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2025 daytona speedweek

 

A little luck, good instincts give William Byron second straight DAYTONA 500 win 

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

February 16, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Like Houdini making an unlikely escape from a straitjacket, William Byrom trusted his instincts and emerged from a smoky, last-lap wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway to win the DAYTONA 500 for the second straight time.

 

On Sunday night, after a long rain delay and a Presidential visit, Byron took full advantage when contact from Cole Custer turned three-time DAYTONA 500 winner Denny Hamlin at the front the field and started a wreck that gave Byron the opportunity he needed.

 

When Byron crossed the finish line 0.113 seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Reddick in overtime, he became the first driver since Hamlin in 2019 and 2020 to win the Great American Race in consecutive years.

 

“Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” Byron said after climbing from his car. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom, and I was honestly going to go third (top) lane regardless, because I was probably sixth coming down the back.

 

“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. Worked super hard all week and had an amazing car. Just had a really hard time with the fuel saving and kind of staying towards the front.”

 

“Crazy. I can't honestly believe that. But we're here. So proud of it.”

 

Last season, Byron claimed all three of his NASCAR Cup Series victories in the first 11 races. This year, after another Daytona win, he plans to sustain the momentum throughout the season.

 

“It's an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving,” said Byron, who picked up his third victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway and the 14th of his career.

 

“But just really proud of our team. I can't stress that enough. I'm just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the offseason to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we're not going to stop here. We're going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix (in the Championship 4 race).”

 

The wreck on the second lap of overtime frustrated both Hamlin, who was late to the lead and 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric, who led a race-high 59 laps and combined with Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney to lead 125 of 202.

 

“Frustration—you’re taking the white as the leader,” said Cindric, who qualified on the front row and won Thursday’s second Duel at Daytona race. “I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage. I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better.

 

“Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”

 

Hamlin had just pulled ahead of Cindric on the backstretch when Custer made a move to the outside and then steered down the track toward Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, triggering the crash.

 

“I measured up the 2 (Cindric), and got a run on him,” Hamlin said. “I stayed with him long enough where I could kind of control which side I wanted to pass him on, and then we had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was going to come.

 

“The 41 (Custer) had a run, and I chose not to block him because these races, you have to live to make it off of Turn 4, and we just didn’t.”

 

Legacy Motor Club owner and part-time driver Jimmie Johnson finished third in his best result since 2020 at Dover. Pole winner Chase Briscoe was fourth and John Hunter Nemechek fifth, giving Legacy two drivers in the top five.

 

Alex Bowman, Blaney, Cindric, Justin Allgaier (in JR Motorsports first Cup race) and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

 

The race was just over four laps from completion in regulation when a bump from Custer turned Christopher Bell hard into the outside wall on Lap 196. Bell’s Toyota bounced off the SAFER barrier and collected the Ford of Ryan Preece, whose car got airborne and landed on its roof before finishing upright.

 

That sort of wreck wasn’t unfamiliar to Preece, who endured a spectacular series of barrel rolls in the 2023 spring race at Talladega.

 

“When the car took off like that, it got really quiet, and all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said. “So, I’m lucky to walk away.”

 

That wreck, which involved 10 cars, forced the race to overtime. An earlier melee on Lap 186, triggered by contact between Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., changed the complexion of the race—eliminating Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Noah Gragson from contention for the win.

 

The 67th running of the Great America Race started in short bursts. With President Donald Trump in attendance and the grandstands packed with fans—reflective of a 10th straight sellout—drivers ran just nine green-flag laps from the start before rain interrupted the proceedings.

 

After a red-flag period that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes, 59 seconds, drivers took to the track for a second time and ran another 12 laps under caution before a brief rainstorm halted the race for another 20 minutes, 29 seconds.

 

With Logano in the lead, the DAYTONA 500 resumed on Lap 24 and ran without incident until Lap 63 when the bottom lane checked up, and Zane Smith turned Hamlin’s Toyota on the backstretch.

 

Smith’s Ford slid up the track into the Ford of Josh Berry, seriously damaging that car. Smith took his car to the garage for attempted repairs, while Hamlin was able to continue without losing a lap.

 

Logano won the first stage under caution, but because of a problem with debris in the throttle body of his No. 22 Ford on the subsequent restart on Lap 71, Logano stacked up the top lane and ignited a seven-car melee in Turn 1. The accident eliminated the cars of Martin Truex Jr., Helio Castroneves and Ross Chastain.

 

Intense three-wide action throughout the race produced 56 lead changes among 15 drivers. Byron led five times for a total of 10 laps. There were eight cautions for 47 laps.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - DAYTONA 500

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Sunday, February 16, 2025

 

                1. (5)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 201.

                2. (11)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 201.

                3. (40)  Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 201.

                4. (1)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 201.

                5. (18)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 201.

                6. (38)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 201.

                7. (16)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 201.

                8. (2)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 201.

                9. (19)  Justin Allgaier(i), Chevrolet, 201.

                10. (6)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 201.

                11. (25)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 201.

                12. (4)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 201.

                13. (36)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 201.

                14. (7)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 201.

                15. (17)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 201.

                16. (23)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 201.

                17. (24)  Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 201.

                18. (31)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 201.

                19. (35)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 201.

                20. (22)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 201.

                21. (30)  Cole Custer, Ford, 201.

                22. (12)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, 201.

                23. (15)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 201.

                24. (8)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 201.

                25. (28)  Cody Ware, Ford, Accident, 200.

                26. (34)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.

                27. (14)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 199.

                28. (32)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 198.

                29. (3)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 197.

                30. (33)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, Fuel Pressure, 196.

                31. (20)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 195.

                32. (27)  Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 195.

                33. (26)  Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 193.

                34. (21)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 186.

                35. (10)  Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 185.

                36. (37)  Zane Smith, Ford, Accident, 108.

                37. (29)  Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 105.

                38. (39)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Accident, 71.

                39. (41)  Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Accident, 70.

                40. (9)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 70.

                41. (13)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Engine, 42.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  129.159 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 53 Mins, 26 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .113 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  8 for 47 laps.

Lead Changes:  56 among 15 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Briscoe 1-4;T. Dillon 5-7;W. Byron 8-10;A. Cindric 11;W. Byron 12-15;M. McDowell 16-17;R. Blaney 18-21;J. Logano 22-30;W. Byron 31;*. LaJoie 32-34;J. Logano 35-39;C. Elliott 40-41;J. Logano 42-70;A. Bowman 71-74;R. Blaney 75-76;A. Cindric 77-78;R. Preece 79;N. Gragson 80;A. Cindric 81-89;M. McDowell 90;A. Cindric 91-93;M. McDowell 94;N. Gragson 95;A. Cindric 96;R. Preece 97-101;A. Bowman 102-105;A. Cindric 106-115;A. Bowman 116;A. Cindric 117-122;A. Bowman 123;A. Cindric 124;A. Bowman 125;A. Cindric 126-129;R. Blaney 130-132;C. Hocevar 133;R. Blaney 134-138;B. Wallace 139-141;R. Blaney 142;B. Wallace 143-145;R. Blaney 146-148;B. Wallace 149-152;R. Blaney 153-154;B. Wallace 155-156;R. Blaney 157;B. Wallace 158;W. Byron 159;R. Blaney 160;B. Wallace 161-163;A. Cindric 164;B. Wallace 165-166;A. Cindric 167-185;*. LaJoie 186-192;A. Cindric 193;D. Hamlin 194-199;A. Cindric 200;W. Byron 201;R. Blaney 202.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Austin Cindric 13 times for 59 laps; Joey Logano 3 times for 43 laps; Ryan Blaney 10 times for 23 laps; Bubba Wallace 7 times for 18 laps; Alex Bowman 5 times for 11 laps; William Byron 5 times for 10 laps; * Corey LaJoie 2 times for 10 laps; Ryan Preece 2 times for 6 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 6 laps; Michael McDowell 3 times for 4 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 4 laps; Ty Dillon 1 time for 3 laps; Noah Gragson 2 times for 2 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 2 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,6,12,47,20,99,48,45,43,24

Stage #2 Top Ten: 12,2,9,48,34,17,43,22,23,8

Transcript: William Byron, Jeff Gordon, Rudy Fugle – Press Conference – 02.16.25

February 17, 2025

NASCAR Media Conference

Press Conference

Sunday, February 16, 2025

An Interview with:

William Byron

Jeff Gordon

Rudy Fugle

 

THE MODERATOR: We will get started. We will start with questions for Jeff or Rudy. Like I said earlier, we’re going to go straight to questions, so if you have one, raise your hand.

  1. With this win, William broke your record as the youngest winner with two Daytona 500 victories back-to-back?

JEFF GORDON: I hope he breaks them all. I’m full support of that.

  1. Can you talk a little bit about William and how he’s developed?

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, I mean, you guys have witnessed it and seen it. We talk all the time about how quickly he’s risen through the ranks and won races and championships and continues to do it at the elite level in Cup. I mean, this guy right here I think has a lot to do with it.

Rudy is just such an amazing crew chief. And when you get that combination of great talent like William’s talent, like Rudy’s, and then put the team together with it, the resources that we have, magical things happen. You couldn’t ask for it to happen to better people, too.

William is just a great guy and cares a lot about the sport and the team, and so you wish good things for them.

I was telling them, you must be living right because the seas parted today.

  1. For William and Rudy, you guys were not really in this race and then all of a sudden the seas parted and you’re the winner. Can you both walk us through that?

WILLIAM BYRON: Well, I think you can’t underestimate the amount of preparation and teamwork that we had throughout the week. We had an awesome car today. We just didn’t have the track position to show it, and the way the fuel savings and strategy worked out.

Last year was kind of the opposite. We were always up front, and this year just wasn’t that way. I felt like for us we were trying to stay positive, and I felt like each restart there at the end we were still optimistic about our chances to get forward.

Yeah, obviously it worked out in a fortunate way for us, but it’s not all luck to win twice in a row. It’s a lot of teamwork and a lot of talking with my spotter and us three working together and making the most of it.

Definitely fortunate but definitely a lot of teamwork.

RUDY FUGLE: For me, I just looked up and seen him ahead. I have no idea how that happened. I’ll take the other side of it a little bit. I was just happy to say, holy cow, that orange car is ahead.

  1. So much happened over those last 50 miles. Were you in William’s ear about all that, and watch your P’s and Q’s or find a lane or whatever? You were pretty sure something else was going to happen, right?

RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, I think when the cautions came out, we kind of were a little disappointed where we were running, but we just said, let’s just take our shots here and there.

At one point we thought we were 20th in one of the wrecks, and we ended up getting a couple spots from a lucky lineup, and then he just stayed in it, and we got some really good pushes and moves on the outside. I didn’t have much to do with that preparation previously, but William and Brandon did all that.

  1. For William, did people make dumb moves and stuff, or is that just — I heard like 10 times —

JEFF GORDON: Joey did.

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, that’s fair. No, I think it’s just the nature of — these cars don’t push and receive pushes very easily. It looks like it’s in control, but the car has a lot of drag. So when you come off the corner, it’s easy to get to somebody’s bumper. But the cars don’t get pushed easily. You have your hands full the whole straightaway.

I feel like what created the ending the way it was was a lot of lane swapping. And anytime you had that amount of lane swapping, you had a lot of runs come from behind. I feel like that’s kind of what you saw what happened at the end.

  1. William, what was it like to be reunited with the car you won with last year, and what’s it like to send one back across the way?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I’m kind of bummed. We lose probably a good car —

RUDY FUGLE: I’m bummed about that one, too. R.

WILLIAM BYRON: Because last year’s was a backup car.

But it’s really special. I think that I’m not much of a historian, I guess. Like I’m still in the midst of my career and just continuing to progress.

But really special the ceremony that they have here and everything that we were able to be a part of, and I think it’ll be just as special next year.

Last year, I guess, I was a little bit — I was looking ahead really quickly about the rest of the season. I think this year I’ll enjoy this race and then we’ll get down the road and get focused on the year.

  1. Speaking of historian, no one has won this race three years in a row. For any of you guys, are you guys going to come loaded for bear 2026?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, like I said, they gave me everything I needed tonight. I just kept getting more pissed off as the race went on because I wasn’t taking advantage of it because my car was really good.

Yeah, I’m sure they’ll bring me a great car next year and we’ll try to go after it.

  1. All week when I spoke with you, you seemed to have a certain confidence about what your expectations were tonight. Did you feel like, even as the race went on and whatever crazy stuff was happening, that you were very much in it and this was going to be something you had a say in?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I don’t know, I just feel like our team, we have a really good process. If you look at our results at the end of last year, I just feel like this team is really experienced and capable of overcoming adversity. The way we ended last year and the consistency and just — I never feel like we’re out of it.

So it’s just — all week I felt like we were doing everything we needed to do to get to this point. The race didn’t go like that, so I was kind of steaming inside the helmet.

But I think that our team is plenty capable of just putting races like this together, and we’re never out of it. That’s what I want our team to be like is experienced and tough, and I feel like there’s no race that we can’t kind of overcome adversity.

  1. Two years ago at this race, you hadn’t experienced any of this yet. How do the emotions from this race, coming back here and winning it a second time, differ or compare to your first Daytona 500 a year ago?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I think we just kind of had confidence all week that we could — like I said, we could just overcome whatever was happening in the race, and I think that confidence showed tonight with just being able to put yourself in a good position.

Yeah, last year I think I was a lot more skeptical of the race and kind of how it plays out.

  1. For Rudy, you’ve done a lot of special things with this kid since you guys hooked up, even going all the way back to the Truck Series. What is it about him that has made the relationship between the two of you so fruitful on the racetrack? And then also for you personally, what does it mean now to have two of these Daytona 500s?

RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, I think this is our 20th win together, so that’s pretty amazing if you count them all together.

