It’s NASCAR’s turn to throw its version of the Super Bowl, and the Daytona 500 is trying hard to match the hype after being delayed for hours due to rain.
Byron ‘obviously fortunate’ to win another Daytona 500
William Byron knows he took advantage of some fortune to win another Daytona 500.
“Just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” said Byron, who drives the No. 24 Chevrolet for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom, and I was honestly going to go third lane regardless because I was probably sixth coming down the back.”
Byron became the fifth driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s and the first since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20.
Byron avoided a last-lap crash by racing near the outside wall and went on to win “The Great American Race.”
“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor,” he said. “Crazy. I can’t honestly believe that. But we’re here. So proud of it.”
Busch blames Logano for late-race crash
Kyle Busch didn’t mince words while blaming Joey Logano for a late-race crash in the Daytona 500.
Busch finished 34th in the race, one spot ahead of Logano. Both were caught up in a wreck that Logano seemed to cause.
“Looks like the fastest car got in a hurry to get to the wreck,” Busch said. “Logano was by far the fastest car today. Saw a lot of laps lead and could about do anything; the Penske cars were very strong. We still go 20 laps to go and he’s trying to go through the middle and make a hole that isn’t there and created chaos. … You got to know how wide your racecar is to be able to find a hole that it’ll fit in, and he obviously doesn’t know that.”
Byron wins Daytona 500 again
William Byron has won the Daytona 500 for the second time in as many years.
Byron took advantage of several late cautions to get to the front and became the first back-to-back winner in “The Great American Race” since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20. Tyler Reddick finished second, and Jimmie Johnson third.
Kyle Larson was one of the drivers involved in a late crash that brought a third red flag to the Daytona 500.
Larson’s Chevrolet was hit in back in the crash that saw Ryan Preece go airborne.
Crew chief Cliff Daniels says they will need to make two pit stops.
Ryan Preece goes for another wild ride at Daytona
Ryan Preece turned upside-down at Daytona International Speedway for the second time in two years.
Preece got caught in a late crash in the Daytona 500 and essentially did a wheelie in his No. 60 Ford. His car flipped onto its roof and turned back onto its tires before hitting the outside wall. Preece dropped his safety net to signal to crews he was OK.
“When the car took off like that … all I thought about was my daughter, so I’m lucky to walk away,” he said after the crash.
His harrowing, flipping crash in the summer race at Daytona in 2023 caused the track to replace grass with asphalt on the backstretch.
Series champs Logano, Busch, Blaney, Elliott knocked out
Former series champions Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott were involved in a late crash in the Daytona 500.
Logano and Ricky Stenhouse started the eight-car melee with 15 laps to go when Stenhouse moved to block Logano in the middle lane. It stacked up Logano, and the accordion effect sent several cars sliding in every direction.
Busch’s car ended up on a wrecker, extending his skid to 0 for 20 in “The Great American Race.”
Kyle Larson is frustrated as he’s stuck in traffic and blaming himself.
“I make all wrong moves. Any move I make is the wrong one,” he said on his radio.
Crew chief Cliff Daniels wasn’t hearing it and launched into a lengthy motivational speech. He reminded Larson that he’d just avoided a multicar crash and as the laps are winding down, Larson has time to get to the front.
“You missed the wreck. If they wreck again you will miss it,” Daniels said. “Whatever you think you are doing wrong you can work on it. It’s only going to take one or two moves to make something happen. It’s not an if, it’s a when.”
Pit trouble leaves Jimmie Johnson in huge hole
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson lost 25 spots on pit road late in the race, delivering a crushing blow to his chances of winning a third Daytona 500.
Blocked in his pit by a fellow driver, Johnson had to back up his No. 84 Toyota and drive around — a move that cost him precious seconds and a bunch of spots.
It’s not an impossible hole to recover from, but it leaves Johnson with plenty of work to do and very little time to get it done.
Johnson entered the pits in eighth and left in 33rd.
Once Helio Castroneves crashed out of the Daytona 500, Trackhouse Racing quickly packed up its pit stall. That opened a trackside viewing space for spectators who held pit passes.
About two dozen people crammed into the pit stall next to Kyle Larson to watch the finish of the race.
Cliff Daniels gave a pep talk to the No. 5 crew ahead of Larson’s two-tires and fuel stop.
“Just be clean,” he said, and he’d be fine if the stop was a half-second slower if it meant it would be mistake free.
Blaney wins second stage at Daytona
Ryan Blaney won the second stage of the Daytona 500, another small victory for Ford.
Blaney edged Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric on the final lap of the segment. It was a 1-2 finish for Ford, which also won the opening stage behind Joey Logano’s early race dominance.
Cindric led 37 of the 65 laps in the second stage in his No. 2 Ford. But Blaney got by him just before the start-finish line. Twelve cars have led the race, with six of those being Fords.
Chase Elliott was third in a Chevrolet, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.
At the end of the second stage, crew chief Cliff Daniels urged Kyle Larson to be patient as Larson struggles to get his Chevrolet through traffic.
“I know you are frustrated,” Daniels said.
Larson said his car “just gets stuck” in the pack and can’t move forward the way his Hendrick Motorsports teammates have been able to do in the Daytona 500.
Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves’ rough NASCAR debut ended when he was caught up in a massive wreck and forced out of the Daytona 500 after 70 laps.
Castroneves raced in the Daytona 500 as a special 41st driver under a new rule that allows for a “ world-class driver ” to receive a provisional spot.
His No. 91 Chevrolet crashed in one of the Daytona 500 qualifying races, forcing his car to get rebuilt for Sunday’s race. He was also wrecked twice in NASCAR’s low-level ARCA race, but rebounded for a top-five finish, only to get wrecked into the infield after the race.
Castroneves landed a NASCAR ride as part of Trackhouse’s “Project 91,” designed to give renowned racers from outside of the series a shot in a stock car.
AJ Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain also are out of the race.
pion Logano has car trouble
Joey Logano’s crew frantically swapped out an electronic control unit while the field was under caution. The scramble came after Logano’s No. 22 Ford failed to take off during a restart and caused a seven-car wreck.
Logano radioed to his crew, “It’s still not right” after the parts change.
Logano is the defending Cup Series champion and had been considered one of the favorites to win “The Great American Race.”
The 2015 Daytona 500 champ won the opening stage of Sunday’s race and led 43 of the first 72 laps.
First big one involves Castroneves and three former series champs
Ross Chastain, Helio Castroneves, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. were involved in the first big one of the Daytona 500.
The seven-car wreck started when Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford failed to get up to speed on a Lap 72 restart. Cars behind him stacked up, leading John Hunter Nemechek to turn Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet. Chastain slammed into the outside wall and collected several others.
Busch, Johnson and Truex are former series champions. Castroneves is a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner making his NASCAR debut.
Joey Logano wins opening stage
Joey Logano crosses the start/finish line to win the first stage during the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Joey Logano won the opening stage of the Daytona 500.
Logano led 38 of the 65 laps in the stage in his No. 22 Ford. The manufacturer claimed the top three spots, with Brad Keselowski second and Ryan Blaney third. Logano and Blaney drive for powerhouse Team Penske.
Much of the opening stage was three-wide racing, a product of driving in cooler temperatures that create less-slippery conditions on the 2 1/2-mile speedway.
AJ Allmendinger was the first of 41 drivers out of the race. Zane Smith and Josh Berry were involved in a late-stage crash that forced the 65-lap segment to end under caution.
Gene Haas, owner of the Haas Formula 1 team and the Haas Factory NASCAR team, is at the Daytona 500.
Smith, Berry involved in early crash at Daytona
Zane Smith and Josh Berry were involved in the first accident of the Daytona 500.
Berry, driving for the famed Wood Brothers Racing team, hit the wall on Lap 63 and did some fairly significant damage to his No. 21 Ford.
Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin avoided the crash.
Allmendinger has engine trouble in opening stage
AJ Allmendinger could be the first driver out of the Daytona 500.
