The 2023 Daytona 500 starts out with your stereotypical front-row. Tony Pizzaro is on the pole, looking for his second Daytona 500 victory and second since 2015. Ryan Heuser is on the outside front-row looking for is third victory in this grand event. They'll have to hold off 43 of the hungriest drivers in America to make the dream happen again.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Ken Pettit flew by Pizzaro on the opening lap, hoping to make it a Race-2-Win domination at the front of the field. John Battista would destroy the party on lap four, swapping the lead with Pettit twice before Battista took it outright. He would remain there for the entire green flag run.

A crash between Quick-Silver Motorsports teammates Ryan Heuser and Craig Lee brought out the first caution of the event. Heuser was not up to speed after coming out of the pits, drifting up into the pathway of the #101 and slapping the outside wall. Both drivers spun towards the pit road and would struggle for most of the remaining laps.

John Battista dominated the event through lap 68, leading practically all the laps before Tony Pizzaro made his charge on the bottom lane. He would only lead a couple of circuits, as Alex Crapser, Jimmie Stevens and Johnny Reed Foley all took their turn at the top-spot. Crapser and Stevens would lead three laps total on the night, with Foley leading his one and only.

Alex Crapser found his way back to the front on lap-75. He would relinquish the spot to Zach Michael, who dominated the following 9 laps. Potential Championship contenders Craig Lee and Matt Raboin had lost the draft from behind as Michael power-housed the pack at 205 miles-per-hour.

Some high-level teams went down early during the event. Bink Lucas blew an ignition on lap 42. Rookie Chauncey Redmond Jr. and Scott Jackson fell to the engine bug as well, finishing 45th, 44th and 43rd on the night.

The lead was handed back to Tony Pizzaro on lap 85, towing the field before Matthew Dominique flew by on the inside lane. The #25 led the field to green flag pit stops on lap 113. It was a 9-car breakaway by the time they came out, pulling away from the massive swarm of racecars just four seconds behind.

Ken Pettit, Alan Nesfeder and Michael Henson led the field for a few laps before Pizzaro re-took the top-spot for a third time. Lap 170 initiated the final round of fuel stops, leaving Alan Nesfeder, Tim McDonnell and WIlliam "Tex" Perry at the head of the field in a three-car slipstream. Pizzaro, Dominique, Dan Johnston and Michael Henson would attempt to run them down during the final 25-lap stretch.

It was not to be. A debris caution clustered the field back to it's regular size before the 20-to-go mark. Tony Pizzaro took only five laps to pass Alan Nesfeder for the lead. Behind them, it was complete mahyem from the front to rear of the pack. Michael Henson, Ken Pettit and Jimmie Stevens careened towards the wall after contact while battling for the 15th position. Mark Heron and Zakk Miller narrowly missed avoiding the crash, completely destroying their automobiles. They and Jimmie Stevens would retire from the event. Henson and Pettit limped home to 26th and 29th place.

A restart with five laps remaining saw Pizzaro hold the pace for the initial lap. Johnny Reed Foley made it past Nesfeder for the second spot and looked to charge for the victory with draft help from Matthew Dominique. Tim McDonnell would push Dominique past his teammate in the #3 coming to the 2-to-go mark. The two would battle for third for the remaining five-miles while Pizzaro and the #25 pulled away from the pack.

Without any draft help from behind, Dominuque failed to initiate the run they needed to pass the Fenway Frank machine for the Daytona 500 victory. Tony Pizzaro would win his second Daytona 500 in dominant fashion, leading 63 laps, winning the pole and finishing 1st in the 2023 Great American Race! He will look for his third N.O.R.L. Extravaganza Series Championship, off to an excellent start after leading the points with a Daytona 500 win. Congrats to Tony, crew chief Neil Justice, and the entire Race-2-Win Motorsports team for an excellent victory!

2023 Daytona 500 Video