Daytona 500 2022 Results: Rookie Austin Cindric Edges Bubba Wallace in OT for Win

In just his eighth NASCAR Cup Series start ever, Team Penske driver Austin Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500 in overtime, edging Bubba Wallace for the victory Sunday.

Cindric's Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, hit the wall while trying to pass Cindric before the checkered flag came out. A big crash broke out behind the leaders after they crossed the finish line.

Cindric's victory comes on Roger Penske's 85th birthday. It is Penske's third Daytona 500 win as an owner. Joey Logano previously won the Great American Race for Team Penske in 2015, and Ryan Newman won in 2008.

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Leaderboard

1. Austin Cindric
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Chase Briscoe
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Aric Almirola
6. Kyle Busch
7. Michael McDowell
8. David Ragan
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Chase Elliott

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The race went to overtime as a result of two multicar wrecks in the final 10 laps, including a red flag that came out on Lap 191. The crash took Chris Buescher, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson out of the race.

Both crashes greatly reduced the list of contenders as Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who led for 16 laps, also crashed with just five laps remaining after losing the lead on a restart. He lost control of his car after Brad Keselowski bumped him.

Martin Truex Jr. appeared to be the favorite early after winning the first two stages, but his race came to an end early after he got caught up in a multicar crash that included Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch with 48 laps left. Truex, 41, was attempting to win his first Daytona 500 in his 18th try.

More competitors were eliminated with just two laps remaining in the first stage. Harrison Burton was taken out of the race when he went airborne after a bump from Keselowski. His crash took out Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell and William Byron.

Hamlin was attempting to win his fourth Daytona 500. He previously won in 2016, 2019 and 2020. Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty are the only two drivers to have won the race at least four times. Petty won it seven times.

Cindric is the son of Team Penske executive Tim Cindric. He made his first NASCAR national series start in the 2015 Truck Series when he was just 16 years old. He was a full-time driver in the Truck Series in 2017 and moved to the Xfinity Series full-time in 2018.

Cindric has 13 total wins in the Xfinity Series and 89 top-10 finishes. He was the 2020 Xfinity Series champion and only recently began racing full-time in the Cup Series.

While it's surprising that Cindric took home the win in this year's Daytona 500, don't be surprised if you see him on the podium again this season.