NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl is here with the 2025 season set to begin Sunday with the Daytona 500 — the biggest event on the 38-race Cup Series schedule that runs until November.
The Daytona 500 has been held at Daytona International Speedway since its 1959 debut. This year will be the 67th running, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty is the all-time wins leader with seven victories in “The Great American Race.”
The speedway is a 2 1/2-mile oval, and the race is 200 laps — unless it goes to overtime. Last year’s race was won in regulation by William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports, and Byron became the first native of Charlotte, North Carolina, to win the event. Most NASCAR teams are based in the Charlotte area.
Because it is such a prestigious event, the Daytona 500 has a unique format to set the 40-car field. Additionally, a new rule this year allowing a provisional 41st spot in the race has been designated for an “elite driver” and will go to Helio Castroneves should the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner fail to qualify under the traditional process.
Team Penske has won the last three Cup championships, with Joey Logano winning in 2022 and 2024 and teammate Ryan Blaney claiming the 2023 title. Blaney has never won the Daytona 500, but Logano did in 2015.
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