The 67th working of the Daytona 500 will kickstart the 77th season of NASCAR Cup Collection racing the place Group Penske and Joey Logano will start their title protection. The brand new season comes with loads of adjustments throughout the grid and a few new laws for them to observe.
NASCAR determined in opposition to overhauling its playoff system, regardless of pushback following Joey Logano’s shock title run with a 17.1 common end. Nonetheless, they did add a brand new wrinkle with the ‘Xfinity Quickest Lap,’ which can award a bonus level to the driving force with the quickest lap throughout every race. This rule is in place for all three nationwide divisions.
NASCAR additionally modified the best way playoff waivers and the broken automobile coverage can be dealt with going into the 2025 season. Playoff waivers can nonetheless be granted for non-medical causes, however in these conditions, the driving force should forfeit all of their playoff bonus factors throughout the common season. This ‘punishment’ could be for conditions the place a driver misses a race attributable to a suspension or like final Could when Kyle Larson missed the Coke 600 whereas competing within the rain-delayed Indy 500. As for the DVP, vehicles can now be towed again to the storage to restore harm and nonetheless return to the race. Beforehand, NASCAR was extremely strict and if a automobile couldn’t drive away by itself, it was out of the race — even when it was merely caught attributable to flat tires.
With the shuttering of Stewart-Haas Racing, one in all its charters has gone to Trackhouse for the staff’s third entry with Shane van Gisbergen, one other to Entrance Row Motorsports for its third entry with Zane Smith, and one other to 23XI Racing for its newly shaped third entry with Riley Herbst. Gene Haas held on to the ultimate constitution, reorganizing because the Haas Manufacturing unit Group and selling Cole Custer again to the Cup stage. All 4 SHR drivers discovered new houses within the Cup Collection with Chase Briscoe becoming a member of Joe Gibbs Racing, Josh Berry taking up the long-lasting Wooden Brothers entry, Noah Gragson shifting over FRM, and Ryan Preece sliding right into a newly shaped third entry for RFK Racing (the staff is leasing a 3rd constitution from Rick Ware Racing).
And these are simply a number of the adjustments to the grid for 2025! Trying ahead, the biggest entry listing in a decade will head to the two.5-mile superspeedway in Florida the place William Byron is the defending Daytona 500 winner. Final 12 months’s race ended with a dramatic three-wide transfer for the win by Ross Chastain, who stormed up the center however as a substitute of greedy victory, he discovered himself spinning by way of the infield grass.
Among the many 9 open entries are former Cup champions Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, reigning Xfinity champion Justin Allgaier driving a JR Motorsports entry, and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves in Trackhouse’s Mission 91 machine.
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta Chevrolet Camaro, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, Busch Mild Chevrolet Camaro, Austin Cindric, Group Penske, Low cost Tire Ford Mustang, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally Chevrolet Camaro
Picture by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Photos
When is the Daytona 500?
Date: Sunday February 16
Time: 2:30pm ET
Community: FOX Sports activities
Streaming: Max (onboard cameras)
Full Speedweeks schedule
Date
Session
Session begin time
Wednesday, February 12
Daytona 500 observe #1
10:05am ET
Wednesday, February 12
Daytona 500 qualifying
8:15pm ET
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—
—
Thursday, February 13
ARCA observe
4:05pm ET
Thursday, February 13
NASCAR Truck observe
5:05pm ET
Thursday, February 13
Duel Qualifying Race #1 (60 laps)
7pm ET
Thursday, February 13
Duel Qualifying Race #2 (60 laps)
8:45pm ET
—
—
—
Friday, February 14
ARCA qualifying
1:30pm ET
Friday, February 14
NASCAR Truck qualifying
3pm ET
Friday, February 14
NASCAR Xfinity observe
4:35pm ET
Friday, February 14
Daytona 500 observe #2
5:35pm ET
Friday, February 14
NASCAR TRUCK RACE (100 laps)
7:30pm ET
—
—
—
Saturday, February 15
NASCAR Xfinity qualifying
10am ET
Saturday, February 15
ARCA RACE (80 laps)
2pm ET
Saturday, February 15
Daytona 500 observe #3
3:05pm
Saturday, February 15
NASCAR XFINITY RACE (120 laps)
5pm ET
—
—
—
Sunday, February 16
2025 DAYTONA 500 (200 laps)
2:30pm ET
How does qualifying work for the Daytona 500?
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is not like something in motorsport, and it has no scarcity of drama. It begins with a single-car, one-lap format. So, every driver will get one flying lap across the tri-oval and the 2 quickest vehicles can be locked in because the front-row starters for Sunday’s Daytona 500. The opposite qualifying instances decide the beginning grid for each Duel races, which decides the remainder of the Daytona 500 lineup. The Duels are a pair of 60-lap qualifying races, overlaying 150 miles, and the outcomes of the primary race decide the within row for the five hundred, whereas the second decides Sunday’s outdoors row.
