A little luck, good instincts give William Byron second straight DAYTONA 500 win: Like Houdini making an unlikely escape from a straitjacket, William Byrom trusted his instincts and emerged from a smoky, last-lap wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway to win the DAYTONA 500 for the second straight time. On Sunday night, after a long rain delay and a Presidential visit, Byron took full advantage when contact from Cole Custer turned three-time DAYTONA 500 winner Denny Hamlin at the front the field and started a wreck that gave Byron the opportunity he needed.[Read More]
William Byron won the 2025 Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The win is his 2nd consecutive Daytona 500 win, 3rd win at Daytona and 14th of his career.
#45-Tyler Reddick finished 2nd followed by #84-Jimmie Johnson, pole sitter #19-Chase Briscoe, #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #48-Alex Bowman, #12-Ryan Blaney, #2-Austin Cindric, #40-Justin Allgaier, and #17-Chris Buescher.
The race ended after the first Overtime attempt. Overtime was set up by an accident with 5 laps remaining and involved #60-Ryan Preece getting airborn. Byron was running 9th at the white flag. Cindric and #11-Denny Hamlin were side by side for the lead on the final lap, but the field bunched up on the backstretch and caused Hamlin and Cindric to lose control. Byron shot to the lead and held off Reddick by .11 second. Despite the accident on the backstretch, NASCAR did not throw the caution and the the drivers race to the finish.
After the start was moved up an hour due to the forecast, the race was twice red flagged due to rain, once for 3 hours, 10 minutes and the other for 20 minutes.
#22-Joey Logano won Stage 1. #12-Ryan Blaney won Stage 2.
There were 56 lead changes among 15 drivers and 8 cautions for 47 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 129.159mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – Daytona:
William Byron won the DAYTONA 500, his 14th victory in 253 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 15 races at Daytona International Speedway. Fifth driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, first since Denny Hamlin (2019-2020).
Tyler Reddick (second) posted his third top-10 finish in 12 races at Daytona International Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2025.
Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 17th top-10 finish in 41 races at Daytona International Speedway. Johnson’s best Daytona 500 finish since his win in 2013, first top five finish since 2020
Riley Herbst (17th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ryan Blaney leads the point standings by 6 points over Alex Bowman.
Youngest driver to win multiple Daytona 500s breaking the record held by Jeff Gordon also in the #24 (Younger than Gordon by 4 months – Gordon was 27y, 6mo, 10 days). Byron is 27 years, 2 months and 18 days old.
This is the 10th Daytona 500 win for Hendrick Motorsports, the series-most.
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after Daytona:
Race 1 of 26 in the regular season:
1) #24-William Byron, 1 win, 50 points, [5 playoff points]
2) #12-Ryan Blaney, 51, [regular season points leader], [1 playoff point] +30 ahead of 17th
3) #2-Austin Cindric, 48, +27 ahead of 17th
4) #45-Tyler Reddick, 44, +23 ahead of 17th
5) #48-Alex Bowman, 42, +21 ahead of 17th
6) #17-Chris Buescher, 40, +19 ahead of 17th
7) #43-Erik Jones, 40, +19 ahead of 17th
8) #84-Jimmie Johnson, 34 [not running full season], +13 ahead of 17th
9) #42-John Hunter Nemechek, 34, +13 ahead of 17th
10) #19-Chase Briscoe, 33, +12 ahead of 17th
11) #9-Chase Elliott, 33, +12 ahead of 17th
12) #10-Ty Dillon, 31, +10 ahead of 17th
13) #99-Daniel Suarez, 29, +8 ahead of 17th
14) #71-Michael McDowell, 27, +6 ahead of 17th
15) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 26, +5 ahead of 17th
16) #54-Ty Gibbs, 21, +0 ahead of 17th
Outside the top 16:
17) #22-Joey Logano, 21 [1 playoff point]
18) #35-Riley Herbst, 20
19) #01-Corey LaJoie, 20 [not running full season]
20) #11-Denny Hamlin, 20
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race Updates:
Checkered flag for William Byron! Tyler Reddick finishes second. Hamlin got turned on the backstretch after contact from Briscoe, but NASCAR let the race finish under green.
White flag – Cindric leads Hamlin by .075 second. Custer is behind Cindric, Herbst is behind Hamlin. Herbst spins but continues. No caution.
Lap 200 – Green flag for the first Overtime attempt.
Lap 198 – Pit road is open. Leaders stay out.
Lap 197 – Back to yellow flag after about 6 minutes.
Lap 197 – Red flag for track cleanup. Current top 10: Hamlin, Cindric, Custer, Herbst, Bowman, LaJoie, Briscoe, Nemechek, Byron, ADillon, Jones.
Lap 196 – Caution! Bell spins after contact from Custer. Bell came down into Preece who pushed into Jones and got airborne, but came to a stop right side up and he got out of the car. Keselowski, Larson, Jones, Wallace and Suarez also with some damage. Will have an overtime finish.
Lap 196 – Hamlin and Bell side by side for the lead. Cindric is lined up behind Hamlin, Custer is behind Bell.
Lap 195 – 6 to go. Hamlin now the leader over Bell, Cindric, Herbst, and Custer
Lap 194 – Cindric retakes the lead. Hamlin is second.
Lap 193 – Green flag. LaJoie leads Cindric. Cindric has led the most laps tonight. Busch and Gilliland have gone to the garage.
Lap 191 – Will go back to green with 8 laps remaining.
Lap 190 – Pit road is open but the leaders stay out.
Lap 188 – Under caution: LaJoie, Cindric, Nemechek, Hamlin, ADillon, Bell, Jones, Herbst, Custer, Suarez.
Lap 186 – LaJoie is now the leader. Caution for an accident on the backstretch: Logano, Blaney, Stenhouse, Gragson, Busch, Elliott involved. Logano tried to move into the middle lane and Stenhouse moved down to block him. Logano got forced down the track longer and lost control.
Lap 186 – 15 to go. Cindric leads but LaJoie and Stenhouse have moved to 2nd and 3rd on the outside.
Lap 181 – 20 to go. Cindric and Blaney still up front. Drivers are starting to try to work their way into position for the end.
Lap 176 – Just 25 laps remaining. The field has spread out some with the first 10 cars single file. Cindric leads Blaney, Busch, ADillon and Bell the top 5. Busch’s team says he needs to save some fuel.
Lap 170 – Cindric leads Blaney, Busch, ADillon, Bell, Herbst, Hamlin, Nemechek.
Lap 167 – Zane Smith out from accident damage.
Lap 166 – Green flag with 35 laps remaining.
Lap 164 – Leaders pit. Cindric is off pit road first, then Wallace, Blaney, Byron.
Lap 162 – Caution is out for debris on the track, apparently from Zane Smith. He heads to the garage This could be everyone’s final pit stop of the night.
Lap 162 – Most of the field is packed up and three wide. Blaney leads Wallace by .01 second at the line. Third place Byron is .023 second out of the lead.
Lap 159 – Blaney and Wallace continue to swap the lead. Without a caution, drivers are going to need to pit for fuel in the next 20 laps or so.
Lap 153 – Josh Berry is officially out from his earlier accident.
Lap 151 – Down to 50 laps remaining. Wallace leads Byron Blaney Elliott and Busch. The top 29 drivers are separated by 1.4 second.
Lap 141 – Wallace leads for the first time tonight.
Lap 138 – Green flag for the final stage. 67 laps remaining. Blaney, Wallace, Cindric, Busch, Elliott, Johnson, Larson, Buescher, Jones, Byron.
Lap 134 – Most lead lap cars pit. Tires and fuel all around. Blaney off pit road first.
Lap 133 – Logano pits before pits are open so the team can change the air box. He will go to the rear for the start of the stage.
Lap 131 – Caution for the end of stage 1. Blaney wins he. He’s followed by Cindric, Elliott, Bowman, Gilliland, Buescher, Jones, Logano, Wallace, Busch.
Lap 125 – Cars are side by side with 6 laps to go in the stage. Cindric leads Bowman.
Lap 21 – 10 laps to go in stage 1. Cindric leads Blaney, Elliott, Gilliland and Herbst.
Josh Berry and Zane Smith have both come back on to track after repairs.
Lap 111 – 20 laps remaining in stage 2. The field continues to run in a pack, three wide through most of it. The top 5 at the moment: Cindric, Elliott, Blaney, Bowman and Suarez. Bowman is reporting a vibration.
Lap 101 – The race is now past halfway and official. Preece leads Gragson, Bowman, Cindric, McDowell, Buescher, Elliott, Gilliland, Bell and Blaney.
Lap 96 – Now Gragson to the front.
Lap 95 – McDowell back out front as the field stays packed together.
Lap 93 – Cindric takes the lead back.