Allmendinger reports engine trouble, and his No. 16 Chevrolet team says there’s smoke coming out his tailpipe. Allmendinger drove to the pits in hopes of finding a diagnosis, but he lost several laps in the process and ended up in the garage for further work.
Corey LaJoie finding a return on his Daytona 500 investment
Corey LaJoie, who so badly wanted to race in the Daytona 500 that he gambled his children’s college fund to secure a seat, led three laps in the opening stage.
LaJoie was let go last season from Spire Motorsports and closed out the year driving the final six races with Rick Ware Racing with no promise of 2025 work. Ware was willing to field a second car at Daytona International Speedway, but it would be a driver who brought the financial funding for the effort.
LaJoie, who has welcomed three sons since 2020, grabbed their college fund and turned it over to Ware to make sure another driver wouldn’t snag the No. 01 Ford before he could find sponsorship.
Although he ultimately found a sponsor and got his money back, it’s looking like a promising payoff.
Race is back on after rain delay
The Daytona 500 has resumed after roughly 3 1/2 hours of weather delays.
The first delay was 3 hours, 9 minutes and 59 seconds. The latest delay was 20 minutes, 40 seconds.
Joey Logano took the green flag as the race resumed on Lap 24.
Daytona 500 close to resuming — for real this time
The Daytona 500 is back under a yellow, caution flag.
The second red flag for rain officially lasted 20 minutes, 40 seconds. NASCAR says the rain is over, and the race will resume shortly and will conclude tonight.
The Goodyear Blimp is in the air and headed to the race
Now that the weather has mostly cleared, the blimp posted a message on social media that it’s en route to the track to help provide aerial views of “The Great American Race.”
The blimp is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Here comes the rain again
The public address system is playing “Here Comes The Rain Again” by Annie Lennox as the cars are being covered on pit road for the second rain stoppage of the Daytona 500.
NASCAR has thrown the red flag again for rain. Drivers were ordered back to pit road with more rain on the way.
Drivers will stay in their cars while the rain passes.
The Daytona 500 has already been delayed more than three hours due to rain.
The Daytona 500 is now under a yellow caution flag after a 3 hour, 9 minute rain delay.
The cars will turn several laps under caution before the race resumes under green-flag conditions.
The ambient temperature has dropped more than 20 degrees since the race was halted for rain. It should provide drivers with more grip and racier conditions as the 500-mile NASCAR race resumes.
There is another weather cell on the radar, although it doesn’t appear to be enough to prevent the event from finishing Sunday under the lights.
Larson to pit when race resumes
Kyle Larson is told by crew chief Cliff Daniels that they will have him come to pit road for a service stop once the race resumes.
Teams cannot work on cars during stoppages and Daniels wants to fill the car with fuel and potentially change tires.
Allmendinger is now out of food
NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger experienced an interesting weather delay at the Daytona 500. He didn’t eat. He didn’t sleep. But he still found some in-house entertainment.
“I pretty much watched all my pit crew guys mow through all the food in my fridge,” Allmendinger said just before the race resumed following a three-hour break.
Trump says he’ll watch the race at home
Trump spoke to reporters after he landed back in West Palm Beach.
He left the race during what he said was “ a little rain delay, but we’ll go home and watch it, I guess.”
Fox Sports cuts away, airs replay of last year’s race
Fox Sports has cut away from its Daytona 500 coverage during a rain delay as the network waits through a rain delay.
The same thing happened in 2014, when Fox aired the previous year’s race during a weather delay. Jimmie Johnson won in 2013, and as the replay concluded, his phone started lighting up with congratulatory messages from friends and family — and got scores of social media notifications.
Current NASCAR analyst Clint Bowyer, who was driving at the time, even posted a congrats message to Johnson on social media.
Trump ordered the US to ditch the penny. What’s its connection to the Daytona 500?
Cease production of the penny, let collectors gobble up what’s left of the 1-cent coin, and there will still be one eternally glued to Dale Earnhardt’s old Chevrolet, the luckiest piece of loose change in NASCAR history.
The penny may have been doomed into obscurity after President Trump directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new ones, citing the rising cost of producing the coin.
