Daytona 500

Event Name	Daytona 500
Location	Daytona Beach, Florida
Capacity	123,500
Owner	NASCAR
Operator	NASCAR
Opened	1959
Major events	NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

The NASCAR Race Daytona 500 will kick off the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season of 2025. The Daytona 500 is a well known event in motorsports and has earned the moniker of "The Great American Race". The DAYTONA 500, as its name suggests, is a 500-mile race held for 200 laps. The DAYTONA 500 constitutes the four crown jewel races of the NASCAR Cup Series.

Unlike other sports, which tend to have their most important races at the end of the season, the Daytona 500 is always the first race on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar. The pomp and glamor of Daytona provide a huge boost to the championship. The DAYTONA 500 succeeds the Vacation Duels which also hold importance in the main event.

DAYTONA 500's History

The DAYTONA 500 succeeds the shorter races held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. It used to be a comparatively shorter race that lasted for 200 miles. In 1959, for the first time, a 500 lap race was held at the Daytona International Speedway and it became the second 500 mile race after the Southern 500. It was known as the 500 Mile International Sweepstakes for two years. In 1961, the race was finally named as the Daytona 500.

The race at Daytona was considered official, only after 100 laps (250 miles) had been completed. However, post the 2016 season, the stage system was introduced, according to which the race was considered official after the completion of Stage 2 (120 laps/ 300 miles). The longest Daytona 500 ever contested was during the 2023 season. The race went on for 530 miles/ 212 laps due to the green-white-checkered flag rule.

DAYTONA 500 2025 Schedule

The season opener of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series will be held on the 16th of February at 2:30 PM Eastern Time, as per NASCAR's official website. The Great American Race is going to be held on a Sunday. The race will comprise of three stages, the first two stages will be 65 laps each, and the final stage will be 70 laps long.

READ MORE: Daytona 500 Winners

DAYTONA 500 Qualifying System

The DAYTONA 500 race has a different qualifying system that every other NASCAR race. It is also the only motorsports race to feature such a qualifying system. The DAYTONA 500 is preceded by two other races which decide the starting grid for the race. The initial qualifying session decided the front row for the race, which is the pole position and the second position on the starting grid. The rest of the spots are decided through the results of these two races. The Duel at Daytona are the races which determine the starting grid for the final race of the Daytona 500.

The Duel at Daytona features two races whose starting grid is determined the results of the first qualifying session held to decide the pole position of the race. The first race, Duel 1 at Daytona races the drivers who finished the qualifying session in odd positions. The Duel 2 at Daytona features the drivers who have finished the qualifying session in even positions. Additionally, after the Duels have ended, the four fastest non-qualifiers will advance to the final race on basis on the finishing position of their teams with the highest points in the previous Cup Series season. There are also exceptions made in the final grid of the Daytona 500 for any past champions participating part-time.

The Duel at Daytona has been preceding the Daytona 500 race since 1959. The race was started as twin 100 mile races, going on for 40 laps. It was known as the Bluegreen Vacations Duel from 2020 to 2024. It has changed formats and total laps throughout its history with different sponsors like, Budweiser, Gatorade and Can-AM. As of February 2025, the Duel at Daytona is a points paying race held in the NASCAR regular season. Each race awards the top-10 drivers points from 10 to 1 based on their finishing position in the race. It also features a separate prize pool from the Daytona 500 race. Dale Earnhardt has claimed the most victories at the Duels with 12 wins to his name. The schedule timings for both of the Duels are mentioned on NASCAR's official website.

Duel 1 at Daytona

The Duel at Daytona is going to the first qualifying race which features drivers who have finished the initial qualifying session in odd positions. It is going to be a 150 mile event covering 60 laps aroudn the Daytona International Speedway.

Duel 2 at Daytona

The final qualifying race which decides the starting grid for the DAYTONA 500 2025 is going to be the Duel 2. It will feature drivers who have finished the first qualifying session in even positions. It is going to same as the Duel 1.

DAYTONA 500's Final Race

The final and deciding event will be the Great American Race itself, the DAYTONA 500 2025.

DAYTONA 500 2025 Venue

The DAYTONA 500 2025 will be held at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. As per NASCAR's official website, it is a superspeedway and the surface is paved asphalt. The track is 2.5 miles long. The banking angles of its turns are 31 degrees, whereas the tri-oval at the start/finish line has a banking of 18 degrees.

It was designed in 1959 by NASCAR Founder William “Bill” France Sr. He built the track in such a way that the banking permitted extreme speeds for drivers and a better view of cars for the fans. Daytona International Speedway races for multiple racing series. It is one of the 3 tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series that are known as drafting tracks. The longer endurance races are held at the Daytona Road Course which is 3.8 miles long. Austin Dillon holds the record for fastest car at Daytona in 2018 with a top speed of 150.545 mph.

READ MORE: Most Daytona 500 Wins

DAYTONA 500 2025 Results

The Daytona 500 2025 was delayed due to rain. Chase Briscoe started the race on pole however, the latter stages did not fall in his favor. William Byron who was among the favorites for winning the Daytona 500 claimed his second victory in the race. He managed to win the Daytona 500 consecutively etching his name among the very few drivers who have been able to do so. Byron is second in the driver standings as Ryan Blaney leads the driver leaderboard.

Drivers with the most wins in DAYTONA 500

The most notable name in the list of Daytona 500 winners is Richard Petty. The NASCAR maestro has won Daytona a whopping seven times. The driver with the most wins in Daytona and actively racing in NASCAR is Denny Hamlin. He has won the DAYTONA 500 in 2016, 2019 and 2020 respectively. Among the teams, Petty Enterprises has won the event nine times in total and Chevrolet is the most successful manufacturer in DAYTONA 500 with 25 winning cars.