It’s special just because of our relationship and our trust in each other and how we respect each other and grow. We don’t get stale. We’re not afraid to talk to each other and get through things. That is just a mutual respect to be mature and get through things.

Then personally, last year that win brought me to tears. And then this win, it brought me to laughter is what I said just because — I looked up and we’re getting ready to win, and it was just amazing. Here we were. Two totally different emotions.

If we build a good enough team, things like this happen more times than not, and that’s what we’ve been working on. It’ll hopefully just become easier and easier as we go.

  1. This will be a question for Jeff. You just referenced Joey doing this and that at the end of the race. You were very frank in saying that. I’m sure you saw the crash with Ryan Preece. He was also very frank in how he was fortunate to get out of the car but that we’re close to someone not being able to get out of the car after an accident like that. You come from an era where superspeedway racing was not like this at the end, and you also come from an era where there was no guarantee of your safe return at the end of a race. I was wondering if you agree with Ryan’s comments about this not being sustainable from a safety standpoint and, if it isn’t, what you think NASCAR should do to either better keep the cars from going airborne or make it so that we don’t see this sort of thing at the end of a superspeedway race.

JEFF GORDON: I didn’t hear his exact comments, so I don’t want to necessarily go off of what he might have said or some of the things that he said.

But what I will say is ever since I came into NASCAR and we went on a superspeedway, that conversation has been happening, especially when they went to restrictor plates and started pack racing. It’s always been on the drivers’ minds, and it’s always been that balance between entertainment and luck of the draw or whatever you want to call it.

Then there’s the safety aspect of it, too. The cars, as they continue to be bumper cars at 200 miles per hour, then you’re going to have a lot of wrecks. The cars have gotten much safer, though, as well.

For him, what is that, two years in a row or two years ago that he had that other incident. Of course he’s going to be vocal about that. You never want to get airborne in a car once, let alone what he’s been through.

I know NASCAR always is looking at those incidents and trying to figure out what they can do better to keep the cars on the ground.

I think as teams we’ll offer everything we can, but we’re focused on building fast race cars to go win and be safe, and we have to rely on NASCAR to do the testing to try to keep the cars on the ground and be as safe as possible.

  1. I was wondering if you can speak to how your different types of wins, Jeff, the emotions of going through the Daytona 500 wins in those different ways differ and compare to one another.

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, listen, there’s nothing — when you’ve been a driver and a part of the team and you go through the process, there’s nothing like going to Victory Lane and just going to battle with them and then seeing the rewards.

With Jimmie, I was racing against him. So it was one of those if I can’t win, I want him to win; but if I finish second to him winning, I probably still wasn’t happy. To see him come along and be a part of that, that was sort of my introduction to being in this role.

But now because I’m not driving, I get to spend time in the shop, see these guys, hear what they’re doing and planning and the strategy and what kind of team that they’re building and the things they’re doing to get better each week and every year and just get to know them personally.

That’s what makes it rewarding for me. And Rick has always said, it’s all about the people. So when you get to know the people on a deeper level by knowing more than just the people that are right there on your race car, your race team, it makes these moments really special to be a part of.

Now, today I was pretty shocked because you kind of — you get the buildup and anticipation of, man, I think we’re in position to win this thing, and you get tense because you want it for them, and you want it for the organization.

But today I wasn’t like that at all. I was like, oh, well, darn. I guess we’re not going to get it this year. Then here we are.

It was kind of a wild ride.

  1. For William and Rudy, Jeff was telling us in Victory Lane that William, he saw a very different preparation from you this week just knowing that you could get it done, given what you did last year. What did that look like for you? Could you sense something different within yourself, that your preparation was different? And for Rudy, how did you see that manifest in him, as well?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I think my week was just a lot more balanced, and I think that’s just been a lot of really just work off the track, too, just trying to figure out what works for me.

I think we had a great week of prep, really. I think, honestly, just from our phone calls and conversations and the way we wanted to approach this week and this season has been really, really good.

We kind of got off — I did a lot of traveling in the off-season so I was probably a little bit more MIA than normal, but I feel like we came back together the last couple weeks and got back into our rhythm and just excited for the season.

To answer your question about the week, I think it just kind of flowed normally, and I was really excited to get down here. That was a different feeling. I feel like typically I’ve been kind of dreading this race somewhat. So that was exciting.

RUDY FUGLE: For me, I think the confidence is really in the whole team. It’s really that everybody needs to be able to pull their weight and knows what to do and has the experience to do it.

Being able to lean on each other instead of feeling like he’s got to be superman or I’ve got to do something special or Branden Lines has got to do something special, we’re all just pulling the weight a little more evenly and feeling comfortable about it.

Then the week of prep, I think the biggest thing is 10 days ago we took Friday afternoon off when some people were working on their cars, and we played golf. The whole team went out and played golf. We called it a team outing, and then we qualified 21st on Wednesday, and I was like, I’m going to catch a rash of s— for this. Now I’m over it.

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, we had a great golf outing for sure. This guy, he’s a good teammate. We played best ball.

RUDY FUGLE: They used two of my balls all day.

  1. On the podcast you said about coming back here after winning last year you felt lighter. How did that help the way you approached the moves you made in the race and certainly coming down to the end there?

WILLIAM BYRON: Well, I thought it was going to help. I don’t think it really helped me throughout the race, honestly, looking at the way it unfolded. But I think towards the end of the race I knew how to get the best finish. I knew what situations I wanted to put myself in. I was kind of confident in where I was going to choose on the restarts and things like that.

I think that comes — anytime you win, that’s what happens. When you face adversity you’ve kind of been there and experienced it.

That honestly was it, really. I think it didn’t really change a lot on the racetrack besides that and just kind of throughout the week probably our conversations and being confident in what I needed.

  1. With this victory, Hendrick Motorsports now has 10 Daytona 500 wins, the most of any team and the most of the series, one more than Petty Enterprises with nine. Could you please comment on now that you’re leading with Daytona 500 victories?

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, we talked about it today when the speedway was handing over the car from last year, and Rick was there and William and myself. It was definitely on Rick’s mind. He knows stats like that. He knows numbers, not just in racing, in the automobile business, too. You just ask anybody. He was certainly well aware that he was at nine.

Listen, he’s always had the most respect for Petty, for other organizations that have accomplished a lot. He’s such a — what I love about him is how humble he is because earlier today he was talking about how “I can’t believe in 1983 I came down here and they wouldn’t even let me in the garage area,” and then in ’84 he starts racing, and now he’s going — at that time he was saying, I’m going for 10 Daytona 500 wins.

It blows his mind when he really goes back and thinks about it. But it was also on his mind that he likes to raise the bar and likes to be No. 1. So it was certainly something that he said, man, let’s go get No. 10.

I spoke to him on the phone, and that’s one of the first things he said is we got No. 10. It means a lot to him.

Now these cars, because they do hold them in Daytona USA or — they used to call it Daytona USA when I won here in the ’90s, but now Rick preserves these cars. He’s such a collector. And whether you call it a historian, you look at the way he collects, he’ll take this car when — the car from last year, and he’ll put it right in the museum and have a special place for it and then he’ll have a special place for this one.

When he sees those cars, that’s him reminding himself how fortunate he feels like he is to be a part of this sport in the way that he is.

  1. William, your travels, I was scouring the internet real quickly to catch up. Japan I see, but where did you go? What did you get from those experiences and kind of bring back to be recharged?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, honestly, when the off-season started, I didn’t have any trips planned, but I knew that I wanted to travel. So I came up with six trips, basically. The first one was Japan. And, honestly, for me, it was just experiencing a culture that was completely different and unique from what I experienced here in the States.

It was really cool because I went there by myself, and I was really nervous about that. I felt like I was going to be out of place —

JEFF GORDON: I still don’t believe that he went by himself. I’m still trying to get all the answers to that.

WILLIAM BYRON: It was crazy. I think, honestly, for me, the first day and a half was really crazy, just being there and trying to figure out where to eat and what to do.

But by the end of the trip, I had such a different perspective on kind of my life and what I want to do back home and what I could learn from their culture. It was just cool to be completely anonymous in a different country and not know anybody. It was pretty unique.

They have a lot of history there, and the way they integrate that with their daily life and the way that people respect each other, it’s pretty cool.

But yeah, other trips I did, we did a couple other trips throughout the States. So that was cool, too. Enjoyed that. But he was probably like, Where are you?

RUDY FUGLE: It was tough, yeah.

  1. Were you MIA?

WILLIAM BYRON: No, we talked every now and then.

RUDY FUGLE: But I’m used to seeing him a little more.

  1. Jeff, what do you make of Kyle Larson’s difficulty at superspeedway racing?

JEFF GORDON: Gosh, the guy is not perfect. I think now I’m starting to see it’s getting in his head. I’ve had a few conversations with him, and like, man, just go for it, just forget about it, don’t try to even overthink it.

But you can’t win that many races in a row, doesn’t go your way.

I don’t know what advice to give him other than — all I told him today is just be Kyle Larson. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Don’t look at what somebody else is doing that’s having success. Just go out there and execute, and the other things will turn around and come your way eventually. I think.

  1. He was saying on his radio (indiscernible)?

JEFF GORDON: I noticed that. (Laughter.)

I can be hard on him because I love Kyle and I think he’s amazing.

WILLIAM BYRON: Wait until we get to Vegas, and he’ll just be ripping.

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, it’s a head-scratcher for sure for he and Cliff and the whole team. But I’m sure they’ll figure it out.

  1. William, Rudy said he cried the first time and laughed this time. I’m curious, were you laughing, too? As somebody from the outside who doesn’t follow, they’ll say, gosh, if you laugh about it, did you earn it? Can you put those two things if you were laughing in perspective?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, sure. Well, I was thinking about this with a few laps to go. Everyone in this series is so incredibly good that there is never a fluke in this series.

When you get around this long enough, you respect everyone that you race against and what it takes. But I didn’t know how to feel after we took the checkered. Last year was a little bit — it was definitely easier to understand the emotions. But this year was different. I just didn’t know how to feel when we took the checkered.

But as it sets in, you can’t take the win away. It is what it is, and we’re going to enjoy it as a team because there’s so much hard work that goes into it.

But yeah, that’s how I feel about it.

RUDY FUGLE: I didn’t mean it was a joke. It was laughable the way things happened.

  1. William, you mentioned going to other countries and kind of enjoying that anonymous feeling there. How have you noticed your public stature rise as your success has continued and your career has grown into what it has become?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I don’t know. I’m still, like, a very normal person. I feel like it’s just nice to be recognized for what you do in racing circles and people understand who you are, and I’m just trying to show that.

I finally have gotten comfortable enough to show what I like and don’t like, and that’s just a never-ending process because I came from really — I was not in this sport at all. So I was very much an outsider, and I think starting to get my comfort in that and kind of overcoming some imposter syndrome of I’m a race car driver, I deserve to be here, that’s like a never-ending process really, and just being comfortable with that.

  1. William, you were teammates with Jimmie, you drove for Dale. Jeff, obviously you were teammates with both of them. I know the win, y’all winning tonight is the best part, but does it add any more to it than Jimmie, his team had the best night of their existence? And then Dale, the debut of his team, they got a top 10?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that, but I think those are two legends, absolutely, and probably could learn a lot more.

It’s just cool, at one point I was behind Jimmie with like 25 laps to go, and just seeing him still out there wheeling it, his race car was pretty loose and he was just throwing it around. That’s just Jimmie. It was really cool to be out there with him. And yeah, Dale having his car in the race was really special, too.

We missed him at the Thirsty Beaver. We had some beers, Dale and I did, and this guy left early.

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, that’s what I do these days. I had fun while I was there. A lot of domestic beers at that establishment. It’s hard to find an import or an IPA. I found that out.

But I’m sorry I missed you. I won’t miss the next drink. We’ve got to celebrate tonight.

  1. Question to Jeff and a question to William. Jeff, you’ve made an incredible legacy driving the No. 24. Looks very similar to what William has this season as well. What are the emotions for you to be so successful in a car that you’ve made so famous and also to shatter your record? For you emotionally, what is it like?

JEFF GORDON: Well, emotionally, because I’m a part of it, so I’m happy. I love to see the 24 team continue to have success, and Hendrick Motorsports in general. But I think it’s more special because I’ve gotten to know William, and he’s just a good guy, and like this is a dream come true for him.

It’s been a pretty fast rise to get here, but it hasn’t come without a lot of hard work. And he puts in the work, and there’s nobody more appreciative of it, as well.

Yeah, no, I’m just proud of him. I know the fans that I get to interact with, there was a period of time where they were sad that I was not in there, and I can see their excitement now that that legacy continues on because of what William and the team are doing. Yeah, it’s great.

  1. William, you’ve become a whole lot more than just the driver of the 24 for Hendrick. You’ve made your legacy in that car, especially the last two years, breaking Jeff Gordon’s record tonight as the youngest multi-time Daytona 500 champion. What is it like for you to have made your own legacy out of something that was so famous?

WILLIAM BYRON: Well, I have a long way to go. What do I need, 93 wins or something? Yeah, honestly, just when I got in the car, I was super, honestly, uncomfortable with all the pressure and everything that comes with driving the 24 car.

Now it’s like, okay, we’re building our own team, we have cool paint schemes, we have awesome sponsors. And it’s starting to all come together, and we’re really getting a personality to our team.

It’s been fun to see that evolution. And obviously he’s supporting it all the time, and it’s cool to see him so involved. To see him on the — he doesn’t know this, but to see him on qualifying night and be down there watching, he’s at all the events, all the competition meetings. He works hard.

JEFF GORDON: Thank you. Tell the boss that, please.

I’ll just add one other thing. We went up to Philadelphia obviously when it was DUPONT, it was my sponsor from the very beginning, and now being AXALTA, and to see them embrace him, to see them just continue to just double down on the sponsorship and the B2B with Hendrick Automotive Group and know that they’ve got a guy behind the wheel that’s going to take them to Victory Lane and win big races and race for championships. I know he’s going to win championships in the future.

