After all the preliminary events for the Cup Series, the Daytona 500 is almost here. There will be a lot to see in Sunday’s race.
Denny Hamlin aims to become the first driver in the history of the Daytona 500 to win the race for the third consecutive time. Chase Elliott seeks to become the first champion to win this race since 2000. Bubba Wallace seeks to give team owners Michael Jordan and Hamlin their first victory in the first 23XI Racing race for the World Cup on points.
Alex Bowman starts on pole, while Hendrick Motorsports seeks to win the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2014 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Blaney finished second in the Daytona 500 in two of the past four years, while continuing to pursue his first victory in this event.
Perhaps one of these events will happen on Sunday. Or something else will happen in the opening race of the season.
Details for Sunday’s Daytona 500
(All times are from the east)
BEGIN: Trackhouse Racing co-owner Pitbull will give the command to start the 14h53 engines. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:05 pm.
PREPARATION: The garage opens at 10:30 am. Luke Combs’ concert starts at 1:30 pm. The driver’s presentations are at 2:05 pm. The invocation will be made at 14:46. The national anthem will be played at 2:47 pm, followed by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds flying by.
DISTANCE: The race is 200 laps (500 miles) around the 2.5 mile track.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends on lap 65. Stage 2 ends on lap 130.
TV / RADIO: Fox will broadcast the race at 2:30 pm. Coverage starts at 1pm. The Motor Racing Network broadcast starts at 1:30 pm and can also be heard on mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR radio will broadcast the MRN broadcast.
FORECAST: The forecast from wunderground.com indicates a 74-degree high with a 59% chance of sparse storms at the start of the race.
LAST YEAR: Denny Hamlin won his second consecutive victory at the Daytona 500 (and third overall) last February. Ryan Blaney finished second. Chris Buescher came in third. In August, William Byron won and was followed by Chase Elliott and Hamlin.
BEHIND: Cole Custer (reserve car), William Byron (reserve car), Ross Chastain (reserve car), Brad Keselowski (reserve car), Chase Briscoe (reserve car), Kaz Grala (reserve car), Anthony Alfredo (reserve car), Martin Truex Jr. (radiator / oil cooler change) and Erik Jones (engine change). NOTE: According to the rule book (single engine rule), Jones will also start at the rear of next weekend’s race on the Daytona road circuit.
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