However extra importantly, the Duel races determine which of the 9 open entries fill out the ultimate few spots on the 40-car grid. The 2 quickest open entries in qualifying can be secured a spot whereas the top-finishing open entry in every of the 2 Duel races. Ought to the identical driver(s) that topped the open area in qualifying prime the open vehicles of their respective Duel races, then the third and if wanted, the fourth quickest drivers from qualifying will fill out the sector.
A brand new wrinkle this 12 months is the Open Exemption Provisional, supplied to a world-class driver making an attempt to make the race. The primary driver to learn from the OEP can be four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves. Ought to he fail to race his means into the five hundred, he can fall again on the provisional and a further forty first spot can be added to the grid.
Joey Logano, Group Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Pole winner
Picture by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Photos
The place can I watch highlights of the Daytona 500?
Final 12 months the NASCAR on FOX YouTube channel uploaded highlights quickly after the Daytona 500 had ended, whereas doing the identical for the classes that preceded it that week.
The official NASCAR YouTube channel at present has a full replay of the 2024 Daytona 500, so observe the assorted NASCAR platforms to look at a highlights bundle – or the complete race once more – as quickly because it drops.
Watch: Race Rewind: Daytona 500 ends with a wild end
Climate forecast
Contemplating Daytona’s location alongside the Florida shoreline, typically plagues the season-opener. Final 12 months’s race was pushed to Monday attributable to heavy rain. Whereas long-range forecasts are sometimes unreliable attributable to its tropical local weather, here is the outlook as of Friday, February 7:
Issues are wanting favorable for the 5 straight days of on-track motion at Daytona Worldwide Speedway between Wednesday the twelfth and Sunday the sixteenth. There is no such thing as a likelihood of rain with temps starting from the low 80s to the excessive 70s and loads of sunshine.
NASCAR has experimented with working wet-weather tires in Cup races on ovals lately, equivalent to New Hampshire and Richmond throughout the 2024 season. Nonetheless, they won’t try this at greater tracks, particularly not on the quick excessive banks of Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
Daytona 500 Entry Record
No.
Driver
Producer
Group
01 [OPEN ENTRY]
Corey LaJoie
Ford
Rick Ware Racing
1
Ross Chastain
Chevrolet
Trackhouse Racing Group
2
Austin Cindric
Ford
Group Penske
3
Austin Dillon
Chevrolet
Richard Childress Racing
4
Noah Gragson
Ford
Entrance Row Motorsports
5
Kyle Larson
Chevrolet
Hendrick Motorsports
6
Brad Keselowski
Ford
RFK Racing
7
Justin Haley
Chevrolet
Spire Motorsports
8
Kyle Busch
Chevrolet
Richard Childress Racing
9
Chase Elliott
Chevrolet
Hendrick Motorsports
10
Ty Dillon
Chevrolet
Kaulig Racing
11
Denny Hamlin
Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
12
Ryan Blaney
Ford
Group Penske
16
A.J. Allmendinger
Chevrolet
Kaulig Racing
17
Chris Buescher
Ford
RFK Racing
19
Chase Briscoe
Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
20
Christopher Bell
Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
21
Josh Berry
Ford
Wooden Brothers Racing
22
Joey Logano
Ford
Group Penske
23
Bubba Wallace
Toyota
23XI Racing
24
William Byron
Chevrolet
Hendrick Motorsports
34
Todd Gilliland
Ford
Entrance Row Motorsports
35
Riley Herbst
Toyota
23XI Racing
38
Zane Smith
Ford
Entrance Row Motorsports
40 [OPEN ENTRY]
Justin Allgaier
Chevrolet
JR Motorsports
41
Cole Custer
Ford
Haas Manufacturing unit Group
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Toyota
Legacy Motor Membership
43
Erik Jones
Toyota
Legacy Motor Membership
44 [OPEN ENTRY]
J.J. Yeley
Chevrolet
NY Racing Group
45
Tyler Reddick
Toyota
23XI Racing
47
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Chevrolet
HYAK Motorsports
48
Alex Bowman
Chevrolet
Hendrick Motorsports
51
Cody Ware
Ford
Rick Ware Racing
54
Ty Gibbs
Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
56 [OPEN ENTRY]
Martin Truex, Jr.
Toyota
TRICON Storage
60
Ryan Preece
Ford
RFK Racing
62 [OPEN ENTRY]
Anthony Alfredo
Chevrolet
Beard Motorsports
66 [OPEN ENTRY]
Chandler Smith
Ford
Storage 66
71
Michael McDowell
Chevrolet
Spire Motorsports
77
Carson Hocevar
Chevrolet
Spire Motorsports
78 [OPEN ENTRY]
B.J. McLeod
Chevrolet
Stay Quick Motorsports
84 [OPEN ENTRY]
Jimmie Johnson
Toyota
Legacy Motor Membership
88
Shane van Gisbergen
Chevrolet
Trackhouse Racing Group
91 [OPEN ENTRY]
Helio Castroneves
Chevrolet
Trackhouse Racing Group
99
Daniel Suarez
Chevrolet
Trackhouse Racing Group
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