Lap 92 – McDowell leads for the first time tonight.
Lap 90 – Logano’s team thinks they fixed the car. He is back on the lead lap and currently 30th.
Lap 87 – Back to green. Cindric leads. Elliott, Gragson, Blaney and Preece round out the top 5.
Lap 86 – Drivers that did not pit last lap come down this time for fuel.
Lap 85 – Most leaders come back on pit road to top off on fuel.
Lap 83 – Caution for debris in turn 1. Logano is the free pass but he still has engine problems.
Lap 82 – Back to Cindric out front.
Lap 81 – Gragson leads at the line by .013 second over Preece.
Lap 80 – Preece leads Buescher.
Lap 79 – Cindric to the lead.
Lap 78 – Out of the race: Chastain and Castroneves due to the accident.
Lap 77 – Back to green: Blaney, Buescher, Suarez, Stenhouse, Cindric, Preece, Gragson, McDowell, Wallace, Briscoe the top 10. Logano reports he still has something wrong with the engine. He’s now a lap down. Truex is officially out of the race.
Lap 75 – Leaders come back to pit road for service. Logano’s crew is in the car changing out the ECU.
Lap 74 – Truex also to the garage under the damaged vehicle policy. They can repair the car and return.
Lap 73 – Chastain goes to the garage. He suffered the worst damage in that wreck.
Lap 71 – Caution right back out. Wreck in turn 1. Logano did not get a good start. He says the car didn’t have full power. The field stacked up behind him. Involved: Chastain, Castroneves, Briscoe, Busch, Johnson, Herbst, Nemechek, Allgaier, Truex, Custer, Ware. Josh Berry is the free pass.
Lap 71 – Green flag for the start of stage 2: Logano, Blaney, Suarez, Bowman, Stenhouse, Wallace, Reddick, Elliott, Byron, Bell the top 10. This stage ends after 130 laps.
Lap 68 – Pit road is busy. Four tires and fuel for everyone. Logano and Blaney off first. Busch and Allgaier have a crew member over the wall too soon and will drop to the rear for the start.
Lap 66 – End of stage 1 under caution: Logano, Keselowski, Blaney, Stenhouse, Bell, Suarez, Bowman, Reddick, Jones, Byron. Zane Smith takes his car to the garage. He’s on the damaged vehicle policy.
Lap 63 – Caution is out for an accident involving Hamlin, ZSmith, Berry. Hamlin checked up and got tapped in the rear by Smith. Berry was collected. Berry with the worst of the damage. Smith has a broken toe link. The stage will end under caution.
Lap 61 – Five laps remaining in stage 1: Logano, Keselowski, Blaney, Stenhouse, Bell, Bowman, Suarez, Jones, Reddick, Gilliland.
Lap 59 – Allmendinger officially done for the night with an engine problem.
Lap 57 – Keselowski has moved to second.
Lap 51 – 15 laps left in stage 1. Logano continues to lead. Byron now second, Hamlin up to third. The top 33 are within 2 seconds of each other.
Lap 47 – Allmendinger is being pushed to the garage.
Lap 43 – Logano retakes the lead. Busch to second. Allmendinger is slowing. He says the engine is blowing up.
Lap 41 – 25 laps remaining in stage 1. Everyone should be good on fuel. Elliott takes the lead over Logano, Busch, Cindric, LaJoie, Wallace, Byron, Briscoe, Stenhouse, and TDillon.
Lap 37 – Logano back to the lead.
Lap 33 – Corey LaJoie to the lead.
Lap 32 – Byron takes the lead. TDillon to second then LaJoie, Logano, and Elliott. The field is still bunched up.
Lap 27 – Logano continues to lead. Most of the field is three wide.
Lap 24 – 6:21pm/et – Back to green flag. Logano leads Blaney, Cindric, Byron, TDillon and Briscoe.
Lap 23 – Several drivers come into the pits to top off on fuel. Everyone should now be able to make it to the end of the stage without stopping.
6:15pm/et – Back to yellow flag. This red flag was 20 minutes, 29 seconds. Weather looks good for the rest of the night. It will be a (mostly) prime-time Daytona 500.
6:14 pm/et – Engines are re-fired once again.
6:06pm/et – NASCAR says drivers can get out of the cars but should stay close. They should be back underway within 20 minutes.
6:02pm/et – Teams can uncover the cars.