The memories that linger of Earnhardt, 24 years after his death in the 2001 Daytona 500, and of the penny given to him by a 6-year-old girl ahead of his 1998 Daytona 500 victory, are priceless to those who were there for one of NASCAR’s seminal moments.
“I know,” Earnhardt crew chief Larry McReynolds said this week, when asked if he heard of the penny’s impending demise, “the ’98 lucky penny.”
The Rizzler is hanging out at Daytona International Speedway.
The 8-year-old social media influencer, who gained fame by squinting his eyes, pursing his lips and stroking his chin as part of the “rizz face,” was spotted in the garage with driver Noah Gragson during a Daytona 500 rain delay.
The Rizzler, whose real name is Christian Joseph, has 1 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million on TikTok.
Windy conditions ground Goodyear Blimp for the Daytona 500
The Goodyear Blimp has so far been grounded for the Daytona 500.
Goodyear expects the blimp to be overhead when the race resumes, hopefully in several hours.
Larson’s strategy: ‘Cross your fingers and hope you don’t crash’
Kyle Larson stopped at the Fox Sports stage during the rain delay at the Daytona 500 before heading to his motorhome to wait out the delay.
Larson said he expects fuel saving to be important, and noted that passing seemed difficult the first eight laps. Part of his strategy for when the race resumes, he said, will be “cross your fingers and hope you don’t crash.”
AccuWeather is warning that wind gusts of up to 40 mph are headed toward Daytona International Speedway.
The weather service said the “gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Those attending the Daytona 500 are in the path of these showers and should prepare for gusty winds, rain and the potential for a few lightning strikes.”
Rain delays are nothing new for the Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 has a recent history of rain issues.
“The Great American Race” was delayed Sunday for the sixth time in the last 14 years, a troubling trend for NASCAR. Heavy rain and wind up to 40 mph was forecast in the afternoon, and since the 2 1/2-mile speedway takes at least two hours to dry, drivers, crews and spectators braced for a long day.
The season opener and the biggest race on the Cup Series schedule annually has been postponed to Monday three times: 2012, 2020 and last year. It also was delayed 6 hours, 22 minutes in 2014 and 5 hours, 40 minutes in 2021.
Trump leaves rain-delayed Daytona 500
The president’s motorcade rolled away from the speedway after the race was halted because of a heavy downpour.
Trump is returning to the airport for the flight on Air Force One back to his home in Palm Beach, Florida, where he’s staying for the weekend.
Look in on Larson’s crew
Larson crew chief Cliff Daniels has headed back to the Hendrick Motorsports hauler during the rain delay.
Larson is sitting on the pit box. The team radio is silent.
Drivers are out of their cars at the Daytona 500, which has been stopped after 11 laps for rain that is expected to cause a lengthy delay.
It takes about two hours to dry the track once rain stops.
The drivers typically return to their motorhomes to wait out a delay.
Some stop by the Fox Sports desk to do a live television interview to fill the air time. Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing was the first driver to get to the Fox set.
NASCAR says this will be an extended red flag because of heavy rain cell headed across Daytona International Speedway.
Drying the 2 1/2-mile speedway takes at least two hours once it begins, so the delay is expected to be a lengthy one.
Rain begins at Daytona 500
Rain has slowed the Daytona 500 after nine laps.
Rain started falling in turns one and two, the West side of the 2 1/2-mile speedway. Officials dropped the yellow flag, with defending race winner William Byron out front.
Trump tells drivers to have fun and be safe
Trump spoke to the drivers as he led them through several ceremonial laps.
Trump said, “This is your favorite president. I’m a big fan. I am a really big fan of you people. How you do this I don’t know, but I just want you to be safe. You’re talented people and you’re great people and great Americans. Have a good day, have a lot of fun and I’ll see you later.”
The Associated Press is embedded with Kyle Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports team for the Daytona 500.
Larson spent time before the race with his wife and two of his three children — 10 year old Owen skipped the prerace ceremonies to fish with his friend in the lake inside the Daytona infield.
Crew chief Cliff Daniels has come on the radio to tell Larson that rain is expected in 45 minutes.
