The long 15-week wait is almost over as the NASCAR Cup Series regular season returns with its biggest annual event, the Daytona 500. This year will mark the 68th running of what has come to be known as “The Great American Race” on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.
In all, 41 drivers will take the green flag on Sunday, Feb. 15 – out of 45 entrants – including former seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is being granted an Open Exemption Provisional, meaning the two-time Daytona 500 winner is locked into the field, but cannot earn championship points or prize money.
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William Byron is looking to become the only driver ever to win three straight Daytona 500s after joining select company with his second straight win in the 2025 edition. That list includes Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84), Sterling Marlin (1994-95) and Denny Hamlin (2019-20).
This year’s Daytona 500 will feature eight previous winners, with Hamlin entering with the most Harley J. Earl trophies at three.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron can become the first driver to win three consecutive Daytona 500s. (Photo by Michael Bush/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Daytona 500 TV/streaming schedule
All times Eastern
Wednesday, Feb. 11
8 p.m.: Front-row qualifying (FS1)
Thursday, Feb. 12
7 p.m.: Qualifying duel 1 (FS1)
8:45 p.m.: Qualifying duel 2 (FS2)
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Sunday, Feb. 15
2:30 p.m.: Daytona 500 (Fox)
Daytona 500 race details
Track: Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile high-banked tri-oval) in Daytona Beach, Florida
Banking: Turns – 31 degrees | Tri-oval – 18 degrees | Backstretch – 3 degrees
Race length: 200 laps for 500 miles
Stage lengths: Stage 1 – 65 laps | Stage 2 – 65 laps | Stage 3 – 70 laps
Daytona 500 qualifying format
The biggest race on the NASCAR calendar also features a unique qualifying format not used on any other race weekend. On Wednesday night all entered cars will turn one lap at top speed, the order of which is determined by a Tuesday night draw of numbers. The top 10 drivers then go into a shootout with the top two times from that session setting the front row for Sunday’s race.
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The remaining cars are dropped — as evenly as possible, along with the top two qualifiers — into two 60-lap qualifying “duels” to be run Thursday night that set the field from spots three through 41. The finishing order for the first duel determines the inside row slots and the finishing order from the second duel sets the outside row.
The four open (non-chartered or provisional) entries will not make the field.
Thanks to an Open Exemption Provisional, seven time NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson is locked into the 41-car field. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Top drivers and best bets for the Daytona 500
Owing to the unpredictable nature of the Daytona 500, two-time defending champion William Byron enters with the third-best odds at +1200. Ryan Blaney enters the week with the best odds at 10-to-1 while his Penske teammates aren’t far behind as Joey Logano is +1100 and Austin Cindric is at +1400. All odds courtesy of BetMGM.
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Best odds to win the Daytona 500
Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg recommends spreading smaller bets around a handful of drivers rather than big wagers on one or two top names. He suggests good mid-tier value can be found in 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (+2200) as Wallace has the highest average Daytona finish of anyone in the field at 14.4, including two second-place runs. If you’re looking for a longshot, Bromberg points out that Josh Berry’s (+3500) Wood Brothers team has an alliance with the aforementioned favored Penskes while Erik Jones (+4000) has five straight top-20 finishes at Daytona and won this event back in 2018.
Daytona 500 entry list
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Daniel Suárez, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Chandler Smith, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford*
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet*
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet*
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet*
Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford*
Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota*
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet*
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Corey LaJoie, No. 99 RFK Racing Ford*
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*-Open entry, not guaranteed to make the 41-car field.
Daytona 500 race week weather
According to Yahoo Weather, the forecast is ideal all week with daytime highs ranging from 67-76 degrees. There is only a single-digit percentage chance of rain all week … except for race day. That chance climbs to a 25% chance of rain right around the scheduled green flag (2:30 p.m. ET) on Sunday.