Like, to see the excitement in our sponsors that are part of that is also kind of just verification of what he’s accomplishing and doing.

  1. William, your love of racing rooted in your early years of I racing. You’re now back-to-back Daytona 500 winner. What have you learned on your journey here, and what would you say to the kid in their rooms who dreams of being a driver who can only start with a sim rig?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, that excites me thinking about young kids and their passions. You’ve seen it across all sports. You’ll hear crazy stories about different athletes or whatever it is. You just have to — whatever it is you’re interested in, you just have to go for and just continue to do it no matter what anyone says.

I feel like it’s all about your passion for something, and I knew racing was what I want to do. I had no passion in anything else.

This is what I stuck to and loved.

  1. Jeff, we heard last year that Tom Cruise was interested in a “Days of Thunder” sequel. You two have been close for a number of years. Curious if he ever reached out to you with any thoughts, and what would you think of seeing NASCAR back on the big screen?

JEFF GORDON: I mean, I am seeing just a lot more momentum in projects like coming through NASCAR and coming to Hendrick Motorsports and just more interest. So that’s good, right? It talks a lot about where the sport is at, where it’s heading, the amazing crowd that was here all weekend, not just today, new TV partners.

So I do think that there’s this kind of resurgence, which is awesome, and there’s also a whole new landscape of opportunities with streaming services and docuseries and also the big screen, which I think it would be amazing to do.

Hendrick Motorsports being a part of that project, hard to imagine how you pull that off today because they actually had race cars with cameras in the race, and the cameras were big. Cameras have gotten a lot smaller so maybe you could pull it off, but how do you do it and make it realistic and really authentic.

But I’ve absolutely talked to Tom about it because I want him to do the project, and we want to be a part of it if it were to happen.

He seems to like to tease it, so I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. If that doesn’t happen, I feel pretty confident there’s a project out there that will get NASCAR back on the big screen, if not just a really cool docuseries or something beyond even what we’re already seeing right now.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

 

Jesse Love wins Xfinity Series season-opener at Daytona

 Chris Graythen/Getty Images

 

February 15, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a typically wild finish at Daytona International Speedway, Jesse Love won the United Rentals 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series season-opener in overtime – taking the white flag moments before a massive multi-car accident behind him brought out a caution officially ending the race.

 

An out-of-breath Love emerged from his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet’s roof hatch on the Daytona International Speedway infield grass to the cheers of his team celebrating the 20-year old Californian’s second career win.

 

“So many people have helped me get to this point," said Love, who led three times for 30 laps on the evening.

 

“Not sure what happened to the 21 (his teammate Austin Hill) tonight, but he was really dominant tonight," Love continued. “We’re working on changing our culture here at RCR. We’re winners, we know we are and we really want to win a championship for Richard Childress. I’m ready to go to [the next race at] Atlanta now.”

 

Love put his Chevrolet out front on the final three re-starts, exchanging the point briefly with Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed before taking the position for good with 18 laps remaining and ultimately holding off the Haas drivers Sam Mayer and Creed. Rookies Carson Kvapil and Taylor Gray were just behind rounding out the top-five.

 

As Love indicated, for most of the early race, it looked as if his teammate, three-time defending race winner Hill was going to turn in an incredible fourth straight win in the season-opener. He won both Stage 1 and 2 and led 56 of the opening 82 laps – the most laps out front on the night. Together Love and Hill led all but 40 of the race’s 126 laps

 

Hill’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, however, had engine issues shortly after the second stage break – Hill reporting smoke inside his cockpit and other drivers saying his car was leaking fluid out the back.

 

Although Hill stayed out front, he pit with a handful of other Chevrolets on Lap 80 and when the RCR team checked under the hood, it was apparent the issue was terminal.

 

The team declared the car done, reiterating to their driver it wasn’t “for lack of effort” on the night.

 

“Such a bummer, we had such a fast Chevrolet," Hill said after parking his car in the garage. “Everybody at RCR and ECR did a great job building this race car. We showed we were the dominant team again getting the stage wins there. I just wish that we could have lost this race on our terms, not from a mechanical failure.

 

“I’d almost rather get turned on the backstretch on the white flag lap and end up on my lid than have it end like this. This one is going to sting a little bit, but we have Atlanta next week and I feel like we’re going to be good all year long in 2025. I feel really good about this team."

 

The two rookies who finished inside the top-five were indicative of a strong showing for the large first-year class. Several were eliminated while running inside the top-10 on track – from Daniel Dye in the race’s opening accident to highly-touted series newcomers Connor Zilisch, William Sawalich and Christian Eckes who were all collected in an accident with three laps remaining in regulation – all running in the top-10 at the time.

 

Last summer’s NASCAR Cup Series Daytona race winner Harrison Burton finished sixth in his return to fulltime NASCAR Xfinity Series racing. Jordan Anderson, Dean Thompson, Jeremy Clements and Patrick Emerling rounded out the top-10 in a race that saw 11 different leaders and 24 lead change on the 2.5-mile Daytona high banks.

 

Clements set the Xfinity Fastest Lap of the race earning a bonus point. Creed takes a nine-point lead over Love atop the early championship standings.

 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition next Saturday on the Atlanta Motor Speedway high-banks (5 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Georgia-native Hill swept both Atlanta races last year.

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race - United Rentals 300

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Saturday, February 15, 2025

 

                1. (9)  Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 126.

                2. (8)  Sam Mayer, Ford, 126.

                3. (6)  Sheldon Creed, Ford, 126.

                4. (10)  Carson Kvapil #, Chevrolet, 126.

                5. (2)  Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 126.

                6. (32)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 126.

                7. (38)  Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 126.

                8. (19)  Dean Thompson #, Toyota, 126.

                9. (25)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 126.

                10. (35)  Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 126.

                11. (30)  Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 126.

                12. (3)  Christian Eckes #, Chevrolet, 126.

                13. (36)  Caesar Bacarella, Chevrolet, 126.

                14. (29)  Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 126.

                15. (37)  Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 126.

                16. (22)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 126.

                17. (33)  Ryan Truex, Toyota, 126.

                18. (1)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 126.

                19. (14)  Ryan Sieg, Ford, Accident, 125.

                20. (21)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Accident, 125.

                21. (34)  Leland Honeyman, Chevrolet, Accident, 125.

                22. (27)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 125.

                23. (24)  Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 125.

                24. (13)  Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 125.

                25. (15)  Justin Bonsignore, Toyota, 123.

                26. (16)  Greg Van Alst, Chevrolet, Accident, 120.

                27. (20)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, Accident, 118.

                28. (5)  William Sawalich #, Toyota, Accident, 118.

                29. (28)  Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, Accident, 118.

                30. (18)  Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 105.

                31. (31)  Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, Electrical, 95.

                32. (17)  Kris Wright, Chevrolet, Accident, 86.

                33. (4)  Austin Hill, Chevrolet, Rear End, 82.

                34. (26)  Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, Power Steering, 79.

                35. (11)  Nick Sanchez #, Chevrolet, Accident, 59.

                36. (23)  Kyle Sieg, Ford, Rear End, 22.

                37. (7)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, Accident, 5.

                38. (12)  Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, Accident, 5.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  123.301 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 33 Mins, 17 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Under Caution

Caution Flags:  8 for 39 laps.

Lead Changes:  24 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   J. Allgaier 1-2;T. Gray # 3;J. Allgaier 4-5;A. Hill 6-10;J. Allgaier 11;A. Hill 12-32;J. Allgaier 33-37;H. Burton 38;J. Allgaier 39;S. Smith 40;J. Burton 41-44;A. Hill 45-67;S. Creed 68-69;R. Sieg 70;A. Hill 71-75;R. Sieg 76-77;A. Hill 78-79;R. Sieg 80-86;C. Bacarella 87-90;S. Creed 91-94;J. Love 95-102;S. Creed 103;J. Love 104-107;C. Zilisch # 108;J. Love 109-126.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Austin Hill 5 times for 56 laps; Jesse Love 3 times for 30 laps; Justin Allgaier 5 times for 11 laps; Ryan Sieg 3 times for 10 laps; Sheldon Creed 3 times for 7 laps; Caesar Bacarella 1 time for 4 laps; Jeb Burton 1 time for 4 laps; Taylor Gray # 1 time for 1 lap; Sammy Smith 1 time for 1 lap; Connor Zilisch # 1 time for 1 lap; Harrison Burton 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,00,48,27,42,70,7,26,2,54

Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,39,00,7,26,27,54,18,42,25

 

Saturday Daytona Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Brad Keselowski tops DAYTONA 500 final practice in 14-car draft
  • Logistics for NASCAR races in Mexico City races taking shape
  • Future of NASCAR’s Clash may include international venues

 

February 15, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Brad Keselowski tops DAYTONA 500 final practice in 14-car draft

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—NASCAR Cup Series drivers got one final chance to shake down their cars for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 in a 50-minute practice on Saturday, and the session began immediately with 14 cars in a prolonged draft.

 

The large pack included the Fords of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie and Cole Custer, along with the Chevrolets of Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and Justin Haley and the lone Toyota of Ty Gibbs.

 

The size of drafting pack diminished as cars came to pit road, ultimately leaving just the Roush Fenway Keselowski cars of Buescher, Preece and Keselowski drafting together. Those three drivers came to pit road after 27 consecutive laps, completed one more lap each and took their cars to the garage for the balance of the session.

 

Keselowski set the fastest lap of final practice on his fifth circuit, covering the 2.5-mile distance at Daytona International Speedway in 46.558 seconds (193.307 mph). Bowman was second fastest at 193.274 mph, followed by Custer, Allgaier and Larson.

 

Bowman had the fastest 10-lap average in the draft at 191.563 mph, followed by Custer (191.445 mph) and Larson (191.405 mph).

 

A wreck in Thursday’s Duel at Daytona forced Daniel Suarez into a backup No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Suarez turned 11 laps Saturday, with a top speed of 191.266 mph on his 10th circuit.

 

“Our guys put in a lot of hours these last two days,” Suarez said. “So really proud of these guys for all the hard work… I think we’re going to have something good for (Sunday).”

 

Logistics for NASCAR races in Mexico City races taking shape

 

The planning and logistics of taking the NASCAR Cup Series to Mexico City is a bit more complicated than staging a typical NASCAR event in the United States.

 

On June 15, the NASCAR Cup Series will go international for the first time during a weekend that also includes races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Mexico Series.

 

According to Rodrigo Sanchez, director of marketing, media & PR for Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the logistics of staging the NASCAR weekend are similar to those required for Formula 1, which is scheduled to race at the venue Oct. 24-26.

 

“I would say the size, the magnitude, is very comparable,” Sanchez said. “Obviously, just bringing 200 haulers over the border into Mexico City is a logistical thing, for sure. We’ve been working closely with our race operations team just to get down there safely and in time and then back out for the next event. That alone is just a big, big piece.

 

“We’re working with the same company we use for F1, which is Rock-It Cargo. We’ve been using them for the last 10 years. They’re very experienced in logistics, security and all that stuff. We don’t foresee any issues.”

 

The NASCAR haulers are likely to head directly to Mexico from the preceding races at Michigan International Speedway, according to Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer.

 

“We’ll have a location where they’ll be able to transfer a lot of their equipment,” Kennedy said. “A lot of them will probably use different cars when they go down to Mexico City, so they’ll have a spot on the way to Laredo where they can stop and make that change—similar to what we do on the West Coast Swing—before they start heading south.

 

“That’s been a big part of the planning. They’re going to have to get the Xfinity haulers there (at the drop-off point) probably on Monday and Cup on Tuesday to be able to start leaving and beginning that convoy down. We start to unload Thursday and Friday, seeing that we’re going to have practice and qualifying through the weekend, too.”

 

The 15-turn road course at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will be similar to the circuit used by F1. Sanchez said more than 40,000 fans already have pre-registered through the nascarmexico.com website for tickets, which go on sale to the general public on Feb. 27. The current seating capacity of the venue is 80,000.

 

Future of NASCAR’s Clash may include international venues

 

Two weeks removed from an overwhelmingly popular Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer Ben Kennedy shared his vision for future versions of the season-opening exhibition event.

 

“We were very happy with the performance of the Clash,” Kennedy said. “I had the opportunity to be there the entire weekend, meet a lot of the local folks and also walk around on Saturday and Sunday…

 

“To have over 15,000 people there, sold out on Saturday and Sunday, it’s an opportunity for us to promote the season ahead and promote our biggest event, the Daytona 500. It did just that. Being on big FOX, having a great turnout like that and being able to put on a good racing product—we were pleased with it.

 

“We’re learning a lot, a few small tweaks we’d like to make if we do bring the Clash back there at some point in the future.”

 

In 2022, the Clash ventured away from Daytona International Speedway for the first time and embarked on a three-year tenure at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kennedy says the season-opening event may not be limited to the continental United States.

 

“It’s an opportunity, as we think long-term, for us to think about, ‘Hey, does it potentially go international? Does it rotate? Does it stay domestic?’ We’re looking at a number of different options long-term for where that event could go.

 

“It is an exhibition race. It is prior to the season. It is an opportunity for us to promote the season in new, novel and different ways. I think that’s what we’ve done over the past few years.”

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 1 day to go

 

February 15, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks the eve of the 67th running of the Great American Race. Only once has a driver won the DAYTONA 500 in a car bearing the No. 1—Jamie McMurray during his 2010 banner year with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing—but the number nevertheless figures prominently in the history of NASCAR’s biggest race. In 1979, during the first live flag-to-flag coverage of a NASCAR Cup race on national television, Donnie Allison led 93 laps in Hoss Ellington’s No. 1 Oldsmobile. Allison took the white flag in the lead before he and Cale Yarborough wrecked on the backstretch while fighting for the top spot, handing the win to Richard Petty. The action on the track and the fistfight that followed—with Donnie and Bobby Allison battling Yarborough—put NASCAR racing on the map.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Corey Heim wins Truck Series opener at Daytona after Parker Kligerman DQ

 

February 14, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When the caution flag flew on the final lap of Friday night’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Corey Heim thought he had finished second in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season opener.