“It’s going to be a great day. We’ve got your back,” Daniels told Larson.
Trump’s limousine laps Daytona speedway
The heavily armored presidential limousine known in Washington as “The Beast” led Daytona 500 drivers on two laps around the track.
Asked about it during a brief interview with Fox Sports, Trump said, “they’re going to be going quite quickly, I understand.”
“Captain America” actor Anthony Mackie skipped his usual rallying cry of “Avengers assemble” to give the command for drivers to start their engines at the Daytona 500.
Mackie had plenty to celebrate at Daytona: “Captain America: Brave New World” soared toward a $100 million holiday weekend to top the box office.
Mackie said he grew up a NASCAR fan and watched the Daytona 500 each year on TV since he was kid.
“It’s amazing to be here and see it in person and be welcomed in this way,” Mackie said. “The movie being No. 1 on top of that, with America’s great race, you know, it’s phenomenal, man. I think it’s one of those moments where the perfect two things culminated at the right time. I couldn’t have asked for a better time.”
Mackie said before the race it would be hard to pick a favorite catchphrase between the traditional commands for the Avengers and NASCAR races.
“Both of them are iconic lines that gives everyone their marching orders to go,” Mackie said. “I’m trying not to mess it up, that’s all.”
Mackie said he counted himself a Jimmie Johnson fan but picked three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin to race.
“He has a good car. He has a heavy foot,” Mackie said.
Trump drives onto Daytona Speedway
The president’s motorcade drove straight onto the Daytona International Speedway at 1:17 p.m. and traveled a short distance in front of tens of thousands of NASCAR fans packed into the stands before it entered a secure area.
Race will begin early, with rain on the way
The Daytona 500 will start an hour earlier than initially scheduled — and rain is on the way.
Officials moved the start time to 2 p.m. Eastern earlier this week — 70 minutes ahead of the planned green flag — because of potential rain. Inclement weather is expected to be in the area between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., with forecasts showing 99% chance of rain. And since it takes roughly two hours to dry the track, it could be 7 p.m. before the race resumes.
Eddie Woods won’t drop the flag
Eddie and Len Wood of Wood Brothers Racing will be on the flag stand for the start of another Daytona 500. This time, though, Eddie will actually get to hold the green flag.
“The first thing you think about was, ‘I sure hope I don’t drop it,’” Eddie Wood said. “I always thought it would have a loop on it to go around your wrist, but it doesn’t.”
Wood Brothers Racing will serve as honorary starters for “The Great American Race.” The famed NASCAR team did the same in 2010, with founders Glenn and Leonard Wood handling flag duties with Eddie and Len standing in the background.
A unique fire suit for the Daytona 500
Justin Haley is dressed for a rough ride — more like a rodeo — at Daytona. Haley is wearing the most unique fire suit in this year’s 500, possibly in the history of the event.
Haley’s Chili’s-sponsored outfit resembles jeans and a cowboy shirt. He’s wearing it with a cowboy hat for driver introductions. Haley is driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.
He has one victory in 144 Cup Series starts, with the lone one coming in a rain-shortened race at Daytona in 2019.
Antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR explained
23XI Racing, a team co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports have filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over the charter system at the heart of the Cup Series. The system allows 36 cars to have charter that guarantees them a spot in the field at every race. There are four open spots earmarked for the field each week.
The teams banded together for negotiations seeking changes to the charter system in an often-contentious battle with NASCAR for nearly two years. Last September, NASCAR presented the teams with a take-it-or-leave-it offer just before the start of the playoffs.
Trump arrives in Daytona Beach
Air Force One landed at Daytona Beach International Airport just before 1 p.m. and after the airplane buzzed the Daytona Speedway.
Three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin, 2015 race winner Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney are listed as co-favorites (+1200) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
Hamlin starts eighth, the highest spot among the four drivers. Busch is 0 for 19 lifetime in the 500. Blaney and Logano are in Fords for Team Penske. Hamlin drives a Toyota and Busch a Chevrolet.
