The Daytona 500 is in full swing!
The highly anticipated NASCAR Cup Series race takes center stage at Daytona International Speedway – and we’ll get you all the action from start to finish!
Forty riders make up the Daytona 500 field, including past winners Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson.
Alex Bowman won pole on Wednesday night to claim his third career pole in the race as Hendrick Motorsports claimed the front row. It was Bowman’s sixth consecutive front row seat for NASCAR’s biggest race.
Here are the top moments!
engines ignited
Eight drivers who have won both a Daytona 500 and Cup Series championship gave the command to start the engines: Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Johnson, Logano and Harvick .
Johnson, Logano and Harvick had to strap themselves into their cars after command, while the rest of the field had already done so.
Fans were treated to a flyover show from the Thunderbirds as these three drivers got into position.
Green!
Tiffany Haddish waved the green flag to get things started and the 65th Daytona 500 was underway.
It was a back and forth battle from the start, with Kyle Larson leading in round 1. It wasn’t long before Bowman took the lead and secured first place as early as the second lap. The rest of the field formed a double row while Logano and Larson continued to ride almost side-by-side for the first few opening laps.
Warm up
Larson led on lap 10 but Christopher Bell was hot on his heels and continued to challenge Larson for top spot. Then Aric Almirola got involved and Almirola drove with Bell for the lead before the pit stops began on lap 37.
Fords were the first to reach the pit lane, followed by Chevrolets and then Toyotas.
Elsewhere, Ty Dillon’s race ended early due to an engine failure. This kicked off his 2023 season with a DNF.
Turn!
Riley Herbst, making his first Daytona 500 start and Cup debut, spun into the infield but made it to his pit stop. As a result, he had to serve a pit lane drive-through penalty.
More contact
Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe was pushed to the front just before Bubba Wallace, who has two second Daytona 500 finishes (2018, 2022) under his belt, crashed into the wall after a run outside of Briscoe.
After the collision, Martin Truex Jr., who once lost the Daytona 500 by 0.01 seconds, took the lead.
Stage 1 in the books
Truex and Brad Keselowski fought side-by-side for the lead with one lap to go in Stage 1, but it was Keselowski who won the opening stage by 0.05 seconds over Ryan Preece.
Rounding out the top 5 in Stage 1 were Chris Buescher, Harvick and McDowell.
traffic jam
The green flag was raised again on lap 71, the first restart of the day.
At this year’s Daytona 500, the new ‘choose rule’ was in full effect, meaning drivers could choose which lane they wanted to use on restarts, rather than everyone behind the leader switching sides. Almirola took the lead early on.
Follow the leader
Keselowski quickly regained the lead with a nudge from Preece, while 2021 Daytona 500 Champion McDowell was the fourth Ford on the inside row. Keselowski, Preece, Harvick and McDowell were in single file at the head of the lead group.
no stop
The leaders pitted as the half-time mark approached as Ryan Blaney and Buescher threw huge blocks at Tyler Reddick giving Logano the lead ahead of Blaney, Truex, Ty Gibbs and Larson.
Crash!
Logano and Buescher were racing side-by-side for the lead late in stage two when tragedy struck. Buescher cleared Logano to take the lead before causing an eight car crash involving Reddick, Truex, Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Larson, Daniel Suárez and Erik Jones.
Reddick’s car was wrecked while Elliott suffered major suspension damage.
bumper cars
A restart came with six laps to go in Stage 2. Logano was leading but Ross Chastain had other ideas. With five laps to go he was nudged to the outside line by Bowman while Truex pushed Logano forward.
All eyes at level 2
Then on Sunday, when it mattered most, Chastain took the lead for the first time and took the second stage win in style – just inches ahead of Bowman! Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cindric rounded out the top five finishers of stage two.
Stay tuned for updates!
Prepare the stage
Leading up to the action, FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass explained what – and who – to look out for in Sunday’s race before the pre-race ceremonies began.
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Singer Breland sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Daytona 500.
Drivers in the spotlight
FOX’s “NASCAR RaceDay” had extensive pre-race coverage ahead of the 65th running of the legendary Daytona 500.
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Joey Logano won Thursday’s dual races and spoke to FOX’s NASCAR RaceDay crew about how he’s feeling ahead of Sunday’s Daytona 500.
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Kevin Harvick told Jamie McMurray if he could win a race in his last season it would be the Daytona 500.
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In his meeting with Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson says it just felt right to be racing again in his 20th Daytona 500 and he wants to continue his legacy.
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Kyle Busch spoke to FOX Sports’ Tom Rinaldi about his long career in NASCAR and his dream of winning the Daytona 500.
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