 

Roughly an hour later, Heim was declared the winner of the superspeedway race after the No. 75 Chevrolet of apparent winner Parker Kligerman was disqualified when its ride height was measured as too low.

 

Surging into the lead in the closing laps of Friday night’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Kligerman held the top spot on the final circuit when a multicar wreck in Turn 4 forced NASCAR to call the eighth caution of the evening.

 

But Kligerman’s victory celebration was short-lived when his truck failed inspection. The disqualification gave Heim his first victory at Daytona and the 12th of his career.

 

“Nothing short of crazy there the last 20 laps,” Heim said. “Honestly, pretty impressed with everyone that we kept it straight for as long as we did. They piled it up a little bit on the last lap. Compared to last year, it was such a big upgrade as far as the quality of racing.

 

“Definitely was out of control there at the end, being three-wide middle on old tires, being free.”

 

Heim was thankful for the victory but expressed sympathy for Kligerman’s misfortune.

 

“Well, it’s my first time having this kind of scenario happening either way, so certainly glad to be on the right side of it,” Heim said. “It sucks for Parker and those guys.

 

“It seemed like they put themselves in a position at the right time to win the race, but obviously, there is another level to it after the race. Grateful to be in the spot to take advantage of that.”

 

Kligerman’s disqualification promoted Sunoco rookie of the year contender Giovanni Ruggiero to a runner-up finish in his Truck Series debut.

 

“This is my first time on a superspeedway in anything, so it was a lot of stuff for me to take in tonight, said Ruggiero, who led 11 of the 100 laps. “Drafting in the pack, side-drafting and leading the pack as well, so I definitely learned a lot for Atlanta.”

 

Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was third, followed by Grant Enfinger, who recovered from significant damage to the rear of his No. 9 Chevrolet as well as a pit road speeding penalty.

 

“We made a lot of leaps today as a team,” Majeski said. “This has been a type of racing that has been outside of my comfort zone, so it was good to put some good stages together. We went from the back to the front multiple times, something that we’ve not been able to do in the past.

 

“I’m excited about that and I had fun out there for the first time in a speedway race. It’s a good way to start defending the championship and a good start to our 2025 season.”

 

Chandler Smith led a race-high 38 laps but was shuffled back in the late going and finished sixth behind Justin Haley. Pole winner Ben Rhodes led 22 circuits but came home 20th after suffering damage in a Lap 83 wreck that caused the seventh caution.

 

Actor-turned-full-time driver Frankie Muniz posted a career-best 10th-place finish in his fifth Truck Series start.

 

“It was intense,” Muniz said of the final two laps. “When I caught them (the lead pack in the draft), you saw everyone moving around, but I was still half throttle. I went to the top; I was trying to push the top, but then I went to the middle, and then the bottom had a run so I went there.

 

“And thankfully I did, because it helped us get through (the last-lap wreck). The thing about Daytona, I’m not calling it luck, but you don’t know what the right move is. I’m just so happy, especially after the year we had last year, when it felt like getting punched in the gut. I feel really good. I am just so ready for next week.”

 

Behind Smith, Daniel Hemric, Jason White, William Sawalich and Muniz completed the top 10. NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell finished 26th in his first Truck Series start since 2009.

 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race - Fresh From Florida 250

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Friday, February 14, 2025

 

                1. (3)  Corey Heim, Toyota, 100.

                2. (34)  Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 100.

                3. (2)  Ty Majeski, Ford, 100.

                4. (4)  Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 100.

                5. (17)  Justin Haley(i), Chevrolet, 100.

                6. (6)  Chandler Smith, Ford, 100.

                7. (15)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 100.

                8. (29)  Jason White, Ford, 100.

                9. (26)  William Sawalich(i), Toyota, 100.

                10. (14)  Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 100.

                11. (33)  Timmy Hill, Toyota, 100.

                12. (5)  Jake Garcia, Ford, 100.

                13. (27)  Layne Riggs, Ford, 100.

                14. (18)  Andres Perez de Lara #, Chevrolet, 100.

                15. (20)  Mason Maggio(i), Chevrolet, 100.

                16. (22)  Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 100.

                17. (10)  Johnny Sauter, Ford, 100.

                18. (32)  Josh Reaume, Ford, 100.

                19. (16)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 100.

                20. (1)  Ben Rhodes, Ford, 100.

                21. (19)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 100.

                22. (12)  Tanner Gray, Toyota, 100.

                23. (35)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 99.

                24. (21)  Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 99.

                25. (7)  Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 98.

                26. (31)  Michael McDowell(i), Chevrolet, 98.

                27. (11)  Matt Crafton, Ford, 98.

                28. (28)  Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, 96.

                29. (24)  Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 95.

                30. (13)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 82.

                31. (25)  Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, Accident, 82.

                32. (30)  Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 79.

                33. (9)  Clay Greenfield, Chevrolet, Accident, 68.

                34. (36)  Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, Engine, 48.

                35. (8)  Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, Accident, 3.

                36. (23)  Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 100.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  116.174 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 9 Mins, 7 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Under Caution Seconds.

Caution Flags:  8 for 33 laps.

Lead Changes:  30 among 12 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   B. Rhodes 0;B. Rhodes 1-2;C. Smith 3;B. Rhodes 4-10;T. Gray 11-12;B. Rhodes 13;G. Enfinger 14;B. Rhodes 15-21;G. Enfinger 22;D. Hemric 23-25;J. Haley(i) 26-27;P. Kligerman 28;G. Enfinger 29-31;B. Rhodes 32;G. Enfinger 33;M. Crafton 34-42;B. Rhodes 43;C. Heim 44-45;D. Hemric 46-48;C. Smith 49-57;D. Hemric 58;C. Smith 59-71;M. McDowell(i) 72;J. Reaume 73;G. Ruggiero # 74-76;C. Smith 77;G. Ruggiero # 78;C. Smith 79-88;G. Ruggiero # 89-95;G. Enfinger 96;B. Rhodes 97-99;P. Kligerman 100.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chandler Smith 5 times for 34 laps; Ben Rhodes 7 times for 22 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero # 3 times for 11 laps; Matt Crafton 1 time for 9 laps; Grant Enfinger 5 times for 7 laps; Daniel Hemric 3 times for 7 laps; Corey Heim 1 time for 2 laps; Tanner Gray 1 time for 2 laps; Justin Haley(i) 1 time for 2 laps; Parker Kligerman 2 times for 2 laps; Josh Reaume 1 time for 1 lap; Michael McDowell(i) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 99,66,9,38,11,15,98,19,77,17

Stage #2 Top Ten: 88,99,98,38,91,52,19,11,71,1

 

--30--

Friday Daytona Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Engine manufacturers celebrate the close competition in NASCAR
  • DAYTONA 500 start time moved up an hour
  • Friday Daytona 500 practice update
  • Gray was fastest in NASCAR Xfinity Series practice at Daytona
  • Daytona's 50/50 Veteran Ticket Raffle

 

February 14, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Engine manufacturers celebrate the close competition in NASCAR

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Executives representing NASCAR’s three engine manufacturers took questions from the media Friday in advance of the big season-opening race weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

 

They are coming off a season that saw all three makes – Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota – among the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four in a season with 18 different race winners representing 10 teams and featuring a slight 1.3-second average margin of victory on the year and three of the five closest finishes in NASCAR history.

 

Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance, Dr. Eric Warren, General Motors, Director of Global Motorsports Competition and Tyler Gibbs, President of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) USA were upbeat and goal-oriented Friday, eager for the first green flag to wave.

 

Ford’s Joey Logano won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship and Ty Majeski claimed his first in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series while Chevrolet’s Justin Allgaier and the JR Motorsports team earned the NASCAR Xfinity Series top honors.

 

“For me, for us, 2024 I thought was a fantastic season and for the sport as well," Rushbrook said. “The closeness with the finishes and the competition amongst the OEMs, working together off the track, but racing each other really hard on the track, and I just think it was great for the sport with the competition that we had on track.”

 

Among the topics raised was a rule book update NASCAR issued in mid-January regarding “performance obligation’ in reaction to the season’s penultimate race at Martinsville, Va. last year. In the race it appeared manufacturers purposely strategized to affect the outcome. The loss of manufacturer points, wind tunnel time and test sessions are among the possible penalties going forward.

 

“I think we've had a lot of dialogue," Warren said of the new NASCAR rules designed to prevent any race manipulation among drivers of the same car make. We're all competitors. We want to compete. As you look at the races, it kind of requires you to put some guardrails up.

 

“I think speedway racing, the important part is just because of the aerodynamics and the nature of speedway racing, you have to actually draft together to improve your performance and to be successful. I think it's always been acknowledged and the discussions amongst all of us in NASCAR that speedway racing is different because of that.

 

“I think each situation is complicated, obviously, and things come up that you didn't expect and you have to discuss. It's a little uneasy sometimes trying to think about all these scenarios, but that's just part of top-level racing and the competition. It's just things we'll have to deal with.

 

“We understand the principles, I think, as a whole. We all want to have great shows and great competition, and that's really what we're all here for and why we work together on those things.”

 

Asked about another important topic, the executives acknowledged that the three of them may soon become four with rumors of another manufacturer entering the sport in the near future.

 

“We recognize that it probably means between the three of us we share a few less wins, but it's tremendous for the sport," Gibbs said. “It's good for the fan base. It's good for just the activation at the tracks. It's good for the advertisements on television. It just brings a whole lot more to the sport.

 

“So, from our perspective, we certainly would welcome another OEM or two.”

 

DAYTONA 500 RACE TIME CHANGE

 

NASCAR has announced that the start time for the DAYTONA 500 has moved up an hour to a 1:30 p.m. ET – a precautionary change in case of poor weather.

 

Gates and hospitality will now open at 9 a.m. ET, and the infield Fanzone will open at 8:30 a.m. ET. Parking lots will open at 6 a.m. ET.

 

Due to increased security measures, Daytona International Speedway encourages all attendees to arrive early for the event. The speedway also asks people to be aware that traffic may be “unpredictable,” and to allow extra time for “potential delays” noting that entry gate lines will be longer be because of the extra screening processes.

 

FRIDAY DAYTONA 500 PRACTICE

 

Defending DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron was fastest in Friday evening’s rain-abbreviated practice – his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet topping the practice chart with a lap of 194.923 mph. His Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott was second quickest in the No. 9 Chevrolet with 2023 DAYTONA 500 winner, HYAK Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Richard Childress Racing teammates Kyle Busch and 2018 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Dillon rounding out an all-Chevy top-five.

 

Only 31 of the 41 cars participated in the 30-minute session. Zane Smith was the fastest Ford in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Mustang – sixth overall. It was a promising rebound following an accident early in Thursday’s Duel 150. Smith confirmed the team was able to repair his primary despite hitting the wall early in the race.

 

“That was a major bummer because I had been real happy with my car," Smith said, adding with a smile, “But, I feel good, wish we were racing tonight. The FRM cars on the superspeedways are fast. I’m excited to see what we can do."

 

Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek was the fastest Toyota – 14th overall in the No. 42 Camry.  Fellow Toyota driver and DAYTONA 500 polesitter Chase Briscoe placed 16th on the speed chart, running only 14 laps in his No. 19 JGR Toyota in the short time on track.

 

XFINITY SERIES PRACTICE

 

A pair of series rookies paced the season’s opening NASCAR Xfinity Series practice with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Taylor Gray turning in a lap of 186.004 mph in the No. 54 Toyota – a very slight .002-second faster than his JGR teammate William Sawalich in the No. 18 Toyota.

 

JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith, a 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff driver, was third fastest in the No. 8 Chevrolet with Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed and JRM’s Carson Kvapil rounding out the top-five.

 

Qualifying for Saturday’s United Rentals 300 (5 p.m. ET on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is set for 10 a.m. Saturday. Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill is attempting to win four consecutive Daytona season-openers. He was 22nd in practice running only a handful of laps. Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier was 25th quickest, turning only three laps in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet during practice.

 

VETERANS TICKET RAFFLE

 

Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 will feature a windfall for one lucky fan as part of a very important initiative. The Daytona 50/50 Draw will include a minimum jackpot of $100,000 with half of the money raised going to “Vet Tix” a non-profit that supports veterans and first responders. Tickets are available now at: daytona5050.com (must be 18 years old) and the jackpot draw will be on race day, Feb.

NASCAR Moves Up Start of DAYTONA 500

Start of 67th running of The Great American Race moved up one hour to 1:30 p.m. ET

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2025) – Due to potential weather forecasted for the Daytona Beach area late Sunday, NASCAR today announced the DAYTONA 500 will move up one hour from its originally scheduled time to now begin at 1:30 p.m. ET.

 

Gates and hospitality will now open at 9 a.m. ET, and the Hard Rock Bet Fanzone will open at 8:30 a.m. ET. Parking lots will open at 6 a.m. ET.

 

Due to increased security measures, Daytona International Speedway encourages all attendees to arrive early for the event. Please be aware that traffic may be unpredictable, so allow extra time for potential delays. Additionally, expect longer lines at the entry gates because of enhanced screening processes.

 

Fans in attendance will still get to enjoy the pre-race performance by Pitbull and the pageantry of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds performing the flyover at the conclusion of the National Anthem.

 

Fans can find additional schedule details for pre-race festivities in the fan guide at daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

 

The original broadcast networks remain unchanged. The DAYTONA 500 will be live on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 2 days to go

 Only two days remain until the green flag for the 2025 DAYTONA 500 and in racing the number “two” is often a hard pill to swallow - as in runner-up. When it comes to near-misses, the late NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1998 DAYTONA 500 winner Dale Earnhardt leads all drivers with five runner-up finishes (1984, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1999). Second place finishers, 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace (2018 and 2022) and Team Penske's Ryan Blaney (2017 and 2020) lead that category among active drivers.