6:00pm/et – There’s no rain in turns 3&4, just light sprinkles in 1&2. Track dryers are out. This should be a relatively short stoppage.
5:54pm/et – Red flag is back out.
Lap 21 – NASCAR will have to bring the drivers back down to pit road. They will stay in the cars.
Lap 20 – Reports of more rain along the frontstretch.
Lap 19 – Light rain reported in turn 1. Cars will stay on the track but not going back to green yet. It’s now Blaney, Smith, McDowell, Herbst, Johnson, Logano, Byron, Cindric, Stenhouse, Briscoe.
Lap 18 – Several drivers come back down pit road for additional fuel. Rain is reported about 10 minutes out. There are a few sprinkles on the track.
Lap 17 – The field is on pit road. Most drivers only take fuel. Off pit road: Logano, Byron, Cindric, Stenhouse, Briscoe, Chastain, TDillon, Wallace, Busch, Nemechek
5:42pm/et – Pit road is open. Quickie yellow. Should be green in a couple laps. One more cell of rain close to the track.
5:41pm/et – NASCAR says the track is ready.
5:34pm/et – Pit road will stay closed while NASCAR dries it.
5:30pm/et – Engines have been re-fired. Yellow flag is back out. The red flag was 3 hours, 9 minutes, 59 seconds.
5:20pm/et – NASCAR says drivers can get in the cars. All spotters are present.
5:18m/et – The rain west of the track continues to weaken. It may still hit the track but should not soak everything.
5:15pm/et – Crews are now uncovering the cars and getting them ready to restart the race. No adjustments or air pressure changes are allowed.
4:57pm/et – NASCAR says all drivers should be at their cars at 5:25pm/et. Covers can come off the cars at 5:15pm/et.
4:50pm/et – Progress continues to be made at a good pace. It seems likely to at least get some more laps in before anymore rain. Even then, additional rain should be lighter and quicker to pass through.
4:39pm/et – Track drying continues. The next band of rain appears to be about 2 hours out at this rate, but could lighten up.
4:32pm/et – Fox has cut away from live coverage to show a portion of last year’s race.
4:07pm/et – Still dry at the track for now. NASCAR says they are making good progress on the frontstrech.
3:40pm/et – Track drying equipment is going out on track.
3:33pm/et – Reports are that there is about 20-30 minutes of additional rain in this system, then a break. However, there is additional rain beyond that. Still appears that rain could be over in a couple hours.
3:24pm/et -Still light rain all around the track. NASCAR does have some vehicles out removing some of the standing water.
2:58pm/et – NASCAR still reporting rain all around the track.
2:24pm/et – NASCAR says rain has picked up in turns 1 & 2. Driver will be allowed out of the cars and they will be covered up. It is expected that rain could last 2-3 hours, but wind is pushing it through quickly. It will likely take a couple hours to dry the track once the rain has stopped.
Lap 12 – Red flag is out for weather at 2:20pm/et. Drivers are told to stay in their cars for now. Official say the track has not been lost yet.
Lap 11 – The race will be red-flagged for rain.
Lap 10 – Caution is out at 2:13pm/et for rain in turns 1 & 2. The top 10: Byron, Cindric, TDillon, Briscoe, Logano, Chastain, LaJoie, Wallace, Reddick, Nemechek.
Lap 9 – William Byron now the leader as Ty Dillon falls to 5th. Carson Hocevar has lost the draft with a fuel pressure issue.
Lap 6 – Ty Dillon now leads over Byron, Briscoe, Chastain and Wallace. Much of the field is three wide.
Lap 2 – Chase Briscoe leads the first lap.
Lap 1 – NASCAR already checking for weather in the turns. Officials say some light rain in turn 2 but everything else clear.
• 2:06pm/et – Green flag for the 67th Annual Daytona 500. Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric on the front row. Rain is likely before the end of the first stage.
• 1:56pm/et – Cars are on the pace laps. There are two additional pace laps due to President Trump leading the field. Will be green in a few minutes. Weather is approaching the track and there could be rain in the next 30 minutes or so.
• 1:46pm/et – Engines are fired!
• 1:36pm/et – 10 minutes to the command to fire engines.
• 1:32pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
• 1:12pm/et – Rain is staring to build northwest of the track. It appears to be about 90 minutes away but wind is picking up at the track.
• NASCAR says that #47-Ricky Stenhouse Jr will also drop to the rear for multiple inspection failures.
