Natalie Decker returns to racing, caught in unlucky incident at Daytona

Natalie Decker’s return to racing ended in frustration at Daytona International Speedway, as a late multi-car accident brought her encouraging run in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener to an abrupt halt.

Photo credits: Joey Gase Motorsports

Natalie Decker’s return to racing ended in frustration at Daytona International Speedway, as a late multi-car accident brought her encouraging run in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener to an abrupt halt. Despite the disappointing outcome, the run marked a solid comeback after a year away from the sport to start her family and welcome her first child.

Behind the wheel of the Joey Gase Motorsports No. 35 Chevrolet for the newly rebranded series, Decker arrived at Daytona - a track where she has traditionally performed well in the past - aiming for a clean race. Superspeedway racing rewards patience, and from the outset she kept it clean.

In qualifying, Decker posted a lap of 50.236 seconds, outperforming four competitors and provisionally placing 16th fastest in her group. She ultimately secured 35th on the starting grid, comfortably making the field and positioning herself to focus on race execution.

Chaos erupted almost immediately once the green flag waved for the United Rentals 300. A crash involving Brennan Poole and Anthony Alfredo on the start-finish straight triggered an early caution before the field could properly settle. Decker reacted quickly, avoiding the incident and gaining several positions. After collecting some debris during the opening-lap melee, she pitted when pit road opened for a new tear-off and rejoined the race in 28th position.

Racing resumed on lap six, and Decker settled into a steady rhythm. While she briefly lost a couple of positions as the draft reshuffled, she remained composed and stayed within the pack. As Ryan Sieg pitted, she moved up to 34th, and through the remainder of Stage 1 she focused on maintaining track position and preserving the car.

With three laps remaining in the opening stage, Corey Day spun, scattering debris across the racing surface. Decker navigated through the situation cleanly, and when another crash broke out among leaders shortly afterward, she once again avoided damage. She completed Stage 1 in 28th place, importantly still on the lead lap and with a car that felt balanced and responsive.

During the stage break, Decker pitted on the second time out and rejoined in 22nd. Restarting on the outside line, she held her ground confidently. Her lap times stabilized in the 48-second range, reflecting growing comfort in the draft. As Stage 2 progressed, she ran side-by-side with Ryan Sieg and executed a clean pass to climb into 27th. By the end of the second stage, she had advanced to 26th, with both driver and team encouraged by the consistency.

At the lap 60 stage caution, she again pitted on the second time by for fresh tires and fuel while remaining on the lead lap. Another strong restart allowed her to integrate smoothly into the draft, and for the first time in the race she broke into the top 20. She spent several laps running competitively within that group before settling into 25th as the field stabilized.

Decker recorded her fastest lap of the afternoon with a 47.5-second tour, demonstrating that her pace was improving. As minor incidents occurred around the circuit without triggering cautions, she maintained her composure and opened a small gap to Cody Ware behind her. When green-flag pit stops began among the leaders with approximately 40 laps remaining, Decker stayed out as much of the field cycled through pit road. This strategy briefly elevated her as high as sixth overall.

However, the promising run came to a sudden end on lap 92. A violent crash unfolded in Turn 2, with multiple cars spinning and blocking the track. The No. 41 of Sam Mayer rolled back up into the racing line. With smoke and debris obscuring visibility and no clear escape path available, Decker was left with nowhere to go and was caught in the incident. The damage forced her retirement from the race, and the event was subsequently red-flagged due to the scale of the crash.

While the final classification will show a DNF, Decker had remained on the lead lap throughout the event, avoided multiple early accidents, steadily improved her track position across both stages, and run increasingly competitive lap times inside the draft. Although the ending was undeniably disappointing, after over a year away from competitions, Decker returned to one of NASCAR’s most challenging venues, unfortunately just short of a clean finish.