Emotions fly-high for teams earning their spot in the Great American Race  

 

February 13, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – High drama and big celebration marked the NASCAR Cup Series Duel at DAYTONA on Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway – and that wasn’t even in the track’s famous Victory Lane.

 

A bold move forward in the final laps of the first 60-lap qualifying race provided an emotional berth into the DAYTONA 500 for reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier and a first-time appearance for his JR Motorsports’ team owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller. Allgaier will start 19th in the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

 

Corey Lajoie earned the other “open” position up for grabs in Thursday’s second Duel 150-miler, finishing sixth in the No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford – ahead of Anthony Alfredo and BJ McLeod who were also vying for the final “open” position on the DAYTONA 500 grid. He’ll start 12th.

 

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves joined Allgaier advancing out of the opening Duel – officially scored as 22nd among the 24 cars after his No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was collected in a multi-accident on Lap 13. He will start last on Sunday’s 41-car starting grid by virtue of using a new provisional starting position offered by NASCAR to “world class drivers” wanting to compete in the big event.

 

TRICON Garage’s Martin Truex Jr. and Legacy Motor Club owner-driver Jimmie Johnson – a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner - earned the other two “open positions” in pole qualifying on Wednesday – filling out the field. They will start 39th and 40th on Sunday.

 

Three-wide coming to the white flag Thursday night,  Allgaier, 39, ultimately benefitted from a huge push from Michael McDowell and Josh Berry, able to pull away from J.J. Yeley, the one driver he had to beat for the final transfer position. As dramatic as the winning move was on-track, it was the emotional significance for the team that punctuated the achievement and really made the night feel so special for the decorated JR Motorsports team’s NASCAR Cup Series race debut.

 

Earnhardt – a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner - and his sister Kelley lost their father, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt in a fatal last lap crash of the 2001 DAYTONA 500. But instead of holding onto any negative thoughts about NASCAR’s most famous speedway, the siblings insisted Thursday night that they honestly harbor no ill will toward the track itself despite the tragedy they endured here.

 

On the contrary, Earnhardt said he has made peace with the venue and judging by the smiles, hugs and back slaps he so generously passed around following Thursday’s race, this was one of the more significant triumphs of his NASCAR Hall of Fame career.

 

“Daddy loved Daytona and he loved to win here, he loved to win any race," Earnhardt said, adding, “And gosh, I loved coming here as a kid, just a lot of great memories.

 

“So, when he passed away I had to make a decision. I had a career in front of me. I was coming back [to the track] multiple times and had to figure out a way to be okay with it. I knew it wasn’t the track that took him. I knew wherever he was, he still felt the same about Daytona.

 

“And so, I’ve embraced it and him losing his life in this property brought this property closer to me. Now that doesn’t work the same for other people with tragedy, but for me, knowing I had to keep coming here I made some peace with it, and embraced the track and love it. Add on top of that I love the history of the sport and add on top of the fact this is like the cornerstone and foundation of the sport between Darlington (S.C. Raceway), here and a few other tracks, this is really what helped us launch ourselves off the beach and dirt tracks and bullrings and make us a genuine sport.

 

“All the historic moments that have happened here, and getting to win here myself, I think we should celebrate this track and this race. Where else do you go and barely make the field and cry tears of joy? No where. This is incredible and that’s what helps you measure the importance of the race and how big it is to me.

 

“I love coming here."

 

This will be the first DAYTONA 500 start for the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Allgaier in 10 years – his best finish in the Great American Race is 27th (2014) in two previous DAYTONA 500 starts.

 

“Dale told me before the race – if it’s meant to be, it will happen, and it did," said Allgaier, who is driving No. 40 JRM Chevrolet.

 

“Just really proud. This might seem like not that big of a deal to a lot of people, but when I think about our small team at JR Motorsports –- as big as it is, it really is a small family team. To see this happen tonight, it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders.”

 

Lajoie shared similar feelings of relief and optimism. Finding himself without a fulltime ride this season, he was ready to put up his own money to help fund his ride, only to land sponsors at the “11th hour” who wanted to partner with the Rick Ware team and Lajoie.

 

“I'm pumped up, man," Lajoie said. “I wasn't that stressed going in, but I am super relieved right now."

 

Castroneves was understandably frustrated with the result of his first opportunity to turn some race laps in a stock car, but remained upbeat about his chances come Sunday in his official NASCAR debut with Trackhouse Racing.

 

“It’s disappointing because the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevy was really good," the 49-year old Brazilian said. “The boys on the PROJECT91 team did an amazing job. They have a little bit of work to do, unfortunately. It wasn’t the night that we wanted, but we’ll take the provisional. So many people have been talking about it, but we will take it and we will learn more for the race.”

 

His participation along with LaJoie and Allgaier leading the anticipated JR Motorsports team debut partnered with a pair of former NASCAR Cup Series champions in Johnson and Truex - absolutely adds a dramatic chapter of competition to the sport’s most anticipated race.

 

“I'm going to tell you, man, this sport is amazing, everything about it," Earnhardt said. “I've seen it from so many different lenses. And I love the challenges. I wouldn't want it any other way. This was hard emotionally, but I can't believe that we get to race on Sunday. I just can't believe it.”

 

Two more practice sessions – one each Friday and Saturday - complete the week before cars line up for Sunday’s 67th running of the DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). William Byron is the defending race winner.

 

DAYTONA 500 To Air In More Than 190 Countries And Territories In 26 Languages

International NASCAR Season Kickoff Highlighted By Renewal Of Long-Term Media Rights Partnerships

 

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2025) From Florida’s beaches to screens around the globe, the 67th running of the the DAYTONA 500 (Sunday, Feb. 16), with its record $30 million purse, will be broadcast to fans in more than 190 countries and territories in 26 languages, reaching over 650 million households worldwide.

 

As previously announced, NASCAR has renewed its longstanding relationship with Canada’s Bell Media, and will kick off its new deal with the DAYTONA 500 airing on CTV and TSN. For the first time ever, races across all three national series will be available exclusively on Bell Media platforms. NASCAR has also announced additional partners for the local NASCAR Canada Series – with races to air on Rev TV and TVA Sports.

 

In Europe, NASCAR renewed relationships with important long-term partners Ziggo in the Netherlands, Premier Sports in the United Kingdom and Viasat in the Nordics.

 

Elsewhere, New Zealand’s Three Network is back to cover Shane van Gisbergen’s first full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, with GAORA Sports airing the DAYTONA 500 in Japan. NASCAR also continues its partnership with FOX Sports Mexico, and will look to expand its coverage leading up to the first-ever points-paying international NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City.

 

New international partners include Abema in Japan (with coverage beginning after the DAYTONA 500) and SportDigital in Germany.

 

NASCAR continues to partner with IMG to secure international media rights deals outside the United States. It recently extended the partnership, expanding IMG’s advisory remit to include Latin America.

 

“As NASCAR kicks off another thrilling season with the Daytona 500, we’re excited to once again broadcast the sport globally,” said Nick Skipper, NASCAR managing director, media strategy. “The international audience is a key area of growth for our business, and we feel the combination of existing and new partnerships we have in place best position us to serve existing and potential new fans everywhere.”

In the United States, fans can watch the DAYTONA 500 live on FOX or listen on MRN or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

For a full list of countries and territories, and the broadcast partners airing NASCAR, click here.

Suburban Propane and NASCAR Unveil Propane-Powered Track Dryer at the DAYTONA 500

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2025) – Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SPH), a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas, fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, today joined forces with NASCAR to unveil a propane-powered track dryer at the iconic DAYTONA 500. This innovative solution will complement NASCAR’s current track drying efforts and help get race cars back on the track as quickly as possible.

 

The utilization of propane in this dryer is more fuel efficient than diesel or gasoline, and results in less overall pollutants. This aligns with NASCAR’s work towards optimizing its operations and building a healthier race track environment.

 

“The partnership between NASCAR and Suburban Propane will enhance the fan experience by providing reliable, convenient propane services at our tracks,” said Michelle Byron, NASCAR Executive Vice President, Chief Partnership and Licensing Officer. “Whether it’s fueling the campgrounds or helping get race cars back on the track, Suburban Propane helps ensure NASCAR fans stay powered up through the race weekend.”

 

 

Suburban Propane’s role extends beyond the track dryer. As the Official Propane of NASCAR, the company powers concession stands, ensuring fans enjoy their favorite foods and beverages with seamless, reliable, and cleaner energy. Additionally, Suburban Propane supports the energy needs of campgrounds, providing NASCAR’s dedicated fan base with the propane they need to cook, heat, and celebrate race weekend in comfort. 

 

“Our partnership with NASCAR is a natural fit,” says Nandini Sankara, Vice President, Marketing & Brand Strategy, and Spokesperson, Suburban Propane. “Propane is a quiet, yet dependable contributor to race day, providing consistent, versatile, and clean energy solutions that touch nearly every aspect of the event. From drying the track to fueling the fan experience, we’re proud to power the passion that makes the NASCAR experience a truly extraordinary event.”

 

The DAYTONA 500 serves as the perfect stage to showcase this innovation. As the season opener and the biggest event in motorsports, the race brings together millions of fans to celebrate the speed, skill, and strategy that define the sport.

 

 

Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric win Duels; Allgaier puts JRM Chevrolet in the show

James Gilbert/Getty Images

February 13, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With a push from teammate Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace surged ahead of 2024 DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron to win Thursday night’s first Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race and earn the third starting position for the Sunday’s 67th running of the Great American Race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Driving the No. 23XI Racing Toyota, Wallace edged Byron by 0.082 seconds, as intense drama unfolded behind the two frontrunners.

 

With a determined charge over the final two laps, Justin Allgaier finished highest among the unchartered cars in the first Duel, ensuring that a JR Motorsports Chevrolet would compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time in company history.

 

With a massive wreck littering the asphalt behind them, polesitter Austin Cindric edged Erik Jones for the victory in the second Duel. Though Jones was first to the finish line, Cindric held a lead by inches when the caution lights illuminated as the cars approached the stripe.

 

In an unchartered No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford, Corey LaJoie raced his way into the DAYTONA 500 with a sixth-place finish in Duel 2.

 

“Thanks to Tyler (Reddick),” Wallace said after the first Duel. “That was awesome to see two team cars work together that well and learn a lot for Sunday. Did a great job pushing me. Our McDonald's Toyota Camry was really fast. Two different balances from being in the pack to being out front. Have some work to do there.

 

“I've wanted one of these Duel wins for so long. All my buddies got one. Tyler got one last year. I was pissed off. I got one now. I'm good.”

 

With the unchartered car of J.J. Yeley boxed in on the bottom, Allgaier made a three-wide move to the top on the next-to-last lap and surged forward to earn the transfer spot into the DAYTONA 500.

 

With a ninth-place finish to Yeley’s 17th, Allgaier earned the 17th starting position in Sunday’s race.

 

“He got up to the top on that last lap, and I didn’t think that was possible, but he got to the top and made it work,” said team co-owner and two-time DAYTONA 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who couldn’t hide his elation at making the race for the first time as a car owner.

 

“This was rough emotionally, but damn it, it worked out.”

 

“This means a lot to our team, this little team of JR Motorsports,” Allgaier added. “Dale Jr. is an amazing race car driver. He's an amazing dad, car owner. You can tell how much he wanted this and our whole shop wanted this.”

 

A wild multicar wreck on Lap 14 eliminated the unchartered cars of Chandler Smith and Helio Castroneves in the first Duel. Smith was running third but moved down the track into the Chevrolet of Justin Haley, triggering a crash that damaged eight cars.

 

Smith’s Ford shot up into the outside wall, as did Castroneves’ Chevrolet. Out of control, Castroneves’ car bounced on the apron before climbing the track into the wall a second time.

 

“I got hit and ended up hitting the wall in Turn 2 pretty hard and broke a toe link,” said Castroneves, who nevertheless will start Sunday’s race on an open exemption provisional.

 

“It’s disappointing because the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet was really good. The boys on the PROJECT91 team did an amazing job. They have a little bit of work to do, unfortunately. It wasn’t the night that we wanted, but we’ll take the provisional. So many people have been talking about it, but we will take it, and we will learn more for the race.”

 

At the end of the second Duel, Cindric had to wait until NASCAR reviewed the finish and confirmed him as the winner. With Cindric taking the checkered flag, Jones will start fourth on Sunday.

 

“I honestly thought I got him, but I wasn't going to sit there and argue about anything,” said Cindric, who locked himself into the second starting position for the DAYTONA 500 during Wednesday night’s time trials. “But, yeah, it's awesome. Glad to put on a great show for the fans here.”

 

Without a full-time ride in 2025, LaJoie underscored the significance of the Great American Race.

 

“You forget how special this race is, right, (until) you have to race for it, when you have to earn it, because when you’re racing full-time, it's just the first one of 36. But when it's the one that you think about for months, it means that much more.”

 

Ty Dillon finished third in Duel 1, followed by Ross Chastain, Reddick, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Allgaier and Kyle Busch.

 

In Duel 2, Chris Buescher ran third, followed by Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, LaJoie, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Blaney, John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell.

The open cars of Anthony Alfredo and BJ McLeod failed to make the DAYTONA 500 field.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Duel 1 at DAYTONA

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Thursday, February 13, 2025

 

                1. (15)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 60.

                2. (11)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 60.

                3. (5)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 60.

                4. (19)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 60.

                5. (14)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 60.

                6. (10)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 60.

                7. (4)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 60.

                8. (8)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 60.

                9. (17)  Justin Allgaier(i), Chevrolet, 60.

                10. (7)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 60.

                11. (13)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 60.

                12. (9)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 60.