• 12:00pm/et – Two hours until the scheduled green flag. The National Weather Service says there is a 50% chance of rain at that time, then 65% at 3:00pm/et. The rain chances fall after that.
• 11:30am/et – FOX is now on the air with Daytona 500 coverage.
• Currently, nine drivers will drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race. They are listed below.
• Rain looks likely this afternoon but it won’t be an all day event. The highest chance if rain is between 2:30 & 4:30pm/et. The National Weather Service forecast is:
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 3pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 3pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Windy, with a south wind 15 to 25 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Race details:
Broadcast: FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200 laps / 500 miles
Stages: 65 / 130 / 200
Average time of race: 3:27:13
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution car speed: 70 mph
Fuel Window: 48 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Invocation: 1:32 p.m.
National Anthem: 1:33 p.m.
Command: 1:45 p.m.
Green Flag: 2:00 p.m
Cars to the rear for Daytona 500:
#5-Kyle Larson – backup car
#6-Brad Keselowski – backup car
#7-Justin Haley – backup car
#35-Riley Herbst – backup car
#47-Ricky Stenhouse Jr – multiple inspection failures
#48-Alex Bowman – backup car
#54-Ty Gibbs – backup car
#88-Shane Van Gisbergen – backup car
#91-Hélio Castroneves – engine change
#99-Danie Suarez – backup car
Final practice for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is over after 50 minutes. The results:
#6-Brad Keselowski 193.30
#48-Alex Bowman 193.274
#41-Cole Custer 193.211
#40-Justin Allgaier 193.203
#5-Kyle Larson 193.195
Slowest: #51-Cody Ware, 178.412mph
Most laps run: #6-Keselowski, #48-Bowman, #60-Preece, #17-Buescher, 28 laps
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 13 drivers): #48-Alex Bowman, 191.563mph.
Notes: The session was non-eventful. There were no incidents or cautions. Just 24 drivers practiced.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Final Daytona 500 Practice speeds page.
Friday practice for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is over. The results:
#24-William Byron 194.923
#9-Chase Elliott 194.763
#47-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 194.678
#8-Kyle Busch 194.396
#3-Austin Dillon 194.032
Slowest: #77-Carson Hocevar, 180.046mph
Most laps run: Four Ford drivers ran 31 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 10 drivers): #38-Zane Smith 191.748mph
Notes: Rain stopped the session with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Just 30 drivers chose to participate during the session. Some are still repairing cars from last night and others plan to practice tomorrow when conditions will be more like race time.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Friday Daytona 500 Practice speeds page.
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway have been made.
Pole winner #19-Chase Briscoe chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #2-Austin Cindric took the 2nd stall.
See all pit choices on the Daytona 500 Pit Stall chart.
Due to potential weather forecasted for the Daytona Beach area late Sunday, NASCAR announced the DAYTONA 500 will move up one hour from its originally scheduled time to now begin at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The weekend schedule has been updated accordingly.
Field set for Daytona 500: With the conclusion of the Duels, the lineup is set for Sunday’s Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
#19-Chase Briscoe and #2-Austin Cindric earned the front row based on their qualifying speeds Wednesday night.
The rest of the top 10:
#23-Bubba Wallace, #43-Erik Jones, #24-William Byron, #17-Chris Buescher, #10-Ty Dillon, #11-Denny Hamlin, #1-Ross Chastain, and #22-Joey Logano.
After the front row, the odd numbered starting positions were based on the finishes in Duel 1, the even number positions were based on Duel 2 finishing spots.
Open teams that made the race: #40-Justin Allgaier (duel 1 finish), #01-Corey LaJoie (duel 2 finish), #56-Martin Truex Jr (qualifying speed), #84-Jimmie Johnson (qualifying speed), #91-Hélio Castroneves (open exemption provisional).
With Castroneves, the starting field will be 41 cars.
Drivers that did not make the race: #44-J.J. Yeley, #62-Anthony Alfredo, #66-Chandler Smith, and #78-B.J. McLeod.
See the full field on the Daytona 500 Starting Lineup page.
Due to the number of teams needing to make repairs, NASCAR will open the Cup garage two hours early on Friday:
10:00 am – NCS garage opens
5:35 pm – 6:25 pm NCS Practice 2
8:00 pm – NCS Garage closes.
See the full schedule here.
Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete. All clear.
Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric win Duels; Allgaier puts JRM Chevrolet in the show: With a push from teammate Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace surged ahead of 2024 DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron to win Thursday night’s first Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race and earn the third starting position for the Sunday’s 67th running of the Great American Race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Driving the No. 23XI Racing Toyota, Wallace edged Byron by 0.082 seconds, as intense drama unfolded behind the two frontrunners.[Read More]
Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric won their Duel races Thursday night.
Open teams that made the race: #40-Justin Allgaier (duel 1 finish), #01-Corey LaJoie (duel 2 finish),
#56-Martin Truex Jr (qualifying speed), #84-Jimmie Johnson (qualifying
speed), #91-Hélio Castroneves (open exemption provisional).
DNQ: #44-J.J. Yeley, #62-Anthony Alfredo, #66-Chandler Smith, and #78-B.J. McLeod.
#2-Austin Cindric won the second Duel for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
#43-Erik Jones finished second, followed by #17-Chris Buescher, #11-Denny Hamlin, #22-Joey Logano, #6-Corey LaJoie, #34-Todd Gilliland, #12-Ryan Blaney, #42-John Hunter Nemechek, and #20-Christopher Bell
The race ended under caution with a last lap accident. NASCAR reviewed positions at the finish to determine Cindric was ahead of Jones at that time.
#01-Corey LaJoie, in 6th, was the top finishing open driver and will race Sunday.
#84-Jimmie Johnson will make the Daytona 500 based on his qualifying speed.
#62-Anthony Alfredo and #78-B.J. McLeod did not make the race.
The second Duel race sets the outside lane of the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.
There were 2 cautions for 6 laps and 16 lead changes among 7 leaders.
See complete results on the Duel #2 race results page.
Duel 2 Race Fast Facts:
- Austin Cindric won the Duel 2 at DAYTONA, his first victory in the DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Race at Daytona International Speedway.
- Rick Ware Racing’s Corey LaJoie and the No. 01 team has raced their way into the DAYTONA 500 as an Open car.
- LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s Jimmie Johnson has earned his spot in the DAYTONA 500 on Qualifying Speed.
- Bubba Wallace (Duel 1 Winner) is the 50th different driver to win the Duel at DAYTONA races, and Austin Cindric (Duel 2 Winner) is the 51st different driver to win a Duel.
Race Updates – Duel 2:
#2-Austin Cindric declared the winner by NASCAR after reviewing positions at the time of caution. #43-Jones will be second.
Checkered flag for ???? Race finish is under review. Timing and scoring shows #43-Jones ahead of #2-Cindric by .004 second but the caution came out just before the end of the race. #01-LaJoie is the top finishing open driver and will make the Daytona 500.
White flag for #2-Cindric. He’s ahead of #22-Logano, #43-Jones, #7-Buescher, and #11-Hamlin.
Lap 59 – #2-Cindric back out front. #01-LaJoie still 4th.
Lap 58 – #17-Buescher ahead of #2-Cindric by just .004 seconds. Three laps to go.
Lap 57 – #2-Cindric back out front of #17-Buescher by .06 second.
Lap 56 – #17-Buescher to the lead over #2-Cindric by .014 second.
Lap 55 – #2-Cindric to the lead with #22-Logano second.
Lap 54 – Green flag with 7 laps remaining: #17-Buescher, #2-Cindric, #22-Logano, #01-LaJoie, #4-Gragson, #12-Blaney, #88-Van Gisbergen, #62-Alfredo, #43-Jones, #41-Custer the top 10.
Lap 49 – Open team positions: #01-LaJoie 4th, #62-Alfredo 8th, #78-McLeod 15th, #84-Johnson 16th.
Lap 48 – Caution is out. Accident on the backstretch involving #99-Suarez, #6-Keselowski and #48-Bowman. #17-Buescher is the leader.
Lap 47 – The rest of the Ford pit. #6-Keselowski penalty for removing equipment.
Lap 46 – Half of the Fords to pit road.
Lap 45 – #12-Blaney to the lead as pit stops begin with the Chevys and Toyotas coming down first. #42-Nemechek, #11-Hamlin, and #5-Larson were all too fast on pit road.
Lap 41 – 20 laps to go. #99-Suarez leads #11-Hamlin and #5-Larson. Pit stops for fuel are coming soon.
Lap 39 – #84-Johnson is now a lap down. He will still make the race on his qualifying time.
Lap 37 – #12-Blaney to the lead over #99-Suarez. #62-Alfredo up to 7th, now the highest running open team.
Lap 35 – #84-Johnson pitted by himself after thinking he could be running out of fuel.
