12 Mustang crossed the line in seventh place, tailing a Chevy and a horde of Toyota race cars across the line.

Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 NASCAR Ford Mustang, started from the front row after dominating qualifying and the Duels at Daytona. He never strayed far from the top spot and led a race-best 59 of 200 laps, but, unfortunately, he wasn’t out front when it mattered. Cindric surged to the lead when the white flag flew, doing his best to keep the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry of Denny Hamlin in the rearview mirror as they streaked toward the start/finish line.

However, when a massive wreck was triggered, Cindric’s No. 2 NASCAR Ford was swept up into the gaggle of cars sideways on the backstretch. While he was able to keep his race car pointed in the right direction, he lost precious speed and had to settle for an eighth-place finish. William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevy, eked by on the outside to win, ditching the NASCAR Ford teams as he shot toward the finish line.

“Frustration – you’re taking the white as the leader,” Cindric said. “I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage. I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better. Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”

Joey Logano’s No. 22 NASCAR Ford bounced back from early race misfortune to lead 43 laps. However, he, too, was caught in a late-race incident that severely damaged his race car, forcing him to retire early. The No. 60 Mustang of Ryan Preece, meanwhile, went for an insane side-over-side flip in Turn 3.