                13. (2)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 60.

                14. (3)  Josh Berry, Ford, 60.

                15. (12)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 60.

                16. (21)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 60.

                17. (23)  JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 60.

                18. (18)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 60.

                19. (1)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, Radiator, 26.

                20. (22)  Chandler Smith(i), Ford, Accident, 13.

                21. (16)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, Accident, 13.

                22. (20)  Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Accident, 13.

                23. (6)  Zane Smith, Ford, Suspension, 6.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  130.909 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 8 Mins, 45 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .082 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  4 for 15 laps.

Lead Changes:  20 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   R. Preece 1;C. Briscoe 2-4;T. Gibbs 5;J. Berry 6-9;C. Elliott 10-15;M. McDowell 16-17;C. Elliott 18-19;J. Berry 20-21;C. Elliott 22-28;R. Chastain 29;W. Byron 30;B. Wallace 31-32;W. Byron 33-35;B. Wallace 36-37;R. Preece 38-39;B. Wallace 40-52;T. Dillon 53-55;B. Wallace 56;T. Dillon 57;B. Wallace 58-60.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Bubba Wallace 5 times for 21 laps; Chase Elliott 3 times for 15 laps; Josh Berry 2 times for 6 laps; Ty Dillon 2 times for 4 laps; William Byron 2 times for 4 laps; Ryan Preece 2 times for 3 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 3 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 2 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 1 lap; Ross Chastain 1 time for 1 lap.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Duel 2 at DAYTONA

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Thursday, February 13, 2025

 

                1. (1)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 60.

                2. (18)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 60.

                3. (9)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 60.

                4. (3)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 60.

                5. (2)  Joey Logano, Ford, 60.

                6. (17)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, 60.

                7. (7)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 60.

                8. (10)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 60.

                9. (19)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 60.

                10. (4)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 60.

                11. (5)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 60.

                12. (13)  Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 60.

                13. (20)  Anthony Alfredo(i), Chevrolet, 60.

                14. (15)  Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 60.

                15. (22)  Cody Ware, Ford, 60.

                16. (16)  Cole Custer, Ford, 60.

                17. (21)  BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 60.

                18. (11)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 60.

                19. (14)  Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 60.

                20. (8)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 48.

                21. (12)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 47.

                22. (6)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 47.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  161.628 mph.

Time of Race:  0 Hrs, 55 Mins, 41 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Under Caution.

Caution Flags:  2 for 6 laps.

Lead Changes:  16 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   A. Cindric 1;D. Hamlin 2-15;E. Jones 16-17;R. Blaney 18;E. Jones 19-31;D. Suarez 32-33;R. Blaney 34-36;D. Suarez 37-43;R. Blaney 44;B. Keselowski 45-46;C. Buescher 47-53;A. Cindric 54;C. Buescher 55;A. Cindric 56;C. Buescher 57;A. Cindric 58-59;E. Jones 60.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Erik Jones 3 times for 16 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 14 laps; Chris Buescher 3 times for 9 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 9 laps; Austin Cindric 4 times for 5 laps; Ryan Blaney 3 times for 5 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 2 laps.

 

 

 

Chase Briscoe earns Toyota’s first pole position for DAYTONA 500

 Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

February 12, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Briscoe spoiled Ford’s pole position party during Wednesday night’s qualifying session for the 67th running of the DAYTONA 500.

 

Fastest in both rounds of time trials, Briscoe turned a lap in 49.249 seconds (182.745 mph) to secure the top starting spot for Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

The pole position was the first for a Toyota driver in the Great American Race. Briscoe edged 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric (182.463 mph) by 0.076 seconds for the top spot on the grid.

 

Given the race’s unique qualifying format, Briscoe, in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, and Cindric are the only two drivers locked into their starting positions for Sunday’s race.

 

“A great way to start our season,” said an ecstatic Briscoe, who earned his third career pole. “Unbelievable way to start off the year. Unbelievable way to start off with Toyota. To be able to be the guy to deliver them the first anything when they've already accomplished so much is pretty cool.

 

“Can't thank (owner) Coach Gibbs enough, the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization. The whole offseason, everybody kept telling me the focus was trying to qualify better at superspeedways. That's something I really struggled at last year. For our 19 group to come here and sit on the pole at the biggest race of the year is pretty special.”

 

The rest of the field will be set in Thursday night’s Duel at Daytona 15-mile qualifying races, though both Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson know they’ll be in the field for NASCAR’s most prestigious race after posting the two fastest qualifying times among nine drivers of unchartered cars.

 

Truex qualified 22nd overall and Johnson 29th.

 

“Definitely a big relief,” said Truex, who is driving the first TRICON Garage entry in the Cup Series. “You never know what can happen in the Duels, they can get crazy, something on pit road can get you in trouble. Great job to all of the guys. They worked their butts off on this car.

 

“They were sweating all afternoon, and luckily, we were able to put a good lap in… All of the guys at TRICON and also at JGR, Toyota and TRD. I’m sure, it’s a big deal for them—both cars that just locked in are Toyotas. Big night for them, and hopefully, we can have some fun the rest of the weekend.”

 

Johnson drove the No. 84 Toyota fielded by Legacy Motor Club, the team he co-owns.

 

“What I went through last year (in the Duels) was so frightening, and I’m glad I don’t have to go through it again,” Johnson said. “I certainly respect this process and don’t envy the guys that have to race their way in.”

 

In the final round, Ford drivers were second through fifth fastest, with Cindric, Ryan Preece, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and Josh Berry occupying those respective positions on the speed chart.

 

Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon (in the fastest Chevrolet), Christopher Bell, Ty Dillon and Kyle Larson were sixth through 10th fastest in the money round.

 

Briscoe will start from the pole in Thursday’s first Duel, with Cindric leading the field to green in the second qualifying race. Preece will start second in Duel 1, with Logano on the outside of the front row in Duel 2.

 

Qualifiers in odd-numbered positions fill the field behind the pole winner in Duel 1, with even-numbered qualifiers filling the field of Duel 2. The highest-finishing unchartered driver in each of the Duels will advance to the DAYTONA 500.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying - DAYTONA 500

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

 

                1. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 182.745 mph.

                2. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 182.463 mph.

                3. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 182.426 mph.

                4. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 182.341 mph.

                5. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 182.275 mph.

                6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 182.138 mph.

                7. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 182.024 mph.

                8. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 181.947 mph.

                9. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 181.943 mph.

                10. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 181.737 mph.

                11. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 181.800 mph.

                12. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 181.796 mph.

                13. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 181.792 mph.

                14. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 181.690 mph.

                15. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 181.679 mph.

                16. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 181.653 mph.

                17. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 181.558 mph.

                18. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 181.550 mph.

                19. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 181.393 mph.

                20. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 181.342 mph.

                21. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 181.320 mph.

                22. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 181.302 mph.

                23. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 181.232 mph.

                24. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 181.105 mph.

                25. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 180.934 mph.

                26. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 180.926 mph.

                27. (35) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 180.832 mph.

                28. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 180.785 mph.

                29. (84) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 180.785 mph.

                30. (88) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 180.763 mph.

                31. (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 180.632 mph.

                32. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 180.614 mph.

                33. (40) Justin Allgaier(i), Chevrolet, 180.495 mph.

                34. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 180.487 mph.

                35. (01) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 180.437 mph.

                36. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 180.317 mph.

                37. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 180.011 mph.

                38. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 179.910 mph.

                39. (91) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 179.752 mph.

                40. (62) Anthony Alfredo(i), Chevrolet, 179.677 mph.

                41. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 179.469 mph.

                42. (66) Chandler Smith(i), Ford, 178.745 mph.

                43. (78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 177.774 mph.

                44. (44) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 176.280 mph.

                45. (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 173.628 mph.

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Daytona International Speedway

 

February 13, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

A star-studded NASCAR lineup is off to a fast start in Daytona

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric will lead Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 field to the green flag, having topped front-row qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series 2025 season-opener (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Briscoe’s work in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota marks the first DAYTONA 500 pole position for the manufacturer and comes in his first start for the team after spending his previous four seasons driving Fords for fellow Hoosier, his racing idol, Tony Stewart. This is Cindric’s first front row start in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. He scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in the 2022 DAYTONA 500.

 

It is all part of an exciting potential for Sunday’s race on the Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile high banks with 18 new driver-crew chief combinations for the upcoming season, a half dozen part-time star drivers hoping to make the big show - plenty of motivation all around the grid, whose remaining positions will be set following Thursday night’s Duel at DAYTONA (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

The two “open” entrants to have secured a position on the DAYTONA 500 starting grid are a pair of past series champions – Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, who were 22nd and 29th fastest in pole qualifying. Truex is driving the No. 56 Toyota for TRICON Garage and Johnson – a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner - is running the No. 84 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota.

 

Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves is also among a star-studded list of seven “open” drivers – cars that don’t have a charter position insuring their place on the grid - still needing to earn a start in the Duels. The top two finishing drivers among that seven (plus Castroneves who has been granted an automatic provisional) will fill out the starting lineup.

 

Eight of the last 10 DAYTONA 500 winners were first-time DAYTONA 500 winners. The late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most starts before a victory, taking the trophy in 1998 in his 20th try. This weekend, Truex is making his 21st DAYTONA 500 start and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is making his 20th. Dave Marcis holds the record for most starts (33) without a win.

 

Statistically speaking, being out front for the bulk of laps turned in the DAYTONA 500 has not necessarily guaranteed a win. In fact, the driver who led the most laps has won only once in the last eight races – Briscoe’s JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin in 2020.

 

This weekend brings multiple compelling storylines from Castroneves’ bid to join Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt as the only drivers with both Indy 500 and DAYTONA 500 titles to the former champions Johnson and Truex quest to win at Daytona in part-time seasons.

 

A substantial number of new fulltime driver-crew chief combinations also makes things interesting. The new look ranges from veterans such as three-time DAYTONA 500 champ, Hamlin who is now working alongside crew chief Chris Gayle to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s driver/owner Brad Keselowski and Jeremy Bullins to driver Justin Haley paired with Spire Motorsports’ new addition Rodney Childers as well as Tyler Allen’s crew chief debut with Ty Gibbs at JGR.

 

There has been a massive shift overall in teams and drivers including high profile new pairings in Josh Berry, now driving the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to 2021 DAYTONA 500 winner Michael McDowell moving to the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

 

The overall field’s diversity – which includes former Australian Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen’s beginning his first fulltime NASCAR Cup Series season at Trackhouse Racing – and a first-ever DAYTONA 500 entries for famed Earnhardt siblings Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. JR Motorsports (Justin Allgaier) as well as TRICON Garage (Truex) and Castroneves (Trackhouse Racing) and seven-time NASCAR champion Johnson (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) makes this one of the most compelling potential grids in recent memory.

 

Five different drivers have won in the last five DAYTONA 500 races, including Hamlin (2020), McDowell (2021), Cindric (2022), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2022) and William Byron (2024).

 

And the buzz in the air is absolutely unmistakable from veterans – like former series champions Busch, Truex, Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson still chasing their first DAYTONA 500 wins to newcomers such as Van Gisbergen and Castroneves who all crave a trophy in the sport’s most important race.

 

“The prestige is real," said Keselowski, whose best DAYTONA 500 finish is third in 2014. “It’s one of those things that once you win, people remember it and it carries throughout your career.”

 

Austin Hill goes for historic fourth consecutive Xfinity season-opener win at Daytona

 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off the 2025 season Saturday with the United Rentals 300 (5 p.m. ET on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – a potentially historical quest to see if Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill can win his fourth consecutive Daytona season-opener.

 

Should Hill win Saturday evening, it would break a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. who won the race three straight years from 2002-04. His father, the late fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, however, holds the all-time race record of five consecutive wins from 1990-94.

 

Not only has the RCR powerhouse won those races, but the team has won the pole position in six of the series’ last seven races at the big drafting tracks (at Daytona Beach, Talladega, Ala. and Atlanta).

 

Despite the impressive statistics, however, Hill can expect big time competition Saturday from the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier, who won the summer Daytona race in 2023 and has finished in the top-10 in six of the last seven races at the big track.

 

The popular 38-year old driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet finished last season with five consecutive top-10 finishes, including a runner-up in the Phoenix championship race to claim his first title in 14 fulltime seasons in the series. Allgaier hopes to be pulling double duty this weekend, driving the No. 40 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

The series will also feature another likely championship contender in Harrison Burton. The 24-year old returns to fulltime Xfinity Series competition driving the No. 25 AM Racing Ford after three spending the last three seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series with the famed Wood Brothers. Burton has four career Xfinity Series wins in two previous fulltime seasons (2020-21).

 

Of note, four of the last six series races at Daytona have ended under caution and four of the last five featured an overtime finish. Sixteen drivers have won the last 19 races at the track – the only two drivers with multiple wins in that time are Hill and Justin Haley.

 

Rookie phenom Connor Zilisch will be driving his first full season in the Xfinity Series steering the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The 18-year old won from pole position in his series debut last year at Watkins Glen, N.Y. and earned top-five finishes in three of his four starts. In six NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts last year in that series’ debut, he won two pole positions (at Austin and Bristol, Tenn.) and scored a top-five (Austin).

 

Much is expected for this talented and versatile Zilisch who already has sports car victories in two of the biggest races on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series schedule – the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.

 

Zilisch joins Nick Sanchez and Taylor Gray who made names for themselves in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and are odds-on favorites to contend for wins, if not the Xfinity Series title this season.

 

Qualifying for the United Rentals 300 is Saturday at 10 a.m. ET and available to watch on the CW App. Sam Mayer – who move from JR Motorsports to the Haas Factory Team - is the defending polesitter. The pole-winner has won only two of the last 30 NASCAR Xfinity Races at Daytona.

