A sold-out crowd in Florida is bound to see contact and fireworks, as cars bump-draft their way to the front and jostle three-wide when 40 competitors take the green flag at the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s annual premier event.
Clear skies are forecast for the race set to begin at 2:30 pm ET on Fox.
Before drivers hit the track, here’s what you need to know to get up to speed for “The Great American Race.”
The new body styles and components for the competing Chevrolets, Fords and Toyotas were designed to help curb costs for teams and provide closer racing.
The cars made their debut earlier this month at the exhibition Busch Light Clash race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to rave reviews. But that race — on a temporary, quarter-mile oval — will be far different than Sunday’s race on the famed 2.5-mile circuit.
HMS up front
Hendrick Motorsports, one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history, is poised to start the year off strong after its four cars ran some of the fastest lap times in Wednesday’s single-lap qualifying.
But it is not just HMS flexing its muscles early. Driver Brad Keselowski, now racing as a co-owner for the newly christened RFK Racing, and teammate Chris Buescher each won the two preliminary Duel heat races on Thursday in their Fords.
celebrity car owners
Where first-time winners are crowned
The 500 is known for its door-to-door racing and slingshot drafting, with the entire field running within seconds of each other from front to back. And a well-timed maneuver at the right moment can give those racing for lesser-funded teams their best chance at winning all season.
Michael Waltrip had raced for 15 seasons without a victory before finally capturing the checkered flag in the 2001 Daytona 500. That race, however, was marred by the crash that took the life of NASCAR legend and Waltrip’s car owner Dale Earnhardt.
spins and wins
The side-by-side battles that define Daytona can result in photo finishes, even after 200 laps and 500 miles of racing.
No finish may top the 1979 edition, the first to be broadcast in its entirety.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism