The 2024 NASCAR Cup Sequence season begins in earnest Sunday with the largest race of the yr, the Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox). After a rain-interrupted conflict on the Colosseum, factors and, maybe extra importantly, status are on the road on Sunday.
Daytona is just the start, nevertheless, as after NASCAR's Tremendous Bowl there are 35 extra race weekends over the subsequent 9 months earlier than a champion is topped Nov. 10 in Phoenix.
Right here's what it is advisable to know forward of the 66th operating of “The Nice American Race:”
Daytona 500 race particulars
Tracks: Daytona Worldwide Speedway (2.5-mile elevated tri-oval) in Daytona Seashore, Florida
Banking: It turns minus-31 levels | Tri-oval minus-18 levels | Backstretch minus -Three levels
Race size: 200 laps for 500 miles
Stage size: Stage 1 — 65 laps | Stage 2 — 65 laps | Stage Three — 130 laps
2023 Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
The Daytona 500 beginning grid
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Joey Logano
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Michael McDowell
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Tyler Reddick
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Christopher Bell
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Chase Elliott
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Austin Cindric
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Alex Bowman
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Denny Hamlin
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Carson Hocevar
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John Hunter Nemechek
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Eric Jones
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Harrison Burton
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Daniel Suarez
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Zane Smith
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Ty Gibbs
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Brad Keselowski
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Kyle Larson
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William Byron
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Chris Buescher
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Chase Briscoe
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Ross Chastain
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Justin Haley
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Jimmy Johnson
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Bubba Wallace
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Ryan Preece
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Kaz Grala
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Martin Truex Jr.
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AJ Allmendinger
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Corey LaJoie
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Josh Berry
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Todd Gilliland
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Ryan Blaney
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Austin Dillon
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Kyle Busch
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
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Riley Autumn
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Daniel Hemric
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Noah Gragson
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Anthony Alfredo
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David Ragan
Daytona 500 TV Schedule/Streaming
On a regular basis Japanese
Sunday
11:00-13:00: Half One of many Pre-Race Present (FS1, Fox Sports activities App)
1-2:30 p.m.: The Pre-Race Present Half Two (Fox, Fox Sports activities App)
14:30-18:00: Daytona 500 (Fox, Fox Sports activities App)
Toyota is flexing its muscular tissues
After a poor exhibiting in the course of the single-car qualifying from the entrance row on Wednesday evening, the new-for-2024 Toyota pack has bounced again nicely over the previous two days. Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell received their respective duels Thursday evening, every coming from deep.
On Friday, Denny Hamlin topped the standings with a lap of 45.575 forward of seven different Toyota drivers, together with Bell and Reddick. So whereas single-car tempo isn't there, the revamped bundle works extremely nicely within the bundle.
Michael McDowell, who will begin the Daytona 500 on the surface of the entrance row, was the quickest non-Toyota in ninth, turning a lap of 46.256 in his Entrance Row Motorsports Ford. Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing's entry was the quickest Chevrolet with a 46.411, good for 12th.
Reddick and Bell win qualifying duels whereas Johnson slips
Tyler Reddick received the primary Daytona 500 qualifying duel with a daring last-lap move from Kyle Larson and can begin on the second row for the race. About four,000 ft of pavement down the street, Jimmie Johnson snuck previous JJ Yeley to make the sphere for the 21st Daytona 500.
As within the first duel, Christopher Bell managed the successful transfer within the final spherical. A crash with 13 laps remaining caught half the sphere within the second duel and after the restart chief Michael McDowell – already assured the second beginning spot – was unnoticed to dry, handing the result in Denny Hamlin. Hamlin led till the final half of the ultimate lap when Bell made a daring transfer on the backstretch that led to the win.
BJ McLeod – who had been operating nicely early – was caught within the lap 47 incident and briefly handed Kaz Grala, shedding his spot within the Daytona 500 when Grala handed him on the ultimate lap.
Daytona 500 Qualifying Format
The most important race of the yr additionally incorporates a distinctive qualifying format not used anyplace else on the NASCAR calendar. On Wednesday evening, all 42 vehicles entered will run a full pace lap, the order of which is decided by a Tuesday evening quantity draw. The highest 10 drivers then go right into a shootout, and the highest two occasions from that session set the entrance row for Sunday's race.
The remaining 40 vehicles are pitted – 20 every, together with the highest two qualifiers – into two 60-lap qualifying 'duels' to be run on Thursday night, which decide the sphere from third to 40th. end for the primary duel determines the slots contained in the row and the end order from the second duel determines the surface.
The 36 entries that maintain a NASCAR constitution are assured to enter the race, so two of the six non-charter entries might be unnoticed. That group is led by Corridor of Famer and seven-time sequence champion Jimmie Johnson, who’s operating a shortened nine-race schedule this season for his personal Legacy Motor Membership group.
Logano ends the Hendrick, Chevy streak
Ford broke the Chevrolet Daytona monopoly on Wednesday evening. Group Penske's Joey Logano earned his first pole place for the Daytona 500 with a second-round time of 49.465, which was simply zero.zero71s sooner than the Entrance Row Motorsports entry of 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell.
Logano turned the quickest lap within the automobile's first spherical with all 42 and, after McDowell had a seemingly insurmountable second lap of 49.536, bettered it by simply over seven-hundredths of a second.
Prime Drivers and Daytona 500 Betting Odds
Superspeedway pack racing is fraught with hazard, the place a mistake you don’t have anything to do with immediately forward can wipe out your race. The Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta odds usually mirror this dynamic. No driver enters the week at odds higher than 11-to-1, in response to BetMGM.
The most effective successful odds
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Ryan Blaney +1100
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Chase Elliott +1100
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Denny Hamlin +1100
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Brad Keselowski +1100
Reigning Cup Sequence champion Ryan Blaney boasts a summer time race victory at Daytona after successful the regular-season finale in 2021. Though Chase Elliott has by no means received at Daytona, he has completed within the prime 10 in ⅓ of his runs there. Denny Hamlin has essentially the most Daytona 500 wins of any driver within the area with three and has completed 32 of 36 races at Daytona with a mean place of 17. Brad Keselowski is third in profession laps led at Daytona (345) in behind Hamlin (666) and Kyle Busch (519).
Daytona 500 climate forecast
It’s extremely unlikely that your entire race weekend will go forward and not using a rain delay as precipitation is forecast for Saturday and Sunday. The daytime excessive is anticipated to be within the 70s and there’s a 66 % likelihood of rain for Saturday's remaining Cup Sequence observe session, ARCA and Xfinity races. For Sunday's Daytona 500, temperatures will drop into the mid-60s, however the likelihood of rain will increase to 75 %.
Three of the final 10 Daytona 500s have been delayed by rain (2014, 2020 and 2021), with the 2020 version transferring to the next Monday evening as a consequence of a Sunday deluge.
Daytona 500 Entry Listing
Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Group Penske Ford
Austin Dillon (Three), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Josh Berry (four), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch (eight), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Noah Gragson (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney (12), Group Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Riley Herbst (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton (21), Wooden Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Group Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Daniel Hemric (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Entrance Row Motorsports Ford
Kaz Grala (36), Entrance Row Motorsports Ford*
Todd Gilliland (38), Entrance Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
John Hunter Nemechek (42), Legacy Motor Membership Toyota
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Membership Toyota
JJ Yeley (44), NY Racing Group Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (45), Toyota 23XI Racing
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
David Ragan (60), RFK Racing Ford*
Anthony Alfredo (62), Beard Motorsports Chevrolet*
Zane Smith (71), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
BJ McLeod (78), Dwell Quick Motorsports Ford*
Jimmie Johnson (84), Legacy Motor Membership Toyota*
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
*—A area seat just isn’t assured