65th Running of the Daytona 500 Set to Be Legendary

It’s an interesting juxtaposition when the NASCAR circuit makes it’s way to the fabled beaches of Daytona to kick off the season. The Daytona 500 is the biggest event of the year in the sport, yet instead of being at the end – NASCAR’s Super Bowl is the opener. A sold out crowd will be cheering on the drivers when they take the green on Sunday but there’s still a bit to cover between now and then. First, let’s talk about the field.

As always with the first race of the year, there are old faces in new places. One of the biggest stories from the off-season was Kyle Busch leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to take over the #8 car at Richard Childress Racing. Tyler Reddick left that #8 to join 23XI in the #45 car – replacing Kyle’s older brother Kurt who is taking a step back from the sport following an injury in 2022. Stepping into Kyle Busch’s old ride at JGR will be the grandson of owner Coach Joe Gibbs – Ty Gibbs. Check out the full list of teams hoping to win the Daytona 500 below:

A few names stand out on that list of drivers to be sure but none more-so than seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and legend of several disciplines, Travis Pastrana. Both Johnson and Pastrana entered speed-weeks as open cars – meaning they wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot in the field of 42. However, with their qualifying runs last night – they are now locked in to the Daytona 500 adding some serious star power to Sunday’s race.

The remaining four open car entries will attempt to race their way into the Daytona 500 at tonight’s Daytona Duel Qualifying races. Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Conor Daly, and Austin Hill will need to finish at the front of the list of open cars in their respective Duels in order to guarantee a spot in Sunday’s field. This also means two of the drivers above will miss out on the chance to compete in the biggest race of the NASCAR season.

The Daytona 500 should feature a lot of double-wide pack racing. These superspeedway races tend to be unpredictable but if he’s able to stay out of trouble expect Denny Hamlin in the #11 to be near the front at the end. Some other drivers to watch will be the Hendrick front row of Kyle Larson in the #5 and Alex Bowman in the #48 as well as NASCAR’s elder statesman Kevin Harvick making his final Daytona 500 start as a full-time driver.

2022 featured some incredible action and I can’t wait to see what the 2023 season in NASCAR has in store.

Check out the schedule below to make sure you don’t miss any racing from Daytona this weekend.

Thursday 02/16

Bluegreen Vacations Duel (NASCAR Cup Series) – 6:00 PM CT on FS1

Friday 02/17

NextEra Energy 250 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 6:30 PM CT on FS1

Saturday 02/18

BRANDT 200 Supporting Florida FFA (ARCA Menard’s Series) – 12:30 PM CT on FS1

Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 4:00 PM CT on FS1

Sunday 02/19

Daytona 500 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 1:30 PM CT on FOX