 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season-opener is up for grabs

 

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series takes its first green flag of the season in Friday night’s Fresh From Florida 250 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Although defending race winner Nick Sanchez has moved into the NASCAR Xfinity Series fulltime, there is a robust entry list for the season-opener from reigning series champion, Ty Majeski to perennial title contenders Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen to talented young drivers such as Layne Riggs, Rajah Caruth and Jake Garcia and veterans like Johnny Sauter, Parker Kligerman and former NASCAR Xfinity Series champ Daniel Hemric, who will race trucks fulltime this year in the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.

 

As with the other two marquee series, Daytona has traditionally presented wide-open competition for the trucks with 21 different winners in 25 races. Former series champion Sauter is the only driver entered this weekend with multiple wins – his three trophies most all-time at Daytona.

 

Lately, this race has been dominated by younger drivers. Five of the last six Daytona truck races have been won by drivers 24 years old or younger.

 

Interestingly, the last Daytona race to finish on the scheduled distance was in 2018. Five of the last six races required overtime and the other was shortened because of rain.

 

Qualifying is set for 3 p.m. Friday of FS1. Majeski is the defending polesitter.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 3 days to go

 

February 13, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks three days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. Drivers who have won the DAYTONA 500 three times represent the elite of the sport. The group of four three-time winners includes NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison (1978, 1982, 1988), Dale Jarrett (1993, 1996, 2000) and Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999, 2005) as well as current 23XI Racing driver Denny Hamlin (2016, 2019, 2020). Only two drivers have won NASCAR’s most prestigious race more than three times—Richard Petty with a record seven victories and Cale Yarborough with four.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

 

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: DAYTONA 500

The Place: Daytona International Speedway

Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Sunday, February 16

The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $30,331,250

TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 500 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 65),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 130), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: United Rentals 300

The Place: Daytona International Speedway

Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Saturday, February 15

The Time: 5 p.m. ET

The Purse: $3,762,952

TV: CW, 4 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 300 miles (120 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 120)

 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Next Race: Fresh From Florida 250

The Place: Daytona International Speedway

Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Friday, February 14

The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,262,900

TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 250 miles (100 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 100)

 


 

 

How To Watch NASCAR This Week:


 

 

Wednesday, February 12

  • NCS Practice 1 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 10 a.m. ET)
  • NCS Qualifying (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET)

 

Thursday, February 13

  • NCTS Practice (FS1 at 5 p.m. ET)
  • Duel at Daytona (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 7 p.m. ET)

 

Friday, February 14

  • NCTS Qualifying (FS1 at 3 p.m. ET)
  • NXS Practice (CW App at 4:30 p.m. ET)
  • NCS Practice 2 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 5:30 p.m. ET)
  • NCTS Race (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 7:30p.m. ET)

 

 

Saturday, February 15

  • NXS Qualifying (CW App at 10 a.m. ET)
  • ARCA Race (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM at 12 p.m. ET)
  • NCS Final Practice (FS2, MRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)
  • NXS Race (CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)

 

Sunday, February 16

  • DAYTONA 500 (FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN, SiriusXM at 2:30 p.m. ET)

 

 

NASCAR Cup Series

Daytona Storylines and Insights:

  • 2025 is the 77th year of NASCAR Cup Series racing and the 67th year of the DAYTONA 500.
  • Hendrick has won 16 poles, 10 more than any other organization. Hendrick Motorsports won the pole in eight of the last 10 Daytona 500s, didn’t win the pole in 2024 but won the race.
  • The last two seasons that Hendrick Motorsports failed to qualify a driver on the front-row in the Daytona 500, the team won the race (William Byron in 2024, Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2014).
  • The pole winner finished 14th or worse in nine of the last 10 Daytona 500s and failed to finish due to accidents in four of the last six. Alex Bowman finished fifth from the pole in 2023, the only pole winner to finish top-five in the last 23 races.
  • Alex Bowman has three Daytona 500 poles, the record is four by Bill Elliott, Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough.
  • Joey Logano won the pole for the 2024 DAYTONA 500 ending an 11 year streak of Chevrolet poles in the DAYTONA 500, it was Team Penske’s first DAYTONA 500 pole.
  • The DAYTONA 500 winner started 10th or worse in six of the last seven races.
  • Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith and Todd Gilliland were not born the last time the Daytona 500 pole winner won the race (Dale Jarrett in 2000).
  • Michael McDowell won the pole for the last five races at drafting tracks, most since Bill Elliott’s six straight in 1985/1986 (the record is seven straight by Cale Yarborough).
  • Ford won the pole for the last nine races on drafting tracks.
  • Only three of the last 10 DAYTONA 500s had at least 44 drivers on the entry list with only one of the 10 having more than 44 with 49 in 2015.
  • Eight of the last 10 Daytona 500s were won by drivers getting their first Daytona 500 win.
  • Nine drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series victory with a win in the DAYTONA 500 – Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994), Michael Waltrip (2001), Trevor Bayne (2011), Michael McDowell (2021) and Ausitn Cindric (2022).
  • Lee Petty, who won the inaugural DAYTONA 500, and Trevor Bayne, 2011 DAYTONA 500 champion, are the only two drivers to win the DAYTONA 500 in their first appearance.
  • Denny Hamlin is the only repeat winner in the last 15 Daytona 500s, he won three of the last nine. Denny Hamlin starts 2025 with new crew chief Chris Gayle, Two of Hamlin’s three Daytona 500 wins came after an off-season crew chief change. Denny Hamlin’s best Daytona 500 finish in the Next Gen car is 17th in 2023.
  • Ford (four) and Toyota (three) combined to win seven of the last 10 DAYTONA 500s, Chevrolet won the last two.
  • A Chevrolet driver has not led the most laps in the Daytona 500 since 2015 (Jeff Gordon)
  • Five reigning NASCAR Cup Series champions have gone on to win the DAYTONA 500 the season after winning the championship: Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1973), Cale Yarborough (1977), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Dale Jarrett (2000).
  • The Daytona 500 winner made the Championship Four three times in Elimination style Playoffs: William Byron (2024) and Denny Hamlin (2019 and 2020).
  • Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are within 43 laps of each other in most laps led by an organization all-time in the DAYTONA 500, Joe Gibbs Racing is currently the all-time leader with 1,387 laps led and Hendrick is at 1,344.
  • Three times the DAYTONA 500 winner led only the final lap, all three came in the last eight races, - Michael McDowell (2021), Kurt Busch (2017) and Austin Dillon (2018).
  • The eventual winner didn’t lead for the first time until lap 157 or later in seven of the last eight DAYTONA 500s (four the last eight didn’t lead for the first time until lap 200 or later).
  • Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most starts before getting a DAYTONA 500 win, winning in his 20th start; Martin Truex Jr is making his 21st and Kyle Busch is making his 20th DAYTONA 500 start (21st year after missing the 2015 500 due to injury) and both are winless (Dave Marcis holds the record for most DAYTONA 500 starts without a win at 33)
  • Kyle Busch leads all drivers in laps led among drivers that are winless in the DAYTONA 500 with 342
  • Only once has a stage winner in the DAYTONA 500 gone on to win the race (Denny Hamlin in 2020 after winning stage 2)
  • The leader at halfway has only gone on to win the DAYTONA 500 twice since 1992: Denny Hamlin in 2016 and 2020
  • The 2023 DAYTONA 500 went 530 miles due to two attempts at overtime, the longest DAYTONA 500 in history.
  • Christopher Bell became the first driver to finish inside the Top 3 consecutively in the DAYTONA 500 without winning since Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2012-13 (he would win in 2014)
  • The three Next Gen DAYTONA 500s have averaged 43 lead changes – the most since the tandem drafting era.
  • The driver leading the most laps won one of the last eight DAYTONA 500s (Denny Hamlin - 2020)
  • Chase Elliott, with nine Daytona 500 starts, will look to become the sixth driver to win the Clash and the DAYTONA 500 in the same season joining Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1987), Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000), Jeff Gordon (1997), Denny Hamlin (2016)
  • Ford drivers led 57% of the laps raced at Daytona in the Next Gen car.
  • DAYTONA 500s won in a backup car: 1969 (LeeRoy Yarborough), 1983 (Cale Yarborough), 1992 (Davey Allison), 2009 (Matt Kenseth), 2018 (Austin Dillon), 2024 (William Byron).
  • 13 of the 66 DAYTONA 500s ended with a last lap pass (20%), and four of the last nine DAYTONA 500s ended with a last lap pass.
  • Five of the last seven DAYTONA 500s ended in overtime, the other two ended under caution.
  • Since 2014, five times a driver missed the Playoffs by seven or fewest points (points are awarded in the Duel and the fastest lap in the DAYTONA 500 will receive an additional point).
  • Team Penske won at least one race on a drafting track each of the last 11 seasons, the longest ever streak by a team.
  • Five different drivers have won the Daytona 500 in the last five years – Denny Hamlin (2019), Michael McDowell (2021), Austin Cindric (2022), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023) and William Byron (2024).
  • William Byron will look to become the fifth different driver to win back-to-back DAYTONA 500s this weekend joining Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84), Sterling Marlin (1994-95) and Denny Hamlin (2019-20).
  • New Zealander and former Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen is competing in his first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
  • Four-time INDY500 Champion and Three-Time Rolex 24 Winner Helio Castroneves will compete in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series Ride the ‘Dente 200 with Pinnacle Race Group before switching gears to head-up Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 for Sunday’s Great American Race, the fifth time the #91 raced for Trackhouse and the first time not on a road course.
  • Trackhouse Racing will have four entries in the DAYTONA 500 from four countries, the first time in series history a team had four drivers from different countries – New Zealand, Mexico, United States and Brazil. Four countries in the 2025 DAYTONA 500 ties the record for the most set in 2010.
  • An impressive lineup of drivers are looking to attempt to qualify for the DAYTONA 500, including seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, 2017 Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. and last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Justin Allgaier.
  • JR Motorsports and TRICON Garage will both attempt to make their Cup Series debut in the DAYTONA 500 this season.

 

Helio Castroneves Bio:

  • Oldest driver to make Cup Series debut at the DAYTONA 500 (49 years, 9 months) breaking the record held prior by Joe Mihalic (47 years, 3 months in 1974)
  • 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021); will be the 16th Indy 500 winner to start the Daytona 500, and the 9th to do so after first winning at Indianapolis.
  • 3-time Rolex 24 at Daytona overall winner (2021, 2022, 2023), and 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar DPi champion
  • 31 career IndyCar victories (T-10th most all-time, most for a non-champion) and 394 career IndyCar starts (3rd most all-time)
  • 4-time IndyCar championship runner-up (2002, 2008, 2013, 2014)
  • Four career Daytona oval starts in IROC competition (best finish:  6th – 2004)
  • 5th season winner of Dancing with the Stars in fall 2007

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Daytona Storylines and Insights:

  • 2025 is the 44th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series (since 1982).
  • Austin Hill’s seven wins on drafting tracks is tied for third all-time with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and behind only Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart (eight each).
  • Austin Hill’s 532 laps led on drafting tracks ranks third behind Dale Earnhardt (573) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (691).
  • Austin Hill has won the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona the last three years. The record for most consecutive wins in the season opener is five by Dale Earnhardt between 1990 and 1994.
  • Harrison Burton finished top-10 in all four of his NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Daytona and also won the Cup race there last August.
  • 14 of the last 16 Daytona races were won from a top-10 starting position including five from the front-row.
  • Four of the last nine Xfinity races at Daytona ended with a last lap pass for the win (most recent: 2023).
  • 16 drivers have won the last 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Daytona, only Austin Hill (3) and Justin Haley (2) have multiple wins
  • Four of the last five races at Daytona ended with an overtime finish.
  • Four of the last six races at Daytona have ended under caution.
  • Richard Childress Racing has won the pole for six of the last seven races on drafting tracks.
  • The race winner has led 20 or more laps in the Daytona season opener in four of the last six years.
  • Ford has only won one of the last 32 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on drafting tracks (Cindric – Daytona, Feb. 2021)
  • Chevrolet won 13 of last 16 Daytona season openers. Toyota has not won since 2008.
  • Chevrolet has won the last nine NASCAR Xfinity Series Stages at Daytona (Stage 1 & 2).
  • The Pole Sitter has only won two of the last 30 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Daytona (2021 Austin Cindric and 2023 Austin Hill).
  • Kaulig Racing or Richard Childress Racing have led the most laps in eight of the last 11 Daytona races.

 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Daytona Storylines and Insights:

  • 2025 marks the 31st season for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the 26th Truck race at Daytona (one race every season since 2000). Daytona has been the season opening race every year since 2000
  • Ty Majeski won the pole for two of the last three Daytona races.
  • Five of the six longest (distance) races in Truck history were at Daytona.
  • 21 different drivers have won the 25 CRAFTSMAN Truck Daytona races led by Johnny Sauter with three wins. Only three drivers won more than once (Sauter, Todd Bodine, Zane Smith)
  • Rajah Caruth finished top-10 in the last three races on drafting tracks, the longest active streak.
  • Five of the last six Daytona races were won by drivers 24 years old or younger.
  • Toyota leads all manufacturers with 10 wins at Daytona, followed by Ford (eight), Chevrolet (four), and Dodge (three).
  • 12 cautions in the 2024 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Daytona race set a new all-time record.
  • The last Daytona Truck race to end at its scheduled distance was 2018 (7 races ago). Five of the last six Daytona races finished in overtime, the other was rain shortened.
  • There are five tracks on the 2025 schedule that were not part of the 2024 schedule, and there are 25 races on the 2025 schedule, the most since 2011.
  • For the first time ever, there are no 1.5-mile tracks in the Playoffs in 2025 and the three road courses in 2025 are tied for the most in a season.
  • The first five races of 2024 were won by different drivers.
  • Ford went winless for the first 14 races of 2024 but won five of the final nine races of the season including the Championship Race. Ford drivers have won the championship the last three seasons.
  • The last two races of 2024 were won by the pole winner, the last time three straight races were won by the pole winner was 2017.
  • ThorSport Racing is two wins away from tying RFK Racing for second in all time wins at 50.
  • Twelve drivers on the preliminary entry list weren’t born when Matt Crafton made his first series start

 

NASCAR & Daytona, Etc.

