Toyota fails to finish: Daniel Dye stands alone as the only non-Chevy Lead Lap finisher at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In a carnage-filled NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series opener, Daniel Dye survived as the lone non-Chevrolet lead lap finisher in the United Rentals 300 at Daytona.

Dye brought home his banged up No. 52 Ford Mustang to a 21st placed finish.

Only nine of the 38-car field consisted of non-Chevrolets. Two of the three Ford Mustangs finished while all six Toyota Supras failed to finish.

The chaos started just as the race did. A stack up during the initial start of the event foreshadowed the bleak night it would become for anyone without a Bowtie.

One of the Fords got caught in the initial stack-up. Luke Fenhaus sustained massive front-end damage but continued a few laps down after repairs.

Twenty laps later, the Toyota of Gio Ruggerio and the Ford of Harrison Burton got swept up in a wreck at the end of stage 1. Burton continued; Ruggiero’s O’Reilly Series debut ended early.

Just past halfway, Dean Thompson parked his Toyota with mechanical trouble, thinning the lineup again.

After green-flag stops and mounting complaints about slick conditions, chaos erupted.

On lap 91, Brandon Jones wrecked out. Seven laps later, a multi-car crash wiped out the remaining Toyotas of Burton, Taylor Gray, and William Sawalich.

For the second time in the previous two superspeedway events, Toyota fails to finish.

With the competitive portion of the field cut in half with twenty to go, the two remaining Fords survived until the end.

Daniel Dye dragged his Ford home as the last car on the lead lap. The only other non-Chevy finisher, Luke Fenhaus, finished 23rd — three laps down after taking early damage at the stripe.

Already thin in numbers, they found no mercy from Daytona’s high banks tonight. Will this be a one off or a harsh lesson that could foreshadow the rest of their 2026 season?

Only time can tell.

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