The Big One hit the Daytona 500 and cleared out more than 20 cars. Here's how fans reacted
The 2024 Daytona 500 was a pretty clean race. Right up until it wasn't.
After several cars got taken out in Lap 6, the Great American Race was mostly incident free for the next 180 or so laps. But that rarely lasts at Daytona, and sure enough, The Big One came with about eight laps to go.
With Ross Chastain leading, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were gunning to go ahead when they were bumped by Alex Bowman and William Byron, leading to just about every car behind Chastain to get caught up in the giant wreck. The crash brought out the red flag as the remnants of multiple cars were cleaned off the track.
The big one. #NASCAR #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/vXnqYcoMKI
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2024
According to NASCAR, 22 cars were involved in the crash. The race resumed about 20 minutes after the wreck.
What does the red flag mean in NASCAR?
According to the NASCAR rule book, a red flag "means the race must immediately come to a halt. Cars must either stop where they are at on the track, or are brought to pit road due either to extensive on-track debris that must be cleaned up following a crash, or when weather forces racing to stop. Teams are prohibited from working on cars in the pits and garages under red-flag conditions. If and when a race resumes, conditions typically go from red flag to yellow flag (caution) and then back to green (go!)."
NASCAR Twitter reacts to The Big One wreck at Daytona 500
Here's a look at how NASCAR fans reacted on social media.
AOOOOUUUGH, that's everybody! 😬#DAYTONA500
— Josh 💛⚪💜♠ (@blackice397) February 20, 2024
WHAT A CRASH#DAYTONA500
— Trenton Ardolf (@TrentonArdolf) February 20, 2024
THE BIG ONE HAS OCCURRED #DAYTONA500
— Jacob ✍🏼 (@Pachecojukes) February 20, 2024
Byron just took EVERYONE out 🤣 #DAYTONA500
— Z. Lee (@19zach90) February 20, 2024
THE BIG ONE WITH 8 LAPS TO GO #DAYTONA500
— Colin Tellkamp (@PowderRL) February 20, 2024
Yep. I knew they were all about to wreck. It’s amazing that it took this long to happen. There goes the fords #DAYTONA500
— Double A (Alex) (@Double_A_3403) February 20, 2024
Wooooooow how many cars will even be left after this parking lot is sorted out??? #DAYTONA500 #TheBigOne
— Drew Buckets (@Drew__Buckets) February 20, 2024
Chase Elliot legit just channeled his inner lightning McQueen someone get me the onboard #DAYTONA500
— Acrylic Faded (@fadedmxstery) February 20, 2024
Watching @DAYTONA500 is like watching a hockey game where a brawl breaks out in the last 5mins and the refs kick out most of the (good) players while the rest finish the game for the fans
— Jason Bateman - The Canadian One (@JasonBatemanCA) February 20, 2024
#NASCAR #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/Zs50xzjl48
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) February 20, 2024
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Daytona 500 wreck takes out most cars, brings out red flag