Significant Events at Daytona International Speedway:

  • December 14, 1947 - Bill France Sr. organizes a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla., to discuss the future of stock car racing. NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is born.
  • November 14, 1958 - The plans for the 2.5-mile tri-oval circuit boasting 31 degree banking are put into motion as crews begin clearing what would become the 480-acre property of the "World Center of Racing."
  • February 22, 1959 - A crowd of over 41,000 was on hand to witness the first running of the DAYTONA 500. Lee Petty is declared the winner in a photo finish after conclusive evidence from a newsreel is reviewed by Bill France Sr.
  • 1959 - In the fall of 1959, the track hosted several high school football games for the Father Lopez Green Wave in the first year of the school's football program.
  • 1961 - The DAYTONA 200 motorcycle classic is moved from the beach course to the 2.0-mile road course inside Daytona International Speedway. Roger Reiman won the inaugural race with an average speed of 69.26 mph.
  • February 11, 1962 - The inaugural Daytona Continental sports car race, now known as the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, is run counter-clockwise on the 3.8-mile road course in what was then the fastest sports car race ever run in the United States.
  • 1974-1975 - The track hosted four college football games featuring the Daytona-based Bethune–Cookman Wildcats in 1974 and 1975.
  • February 15, 1976 - David Pearson and Richard Petty crashed battling for position coming out of the final turn of the 1976 DAYTONA 500, with both cars coming to rest before crossing the start/finish line. Petty's car would not start, but Pearson was able to keep the car in neutral and slowly cross the line to capture his only DAYTONA 500 victory.
  • February 20, 1977 - Janet Guthrie became the first woman to compete in the DAYTONA 500 in 1977. She would qualify 39th and finish 12th.
  • February 18, 1979 - CBS presented the first live flag-to-flag coverage of a 500-mile NASCAR event with the Daytona 500, a show not soon to be forgotten as Richard Petty avoids an incident between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison on the last lap to win the race. With Petty racing by to take the checkered flag, Yarborough, Donnie Allison and Bobby Allison are involved in a fight in the infield grass, between Turns 3 and 4.
  • July 4, 1984 - Richard Petty earned his 200th win in the July race at Daytona International Speedway, setting a mark that has yet to be challenged to this day. President Ronald Reagan was on hand to give the starting command, this first time in NASCAR history that a sitting President attended a race.
  • February 9, 1987 - Dawsonville, Ga. driver Bill Elliott set the DAYTONA 500 qualifying record with a speed of 210.364 mph in the No. 9 Ford.
  • October 17, 1998 - Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag in the first race NASCAR Cup race run under the new lighting system at DAYTONA. The Independence Day holiday classic was delayed until October due to summer wildfires in the area.
  • July 6, 2004 - A multi-million dollar renovation of the DAYTONA infield breaks ground in the summer of 2004, including new garages, a Turn 1 tunnel, the four-story DAYTONA 500 Club, a new Gatorade Victory Lane, and the UNOH Fanzone.
  • July 12, 2010 - Darrell and Michael Waltrip, the only pair of brothers to win the DAYTONA 500, took a backhoe to the Turn 1 banking of Daytona International Speedway. The event served as the ceremonial groundbreaking of the historic repaving of the iconic high banks.
  • February 17, 2013 - Danica Patrick made NASCAR history by winning the pole award for the 2013 Daytona 500, becoming the first female to win a pole in NASCAR premier series history.
  • January 12, 2016 - The historic multi-year, $400 million reimagining of Daytona International Speedway is completed in time for the 2016 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA. The additions included five new "injector" gate entrances, 101,500 permanent seats, twice as many restrooms and over 60 climate-controlled suites.
  • May 18, 2016 - Daytona International Speedway was named Sports Facility of the Year at Sports Business Journal's 2016 Sports Business Awards in New York City.
  • 2016-2018 – Daytona International Speedway has hosted an annual summer Country Music festival called the Country 500.
  • 2021–Present – Starting in 2021, Daytona International Speedway started hosting ‘Welcome To Rockville’ an annual three-day Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Music festival.
  • July 2-3, 2022 - The track hosted Daytona Soccer Fest, a 2 day event highlighted by a match between América de Cali and Deportivo Cali and a NWSL match between the Orlando and Louisville.

 

Historical Daytona International Speedway Information:

  • In the early 1950s it became apparent that, due to growth on the beachside, the days of racing on the Beach and Road Course were numbered. Bill France Racing, Inc. was established in 1953 to secure the land and financing to build a new speedway in Daytona.
  • Bill France worked tirelessly to raise the funds necessary to build a track to match his vision of a 2.5 mile superspeedway and to also locate a feasible location. The contract to secure land for construction of a speedway was signed on November 8, 1957, and the Daytona International Speedway was born.
  • The mammoth project began on November 25, 1957, and dream became reality with the first Daytona 500 on February 22, 1959.
  • Today the 483 acre complex, once swampland, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe, earning it the title of "World Center of Racing."
  • In addition to eight major weekends of racing activity rarely a week goes by that the Speedway grounds are not used for events that include civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo "shoots," production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.

 

Latest Daytona International Speedway Storylines

  • This year’s event marks the 10th consecutive sellout of the DAYTONA 500.
  • Blockbuster movie star, and lead in MARVEL’s upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie will serve as grand marshal and give the command ahead of the DAYTONA 500.
  • GRAMMY® Award Winning Superstar and Trackhouse Racing Co-Owner Pitbull will perform the Pre-Race Show ahead of the DAYTONA 500.
  • Alan Ritchson will add some muscle as the honorary pace car driver for the 2025 DAYTONA 500. The actor and producer will lead the field to green for the 67th running of The Great American Race.
  • The United States Air Force Thunderbirds return for the 15th consecutive year and 16th overall to perform the flyover above a completely sold-out crowd ahead of Sunday’s DAYTONA 500. 
  • This year’s Daytona International Speedway 50/50 Raffle is officially live, giving fans the chance to win big with a guaranteed minimum jackpot of $100,000. Half of the total proceeds will support veterans and first responders through “Vet Tix”, a non-profit organization that provides essential community reintegration opportunities, family bonding experiences and improve quality of life to over 21 million military and veterans. The jackpot draw will take place on February 16, but tickets are available now at www.daytona5050.com.

 

 

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 5 days to go

 

February 11, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks five days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. Geoffrey Bodine is the only driver to have won the DAYTONA 500 driving a car bearing the No. 5, a feat he accomplished for Hendrick Motorsports in 1986. Bodine’s Monte Carlo was the dominant car in that race, leading 101 of 200 laps and beating Terry Labonte to the checkered flag by 11.26 seconds. Labonte would win a NASCAR Cup Series championship in the No. 5 Chevrolet in 1996, but neither he nor any of the elite drivers who followed Bodine in the No. 5—Ricky Rudd, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne and currently Kyle Larson—managed to win NASCAR’s most prestigious race in the car.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 6 days to go

 

February 10, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks six days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers line up for the most prestigious event on the schedule, the 2025 DAYTONA 500. The number six holds a special familiar place in the Great American Race. The famous Elliott family boasts six DAYTONA 500 pole positions – four for NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott (1985-87 and 2001) and two for his son and fellow series champion Chase Elliott (2016-17) – the most for any one family in NASCAR history.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 7 days to go

 

February 9, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks seven days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. The number “7” is particularly significant in DAYTONA 500 lore, given that it’s the record number of victories in the race posted by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. “The King” was the only driver to finish on the lead lap when he beat runner-up Jimmy Pardue for his first DAYTONA 500 trophy in 1964. After wins in 1966, 1971, 1973 and 1974, Petty came from a distant third to win the 1979 race after Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough wrecked each other on the backstretch while battling for the lead. Petty’s last win in the Great American Race came in 1981, when he beat rival Bobby Allison to the finish line by 3.5 seconds.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 9 days to go

 

February 7, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks nine days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. Before Joey Logano won the pole for the 2024 DAYTONA 500 in a Team Penske Ford, cars with Hendrick Motorsports power under their hoods had taken the previous nine pole positions for NASCAR’s most prestigious race. Starting with Jeff Gordon in 2015, Hendrick drivers accounted for eight of those nine top qualifying spots, with Alex Bowman earning three, Chase Elliott two and William Byron and Kyle Larson one each. In 2020, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the pole in a JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet sporting a Hendrick engine.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 10 days to go

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

 Thursday February 6th..Today marks 10 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers suit up for the most prestigious event on the schedule, the 2025 DAYTONA 500. When it comes to NASCAR’s regular season Daytona victory total – 10 is the magic number of achievement. NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt each earned 10 regular season trophies at the historic track. Petty’s all came in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks and included seven in the DAYTONA 500 and three in the summer 400-miler. Earnhardt had seven NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and three NASCAR Cup Series victories, including the 1998 DAYTONA 500.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 11 days to go

 

February 5, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 11 days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. Thanks in part to 54 career wins by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, car No. 11 leads the all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory list with 234 triumphs to 200 for the vaunted No. 43. Three of Hamlin’s wins have come in the DAYTONA 500, in 2016, 2019 and 2020. One more victory in NASCAR’s most prestigious race would tie Hamlin with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough for second all-time behind Richard Petty’s record seven DAYTONA 500 wins. In total, the No. 11 car has won the DAYTONA 500 five times; including the three wins by Hamlin, a 1977 win by Cale Yarborough and a 1967 victory by motorsports legend Mario Andretti.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 12 days to go

 

February 4, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 12 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers suit up for the most prestigious event on the schedule, the 2025 DAYTONA 500. The number 12 has been significant in the race – especially in later decades – because the scheduled 200-laps that make up the DAYTONA 500 have been extended 12 times. The last time was in 2023 when the race was 212 laps and included two overtime periods before Ricky Stenhouse Jr. prevailed to claim his career first Daytona 500 trophy.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 13 days to go

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 13 days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. In 663 total starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, car No. 13 is credited with winning one race—the second qualifying race for the 1963 DAYTONA 500, with Johnny Rutherford behind the wheel of Smokey Yunick’s Chevrolet. In those days, the qualifiers counted as official races. Rutherford went on to finish ninth, four laps down, in the subsequent DAYTONA 500. Four years later, Curtis Turner won the DAYTONA 500 pole in Yunick’s No. 13 but fell out of the race after 142 laps because of engine failure.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 14 days to go

Today marks 14 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers suit up for the most prestigious event on the schedule, the 2025 DAYTONA 500. A car that started 14th on the grid has won this season-opening race only one time in its previous 66-year history – Austin Dillon’s thrilling last lap victory in 2018. Car No. 14 has never won the DAYTONA 500 and this year for the first time in 16 seasons, there will be no No. 14 on the grid.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 15 days to go...

 Saturday February 1ST...Today marks 15 days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. Car No. 15 has taken the checkered flag in the DAYTONA 500 three times, the first with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison behind the wheel of the Bud Moore Engineering Ford Thunderbird in 1978. Michael Waltrip drove the No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet to victory in 2001 in the race where his car owner, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, tragically lost his life. Two years later, Waltrip would take the No. 15 Monte Carlo to Victory Lane once again in NASCAR’s iconic race.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 16 days to go

 

January 31, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 16 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers suit up for the biggest race of the year, the 2025 DAYTONA 500. The number "16" is an unparalleled mark of excellence and endurance in the race. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott completed every lap of the scheduled 200-lap race 16 times – the most ever. Additionally, Elliott, who won the 1985 DAYTONA 500 from the pole position, also completed every lap in the 2003 rain-shorted race and every lap in three extended races in 2006, 2010, 2011.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 17 days to go

 

January 30, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 17 days before NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. In 2009 and 2012, NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth drove the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to victory in the DAYTONA 500. Kenseth’s first victory in NASCAR’s most prestigious race was shortened by rain to 152 laps, making a winner of Drew Blickensderfer in his debut as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. Kenseth’s 2012 win required overtime in a race extended two laps beyond its scheduled distance.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 18 days to go

Wednesday January 29th..Today marks 18 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers suit up for the biggest race of the year, the 2025 DAYTONA 500. The number “18” represents a record-setting achievement in the Great American Race. The youngest driver to ever race in the DAYTONA 500 was Joey Logano, whose first start in 2009 was at the age of 18 years, eight months and 22 days. Although Logano finished last – 43rd - in his Daytona debut after a single car crash 81 laps into the race – Logano’s legacy thereafter has stood the test of time. He returned to win the 2015 DAYTONA 500 and is currently the reigning three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 19 days to go

 

January 28, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 19 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete in the 67th running of the Great American Race. For anyone who qualifies mid-pack, the 19th-place starting position isn’t a bad spot on the grid. Three drivers have won NASCAR’s most prestigious race after qualifying 19th—LeeRoy Yarbrough in 1969, Michael Waltrip in 2001 and Ward Burton in 2002. In contrast, no driver has ever won the DAYTONA 500 from 20th.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 20 days to go

 

January 27, 2025

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Today marks 20 days before the NASCAR Cup Series drivers suit up for the biggest race of the year, the 2025 DAYTONA 500, and the number “20” has an interesting history with the race – winning only a single time in its storied 67-year history. Marvin Panch won the third running of the DAYTONA 500 in 1961 in the No. 20 Pontiac Catalina; tuned by the legendary Smokey Yunick. Panch was out front only the final 13 laps inheriting the lead when his teammate Fireball Roberts’ car blew an engine after pacing the field for 170 of the 200 laps. Of Panch's 17 NASCAR Cup Series victories, his 1961 DAYTONA 500 win was his only career victory at Daytona International Speedway.

 

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 
       

 

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