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Daytona 500 FAQ as NASCAR hopes to open its Cup Series season with an American classic

Ryan Pritt, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·7 min read
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DAYTONA BEACH — They will run the Daytona 500. That much we know.

We know where they'll run it: Daytona International Speedway.

We know why they'll run it: It's the most-watched automobile race in North America and, for NASCAR, the most prestigious.

We know how they'll run it: 40 cars hoping to complete 200 laps, broken into three stages, around a 2.5-mile track. The math: 200 x 2.5 = 500.

It's the when that's in question, and with that in mind, let's dive into the nut and bolts of the 66th edition of The Great American Race.

When is the Daytona 500?

Currently, the Daytona 500 is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, though that is subject to change do to weather. More on that below.

What channel is the Daytona 500 on?

Two hundred laps, 500 miles, are scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Daytona.
Two hundred laps, 500 miles, are scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Daytona.

The Daytona 500 will air on Fox.

Where is the Daytona 500?

The Daytona 500 is held each year at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

How many laps is the Daytona 500?

The Daytona 500 is scheduled for 200 laps, though that number could grow if a caution flag comes out late. Last year's Great American Race was the longest ever at 212 laps after two green-white-checkered restarts.

Daytona 500 weather update

As of Friday morning, the forecast for this weekend is still very dour. There is an 80% chance of rain on Saturday morning and that balloons to 90% by Saturday night.

The chance of rain for Sunday's Daytona 500 is up to 70%

Daytona 500 predictions

News-Journal sports editor Ryan Pritt and sports columnist Ken Willis each gave their predictions on the winner of the Great American Race as well as some for the NASCAR Cup Series season. Pritt took Brad Keselowski to win this week while Ken went with the crowd favorite, Chase Elliott.

Daytona 500 purse

The purse breakdown for Speedweek is as follows:

  • Daytona 500: $28,035,991

  • Xfinity Series: $3,510,021

  • Truck Series: $1,058,336

Starting grid for Daytona 500

  1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

  2. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

  3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

  4. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  6. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

  7. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  9. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

  10. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

  11. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

  12. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

  13. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

  14. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

  15. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  16. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

  17. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  18. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  19. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

  20. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

  21. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

  22. Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

  23. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

  24. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

  25. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

  26. Kaz Grala, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford

  27. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  28. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

  29. Core LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

  30. David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

  31. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

  32. Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

  33. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

  34. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

  35. Ricky Stenhouse, No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

  36. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

  37. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

  38. Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford

  39. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet

  40. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford,

Odds to win the Daytona 500 (via Hard Rock Bet)

  • +1000: Joey Logano

  • +1100: Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin

  • +1200: Ryan Blaney

  • +1400: Chase Elliott

  • +1500: Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell

  • +1600: Kyle Larson

  • +1750: Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, William Byron

  • +2000: Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs

  • +2250: Martin Truex Jr.

  • +2500: Ross Chastain, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick

  • +3000: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric

  • +4000: Austin Dillon

  • +5000: Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe

  • +6000: Josh Berry, Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton

  • +7500: Riley Herbst, Zane Smith, Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan, Justin Haley

  • +10000: Anthony Alfredo, Daniel Hemric, Todd Gilliland, Kaz Grala

Who won the Daytona 500 in 2023?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won last year and is the reigning event champion.

Who has won the most Daytona 500s?

Richard Petty has the most Daytona 500 wins with seven.

Daytona 500 winners by year

  • 1959: Lee Petty, No. 42 Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile

  • 1960: Junior Johnson, No. 27 John Mansoni Chevrolet

  • 1961: Marvin Panch, No. 20 Smokey Yunick Pontiac

  • 1962: Fireball Roberts, No. 22 Jim Stephens Pontiac

  • 1963: Tiny Lund, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

  • 1964: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth

  • 1965: Fred Lorenzen, No. 28 Holman-Moody Ford

  • 1966: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth

  • 1967: Mario Andretti, No. 11 Holman-Moody Ford

  • 1968: Cale Yarborough, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Mercury

  • 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough, No. 98 Junior Johnson & Associates Ford

  • 1970: Pete Hamilton, No. 40 Petty Enterprises Plymouth

  • 1971: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth

  • 1972: A.J. Foyt, No. 21 Wood Brothers Mercury

  • 1973: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge

  • 1974: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge

  • 1975: Benny Parsons, No. 72 L.G. DeWitt Chevrolet

  • 1976: David Pearson, No. 21 Wood Brothers Mercury

  • 1977: Cale Yarborough, No. 11 Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet

  • 1978: Bobby Allison, No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford

  • 1979: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile

  • 1980: Buddy Baker, No. 28 Ranier-Lundy Oldsmobile

  • 1981: Richard Petty, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Buick

  • 1982: Bobby Allison, No. 88 DiGard Motorsports Buick

  • 1983: Cale Yarborough, No. 28 Ranier-Lundy Pontiac

  • 1984: Cale Yarborough, No. 28 Ranier-Lundy Chevrolet

  • 1985: Bill Elliott, No. 9 Melling Racing Ford

  • 1986: Geoffrey Bodine, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 1987: Bill Elliott, No. 9 Melling Racing Ford

  • 1988: Bobby Allison, No. 12 Stavola Brothers Racing Buick

  • 1989: Darrell Waltrip, No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 1990: Derrike Cope, No. 10 Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet

  • 1991: Ernie Irvan, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 1992: Davey Allison, No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford

  • 1993: Dale Jarrett, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet

  • 1994: Sterling Marlin, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 1995: Sterling Marlin, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 1996: Dale Jarrett, No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford

  • 1997: Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 1998: Dale Earnhardt, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

  • 1999: Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 2000: Dale Jarrett, No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford

  • 2001: Michael Waltrip, No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet

  • 2002: Ward Burton, Bill Davis Racing Dodge

  • 2003: Michael Waltrip, No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet

  • 2004: Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet

  • 2005: Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 2006: Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 2007: Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

  • 2008: Ryan Newman, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge

  • 2009: Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford

  • 2010: Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Earnhardt Gannassi Racing Chevrolet

  • 2011: Trevor Bayne, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

  • 2012: Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford

  • 2013: Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

  • 2015: Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

  • 2016: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  • 2017: Kurt Busch, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

  • 2018: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

  • 2019: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  • 2020: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

  • 2021: Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

  • 2022: Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

  • 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500 2024 FAQ: NASCAR race on tap Sunday, weather permitting