Some of NASCAR’s biggest stars have never won the Daytona 500. Brad Keselowski is 0 for 15. Kyle Larson is 0 for 11. And Martin Truex Jr. is 0 for 20.
Among those in attendance for the Daytona 500 were IndyCar champions Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden, who have both won the Indianapolis 500.
Newgarden has won the last two Indy 500s and the two-time series champion joined his Team Penske counterparts at Daytona. Penske has three cars in the race. Dixon is a six-time IndyCar Series champion who won the Indy 500 in 2008. He was a guest of Jimmie Johnson, who was Dixon’s teammate for two years when Johnson tried open-wheel racing.
Dixon said he’d love to enter the Daytona 500 and has been talking about it with Johnson, who owns Legacy Motor Club, which has three cars in Sunday’s race.
Trump says the spirit of NASCAR ‘will fuel America’s Golden Age’
In a presidential message released as he flew to the race, Trump said the Daytona 500 brings together people from all walks of life in a “shared passion for speed, adrenaline, and the thrill of the race.”
“From the roar of the engines on the track to the echo of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ soaring through the stands, the Daytona 500 is a timeless tribute to the speed, strength, and unyielding spirit that make America great. That spirit is what will fuel America’s Golden Age, and if we harness it, the future is truly ours.”
Trump said “the golden age of America” began with his inauguration.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: The ‘floating piece of Americana’ is still thriving
Flying a few hundred feet above the streets and shores of Daytona Beach, the Goodyear Blimp draws a crowd.
Onlookers stare and point. Drivers pull over for better looks, snapping pictures, recording videos and trying to line up the perfect selfie. For some, it’s nostalgic. For others, it’s a glimpse at a larger-than-life advertising icon.
At 100 years old, the blimp is an ageless star in the sky. And the 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 on Sunday — roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its latest and greatest anniversary tour.
Even though remote camera technologies — drones, mostly — are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2 1/2-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Mr. Worldwide takes center stage at Daytona
Pitbull is on stage for the Daytona 500 pre-race concert. He’s doing a nine-song set that includes hits “Fireball” and “Timber.”
Mr. Worldwide joined Trackhouse as an ownership partner ahead of the race team’s debut in the Cup Series in the 2021 Daytona 500. But they ended their partnership earlier this week.
Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, said he loves both NASCAR and music, and the two are part of his vision to unite people and show the opportunities that exist for all cultures.
How ‘world-class driver’ Helio Castroneves entered the race
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will race in the Daytona 500 as a special 41st driver under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional spot.
NASCAR added a new provision this year that earmarks a starting position for such drivers. Castroneves claimed that spot in the big race as part of the rule change and will be driving for Trackhouse Racing, making his NASCAR debut at 49.
The Brazilian did not want to use the provisional and hoped to race his way into the field. But he was involved in an early eight-car accident that sent his Chevrolet behind the wall for repairs and took him out of contention for one of the open spots available in his Thursday night 150-mile qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway.
“Unfortunately, we’re going to have to take the provisional,” Castroneves said. “That’s not what we wanted, but we will. And, in the end, we have more to learn.”
Trump is on his way to the Daytona 500
Air Force One took off from Palm Beach International Airport shortly after noon. According to the White House, Trump is bringing several guests to the race. Among them are his son, Eric, and grandson, Luke, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Several members of Congress are also traveling with Trump.
It will be Trump’s second appearance at the Daytona 500.
There’s a new face in the Daytona 500: Hélio Castroneves will make his NASCAR debut.
The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former “Dancing With the Stars” mirror ball winner will make his Cup Series debut at age 49. Castroneves is often miscalled “Heel-eeeoh” and doesn’t bother correcting people. The actual pronunciation is “El-eo.”
“They call me Julio, Hello, as long as they call my name, it’s OK,” Castroneves said. “It’s definitely unique.”
Name confusion is nothing new for the Brazilian, who was born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves. He changed his last name to Castroneves in 2000 after team members suggested Castro Neves was too closely associated with Fidel Castro.
It’s a wreck. OK, not just a wreck, but THE wreck that destroys cars, alters the outcome of the race and puts drivers in danger.
