The rains washed away any chance of racing on Sunday, we’ll now have the biggest race of the year — the DAYTONA 500 — not just finishing a day later (as it has in recent year), but starting on a Monday! Some of that “Super Sunday” allure has lost, but now we’ve got a primetime event that everyone can tune into after they get home from work. And that’s pretty cool.
Here’s what to look for:
-We’ve seen Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets dominate the front row of the DAYTONA 500 for years, but this year the Penske-powered Ford of Joey Logano will start from Pole. Teammate Austin Cindric performed well in his Duel, starting 6th. 2024 Cup Champion Ryan Blaney endured a 55 G crash on Wednesday and will go to a backup car.
-Next to him will be another Ford, piloted by 2021 DAYTONA 500 Champion Michael McDowell. He’s always had a solid superspeedway presence, and they’ve got him already ahead of 38 other drivers. Could this be the seeds of #2 for #34?
-The Toyotas had a tough time at Wednesday’s Qualifying session, but all of that turned around on Thursday with the Duels. Tyler Reddick‘s 23XI Toyota and Christopher Bell‘s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota were the best performing rides at the Duels, starting 3rd and 4th today respectively.
–Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the unlikely winner of last year’s Great American Race, doing so without any direct teammates. He’s got a bit of a reputation as being unsafe out there, and getting to the front of a race that requires so much teamwork despite all that is remarkable.
–Chase Elliott is the highest starting Chevy in the field today (5th), followed by teammate Alex Bowman right behind him in 7th. Each of them are still seeking their first DAYTONA 500 victory. Best part about the DAYTONA 500: it might be someone we haven’t even mentioned here. Who will rise above all of the madness of NASCAR’s biggest race? We don’t have to wait long to find out!
The season fires up with the green flag soon, coverage on FOX starts at 4:00pm.
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