Hamlin expected a late caution would give him a 4th Daytona 500 win. NASCAR never threw the yellow

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin surged into the lead on the final lap of the Daytona 500 and thought he had a fourth victory in “The Great American Race” within his reach Sunday night.

Especially when Riley Herbst, who drives for the Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing, went spinning through the infield grass. NASCAR was for sure going to throw a caution, Hamlin thought, especially after the Xfinity Series race a day earlier ended under yellow.

But when Herbst was able to save his Toyota, NASCAR didn't need to throw the caution and Hamlin wound up collected in the inevitable crash that comes from drivers making desperate moves. He was three-wide in the middle when Cole Custer wiggled into Hamlin's car to trigger a race-deciding crash.

William Byron slipped through the carnage to win the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year and Hamlin wound up 24th.

“I thought the race was going to be over when (the Herbst) wreck happened, and then when I realized they're not going to throw this caution ... all I focused on was, ‘Let me get a run and win this race.’”

Hamlin was understanding of Custer's aggressive move to the outside to make it three-wide as Custer was also going for the win in that moment. Had the crash not happened, the winner would have been Hamlin, Custer or Austin Cindric.

Custer is back in the Cup Series this season after a demotion at Stewart-Haas Racing to the Xfinity Series the last two years. He won the Xfinity championship in 2023 and finished second in 2024, and when SHR shuttered at the end of last year, team owner Gene Haas decided to field a single car in the Cup Series this year and move Custer back to the big league.

“I don't fault Cole. I mean, he's back in the Cup Series, he's got a good opportunity to go out there and lock himself in the playoffs,” Hamlin said. “It's probably pretty big, all around, for the 41 team, so he's doing everything he can to make a move that he thinks is the race-winning move.”

Hamlin said he told Custer after the race that he made his move too soon, that he should have waited until the cars were exiting the final turn to try to steal the win.

Hamlin drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing but owns 23XI alongside Jordan; 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are both suing NASCAR over antitrust allegations that the France family runs stock-car racing as a monopoly.

He never inferred that NASCAR didn't throw the caution to force Hamlin to earn the victory, and instead noted that NASCAR was likely sensitive to criticism it has received the last two days for ending the Xfinity Series race under caution and disqualifying Parker Kligerman for failing inspection after winning the Truck Series race.

“I think they react. They feel like if they get trashed, socially, on a call, they will over-go on the next one,” Hamlin said. “Either way, we weren't going to win, so I don't care.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing