Each year, the Daytona 500 signals the official start of the racing season, as the season-opener for the NASCAR Cup Series traditionally takes place in mid-February.
If you’re itching for a little competitive action, this might be the best place to start. Here, we’ll dig into how to follow the race and what to expect.
What is the Daytona 500?
The Daytona 500, also called the Great American Race or the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing, is truly the crown jewel of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
In the early 1900s, Daytona Beach, Florida became a hotspot for attempting to set speed records thanks to its long stretch of beach. As record setters departed for the smoother terrains of the Bonneville Salt Flats, Daytona instead turned to hosting stock car events on a combined beach-and-road course.
With the help of Bill France Sr., who would go on to found NASCAR, the road event found enough success to justify constructing a purpose-built oval in the area. Thus arrived the 2.5-mile oval track we know today.
For its first few years, DIS hosted shorter events, with the first 500-mile race taking place in 1959. Ever since, the event has hailed the beginning of the racing season and is one of the most coveted events a driver can win.
Will there be any races in the build-up to Daytona?
Thanks to its status as a crown jewel event, there’s plenty of pomp and circumstance surrounding the Daytona 500, with practice starting on Wednesday, February 12.
All of NASCAR’s major series — ARCA, Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup — will race at Daytona to kick off their seasons. The action will take place as follows:
- Thurs, Feb 13: NASCAR Cup Series Duels (7 p.m. ET)
- Fri, Feb 14: Fresh From Florida 250 NASCAR Truck Series race (7:30 p.m. ET)
- Sat, Feb 14: ARCA Menards Series 200 race (12 p.m. ET)
- Sat, Feb 14: United Rentals 300 Xfinity Series race (5 p.m. ET)
- Sun, Feb 16: NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 race (2:30 p.m. ET)
The “Duels” are two qualifying heat races that set the field for Sunday’s Cup race.
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What should I watch for?
It’ll be tough to predict some of the biggest storylines until we see how the Cup Series drivers perform in the Duels, but we’ll provide a few quick tips to help you get up to speed.
There are three manufacturers in NASCAR: Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford. Chevrolet will field 20 cars from 10 different teams; Toyota will field 11 cars from four different teams; and Ford will field 14 cars with six different teams. The field is capped at 40 cars — though an additional 41st may be added for a worthy contender from another motorsport series should he not qualify.
Four-time Indy 500 champion Hélio Castroneves will contest the Daytona 500; he’s been granted an automatic entry to the event due to his greater contributions to motorsport. If Castroneves qualifies for the race, he’ll be one of 40 starters. If he doesn’t qualify, he’ll be tagged onto the end of the grid in a 41st entry.
Also notable is Shane van Gisbergen, the Australian Supercars legend who, after winning the inaugural NASCAR Cup race at the Chicago street circuit, decided he wanted to keep racing in America. Last year, he appeared in a handful of Cup events alongside a full Xfinity season; this year, he’ll be full-time in Cup with Trackhouse Racing.
Multiple teams will make their debut at this event, including the Haas Factory Team, JR Motorsports, and Tricon Garage.
Since the introduction of the Next-Gen car in 2022, Ford has one the Daytona 500 once, and Chevy has won it twice. Those drivers are Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and William Byron. Chevrolet has the most overall wins at the race, with 26.
Former Daytona 500 winners starting the race include Cindric, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Byron, Stenhouse, Michael McDowell, and Jimmie Johnson.
2025 Daytona 500 rookies include van Gisbergen and Riley Herbst.
How do I watch the Daytona 500?
The 2025 Daytona 500 will take place on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET. If you’re watching in America, it’ll be taking place on FOX.
Other common international broadcasters for the event include:
- United Kingdom: Viaplay Group
- Canada: TSN, RDS
- Australia: Fox Sports Australia
- France: Mediawan
- Germany: More than Sports, Sport1
- Italy: MolaTV
- Mexico: Fox Sports Mexico
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