Lap 33 – #99-Suarez the leader at the line. #01-LaJoie, in 11th, still in position to get the last open team spot.
Lap 31 – The race is already halfway and caution free so far. #43-Jones continues to lead. Then #99-Suarez, #84-Johnson, #11-Hamlin, and #12-Blaney. Without a caution, pit stops for fuel would be expected in the next 10-15 laps.
Lap 24 – #43-Jones continues to lead with #84-Johnson second. #01-LaJoie is 13th, best of the remaining open drivers.
Lap 20 – #43-Jones back in front. #84-Johnson up to second.
Lap 19 – #12-Blaney now the leader over #43-Jones.
Lap 17 – #43-Jones now leads. #84-Johnson is the top open driver, running in 14th
Lap 10 – Calm race so far. Drivers are side by side through the field. #11-Hamlin, #5-Larson, #2-Cindric, #22-Logano, #17-Buscher the top 5.
Lap 4 – #11-Hamlin takes the lead.
Lap 2 – #2-Cindric leads the first lap.
9:11pm/et – Green flag for the race. Open cars in this duel are #84-Jimmie Johnson, #01-Corey LaJoie, #62-Anthony Alfredo, and #78-B.J. McLeod. The highest finisher makes the race. #84-Johnson is already locked in due to his qualifying speed last night. If he is the top finisher tonight, #01-LaJoie will get the final open team spot.
#20-Christopher Bell will start at the rear for unapproved adjustments.
9:00pm/et – Engines are fired.
The command to fire engines is expected at 9:00pm/et
#23-Bubba Wallace won the first Duel for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
#24-William Byron finished second, followed by #10-Ty Dillon, #1-Ross Chastain, #45-Tyler Reddick, #16-A.J. Allmendinger, #3-Austin Dillon, #9-Chase Elliott, #40-Justin Allgaier, and #8-Kyle Busch.
#40-Justin Allgaier was the top finishing open driver and will race Sunday.
#56-Martin Truex Jr finished 15th but will make the Daytona 500 based on his qualifying speed.
#44-J.J. Yeley finished 17th and will miss the race.
#66-Chandler Smith was involved in an accident, finished 20th and will miss the race.
#91-Hélio Castroneves finished 22nd but will make the race through an open exemption provisional. The team will be allowed to compete but will not get points or money.
The first Duel race sets the inside lane of the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.
There were 4 cautions for 15 laps and 20 lead changes among 10 drivers.
See complete results on the Duel #1 race results page.
Duel 1 Race Fast Facts:
- Bubba Wallace won the Duel 1 at DAYTONA, his first victory in the DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Race at Daytona International Speedway.
- JR Motorsports’ No. 40 and driver Justin Allgaier have raced their way into the DAYTONA 500 in the Duel 1 at DAYTONA.
- TRICON Garage’s Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 56 Toyota team have raced their way into the DAYTONA 500 on qualifying speed.
- Trackhouse Racing’s Helio Castroneves will elect to use the Open Exemptional Provisional and will start 41st in the DAYTONA 500.
Race Updates – Duel 1:
Checkered flag: #23-Wallace wins over #24-Byron, #10-Dillon, #1-Chastain, and #45-Reddick. #40-Allgaier finishes 9th. He’s the top finishing open driver and will make the Daytona 500 for JR Motorsports.
White flag: #23-Wallace the leader.
Lap 59 – Two laps remaining, #23-Wallace just ahead of #10-Dillon. #40-Allgaier now in position to make the Daytona 500.
Lap 58 – #10-Dillon back to the lead, by .014 second.
Lap 57 – #23-Wallace back to the lead. #44-Yeley now in position to make the Daytona 500. #24-Byron thinks his engine is blowing up.
Lap 56 – #10-Dillon leads #23-Wallace by .07 second at the line.
Lap 54 – Seven laps remaining. #56-Truex now 12th, #44-Allgaier 13th, #44-Yeley 14th. #10-Dillon leads #23-Wallace at the line.
Lap 52 – #23-Wallace just ahead of #10-Dillon at the line. Drivers now starting to jockey for position. 9 laps to go.
Lap 49 – Two by two through most of the field. #23-Wallace and #24-Byron side by side for the lead. #45-Reddick is pushing #23-Wallace. #1-Chastain is pushing #24-Byron.