There was a scary one in 2020, with Ryan Newman’s terrifying tumble that nearly killed him on the final lap of the race. The wreck started when Newman hit the wall, bounced back into traffic and was drilled by another driver. His car flipped, landed on its roof and skidded to a halt in a harrowing, heart-stopping show of sparks and flames.
NASCAR fans and fellow competitors feared the worst for Newman, but the 2008 Daytona 500 winner walked out of the hospital 48 hours later holding hands with his daughters.
Chris Stapleton has arrived
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton has arrived at Daytona. Stapleton and his whiskey label are sponsoring the No. 40 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports with Justin Allgaier behind the wheel. It’s the first Daytona 500 entry for team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Stapleton visited with Team Hendrick owner Rick Hendrick, who also is affiliated with Chevrolet, as well as several drivers.
Stapleton is fresh off winning his 11th Grammy, this one for best country solo performance.
Which car manufacturers race in NASCAR?
NASCAR currently has three manufacturers: Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. Dodge spent decades in the sport before pulling out at the end of the 2012 season because of economic challenges. Dodge also was out between 1977 and 2001. Chevy and Ford have been in NASCAR since its inception, with Toyota joining in 2007.
Several past winners will take the field
The field is littered with past winners, starting with 2024 champion William Byron. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023), Austin Cindric (2022), Michael McDowell (2021), Austin Dillon (2018) and Joey Logano (2015) are all in the field.
Jimmie Johnson is a two-time winner (2006, 2013). Denny Hamlin could become the third driver ever with at least four Daytona 500 victories. He won in 2016 and then went back-to-back in 2019 and 2020.
So who has the most wins?
Richard Petty won seven times, and Cale Yarborough has four. Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Allison have three each.
Drafting at superspeedways is paramount. It’s a technique in which two or more cars race bumper-to-bumper to reduce aerodynamic drag and create more speed together than they would alone. NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson used the science to perfection to win the 1960 Daytona 500.
Even ‘The King’ gets searched
With President Trump visiting the Daytona 500 and the Secret Service on hand, extra security was all the talk around the track. Hundreds of visitors lined up at various entry gates to get through hours before the race.
Busch and Blaney are listed as co-favorites (+1200) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
Alan Ritchson gets taken for a wild ride
Actor Alan Ritchson, star of “Jack Reacher” on Amazon Prime, turned a few hot laps around Daytona International Speedway to prepare for his role as the Daytona 500 pace-car driver.
Ritchson was a passenger in a Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, with former Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. behind the wheel. Stenhouse, who had never driven an electric vehicle at Daytona, was supposed to cap his speed at 99 mph. But Ritchson peeked over and saw 130 mph.
“Are you sure you want us going as fast as you can on the first time out?” Ritchson quipped. “It’s a little creepy being that close to the wall.”
How fast are the cars going?
They are traveling about 190 mph but could be going in excess of 200 mph. NASCAR, however, mandates cars use tapered spacers to reduce the amount of air flowing into engines — thus limiting horsepower and speed. The power-sapping safety measure was first installed after Bobby Allison’s car, traveling at 210 mph, went airborne and tore through the catchfence at Talladega Superspeedway in 1987. The car came dangerously close to landing in the grandstands.
The most common ones waved by the flagman are:
Green flag: Used to start or restart a race.
Yellow flag: Slow down. Often waved because of an accident or other debris on the track that must be cleared before the race can resume.
Red flag: Stop. The track is no longer safe.
Checkered flag: Waved when a driver crosses the finish line and wins the race.
How Daytona Beach became the unofficial ‘birthplace of speed’
In 1903, two men argued over who had the fastest horseless carriage and decided to settle things in a race on the white, hardpacked sand along the Atlantic Ocean.
Since then, the region has become a motorsports mecca, and the first Daytona 500 was held Feb. 22, 1959, in front of a crowd of more than 41,000. They watched 59 cars race for a purse of less than $70,000, and the finish was so close it took three days to determine Lee Petty had edged Johnny Beauchamp.
