2024 Daytona 500: preview, schedule, lineup

 

NASCAR are racing on a Monday to get the Cup Series’ super bowl season opener underway at Daytona International Speedway, Florida, for the 66^th running of the Daytona 500.

4 min read

• Preview
• Schedule
• Lineup

Forty V8 Gen 7 stock cars will compete in the Great American Race in front of a sold out crowd at speeds over 200mph, on the high 31 degrees Daytona banking, inches apart from each other for 200 laps, in a bid to win one of NASCAR’s most prestigious prizes, the Harley J. Earl Trophy and forever immortalise themselves into the history books on stock car racing’s biggest day.

The Daytona 500 relinquished the usual Sunday race date due to heavy rain all day yesterday but it’s clear skies ahead for today’s running of NASCAR’s crown jewel event.

 

Last year saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win the Great American race for the first time with JTG Daugherty Racing in a double overtime finish after marching through the field from 31^st with 20 laps to go.

There are seven active Daytona 500 winners in this year’s edition of the race including three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson.

Schedule

The Daytona 500 race starts at 4pm ET (9pm UK time) with American actor and pro wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson giving the command to fire engines.

The race will be broken down into three stages of 65, 65, and 70 laps totaling 200 laps (500 miles). There is a grand purse of over $28 million up for grabs to be shared out amongst the 40 drivers and teams, making victory lane a very wealthy place to find yourself in post-race.

It is likely we will see an overtime finish given five of the last six Daytona 500 races have had an overtime finish; where NASCAR reset the laps to two laps to go if there is a yellow flag brought out too close to the finish but before one lap to go, in an attempt to end the race finish under green racing conditions, with the race leader needing to take the one lap to go white flag at the start finish line to make the race end official regardless of whether or not the yellow flag comes out on the final lap. If the white flag isn’t taken due to a yellow flag being brought out, the field of cars are restacked and another NASCAR overtime will commence.

Lineup

2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano secured the pole position for Team Penske on Wednesday night in the brand new Dark Horse Mustang, the first Daytona 500 pole for Team Penske, with fellow Ford driver and 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, lining up alongside him for Front Row Motorsports, the first time Ford have swept the front row for the Daytona 500 grid since 2012 and ending Chevrolet’s 11-year streak of taking pole.

Lining up on row two are the two duel winners, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell from Thursday night in the brand new Toyota Camry XSE, where rows 2-20 were decided for the 500 via two 60-lap heat races with a 42-car field split in half to compete in either heat.

Row three sees NASCAR’s most popular driver and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott start 5^th alongside 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric.

Row four is composed of three-time Daytona 500 pole winner Alex Bowman starting 7^th and 2016, ’19, and ’20 Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin lining up 8^th.

Row five sees breakout star and rookie Carson Hocevar lineup 9^th in his first Daytona 500 start, with John Hunter Nemechek lining up 10^th making his second Daytona 500 start, now driving for Legacy Motor Club.

2006 and 2013 Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson will start 23^rd after narrowly qualifying for the Great American Race in Thursday night’s duel race passing rival qualifying challenger J.J. Yeley coming off turn four on the final lap to secure his spot in today’s race, with Yeley going home.

Full lineup 

1. Joey Logano (2015 Daytona 500 winner)
2. Michael McDowell (2021 Daytona 500 winner)
3. Tyler Reddick
4. Christopher Bell
5. Chase Elliott
6. Austin Cindric (2022 Daytona 500 winner)
7. Alex Bowman
8. Denny Hamlin (2016, ’19, ’20 Daytona 500 winner)
9. Carson Hocevar
10. John Hunter Nemechek
11. Erik Jones
12. Harrison Burton
13. Daniel Suárez
14. Zane Smith
15. Ty Gibbs
16. Brad Keselowski
17. Kyle Larson
18. William Byron
19. Chris Buescher
20. Chase Briscoe
21. Ross Chastain
22. Justin Haley
23. Jimmie Johnson (2006, ’13 Daytona 500 winner)
24. Bubba Wallace
25. Ryan Preece
26. Kaz Grala
27. Martin Truex Jr.
28. AJ Allmendinger
29. Corey LaJoie
30. Josh Berry
31. Todd Gilliland
32. Ryan Blaney
33. Austin Dillon (2018 Daytona 500 winner)
34. Kyle Busch
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023 Daytona 500 winner)
36. Riley Herbst
37. Daniel Hemric
38. Noah Gragson
39. Anthony Alfredo
40. David Ragan

Featured image: Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)