Lap 47 – Green flag with 14 laps remaining: #23-Wallace, #45-Reddick, #24-Byron, #10-Dillon, #1-Chastain, #8-Busch, #9-Elliott, #3-Dillon, #40-Allgaier, #16-Allmendinger. #44-Yeley is 11th, #56-Truex is 17th.
Lap 43 – Caution out for debris on the backstretch.
Lap 41 – #23-Wallace out front again.
Lap 40 – The top running open driver is #40-Allgaier in 10th. #44-Yeley is 12th and #56-Truex is 14th.
Lap 39 – #60-Preece gets the lead from #23-Wallace at the line.
Lap 37 – #23-Wallace back out front.
Lap 35 – #24-Byron back to the lead.
Lap 33 – #23-Wallace to the lead. The field continues to primary run side by side.
Lap 31 – #24-Byron takes the lead.
Lap 30 – #1-Chastain now the leader.
Lap 29 – Green flag with #9-Elliott, #11-Chastain, #3-Dillon, #24-Byron, and #16-Allmendinger the top 5.
Lap 28 – #19-Briscoe goes to the garage and is done for the night. He suffered some damage from the debris.
Lap 25 – Caution is out for debris in turn 4.
Lap 24 – #9-Elliott to the lead.
Lap 22 – #21-Berry is back in the lead.
Lap 20 – Back to green flag racing. #71-McDowell leads #9-Elliott, #21-Berry, #3-Dillon and #16-Allmendinger.
Lap 17 – Everyone pits for fuel. They can made it the rest of the way. Some change tires as well.
Lap 14 – #19-Briscoe, who’s on the pole for the Daytona 500, has dropped to the back of the field to stay out of trouble. Caution is now out due to a heavy accident by #66-Smith after contact with #7-Haley. He will not make the Daytona 500. #54-Gibbs has some damage. #91-Castorneves also is off the track. He will take the open provisional to make the race.
Lap 12 – #38-Smith is officially out of the race.
Lap 11 – #9-Elliott has taken the lead.
Lap 8 – Green flag back out. Drivers that stayed out earlier pitted before the green to top off on fuel. #21-Berry is the leader over #19-Briscoe. #38-Smith goes to the garage.
Lap 6 – Most of the field pits under caution. #54-Gibbs, #23-Wallace, #45-Reddick, #47-Stenhouse, and #77-Hocevar stay out.
Lap 5 – Under caution it’s #19-Briscoe, #60-Preece, #21-Berry, #3-Dillon and #10-Dillon. #56-Truex is the highest running open car, in 13th. #66-Chandler Smith is 14th.
Lap 3- First caution of the race is out. #38-Zane Smith got into the wall but continues on. He says he cut a tire.
Lap 2 – It was a clean first lap. #60-Preece now leads #19-Briscoe.
7:29pm/et – Green flag for the first duel. All drivers are on track but #1-Chastain is a half lap back.
#1-Ross Chastain also came to pit road with a gas pedal issue.
#60-Ryan Preece’s team also checked his car on pit road.
Crew members working on #9-Chase Elliott’s car during pace laps. He has a brake issue.
7:14pm/et – Engines have been fired.
The command to fire engines will come at 7:14pm/et
7:01pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
NASCAR now says the green flag time is TBD based on track drying
Green flag is scheduled for 7:21pm/et. The races will be on FS1.
Duel race info:
Invocation: 7:01:20 p.m.
National Anthem: 7:02:00 p.m.
Command: On a hold for track drying following anthem
Green Flag: On a hold for track drying following anthem
Broadcast: FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 60 laps / 150 miles
Stages: No stage breaks
Average time of race: Duel 1: 50:53; Duel 2: 54:31
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution car speed: 70 mph
Fuel Window: 48 laps
Duel Races Pit stall selections
Pre-Race Inspection Update: Both the original listed crew chiefs for the Nos. 34 and 51 cars in the NASCAR Cup Series have been ejected for the balance of the 500 weekend for improper weights.
Updated Crew Chiefs:
#34: Kevyn Rebolledo
#51: Tommy Baldwin
Chase Briscoe earns Toyota’s first pole position for DAYTONA 500: Chase Briscoe spoiled Ford’s pole position party during Wednesday night’s qualifying session for the 67th running of the DAYTONA 500. Fastest in both rounds of time trials, Briscoe turned a lap in 49.249 seconds (182.745 mph) to secure the top starting spot for Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).[Read More]
#19-Chase Briscoe won the Busch pole for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway with speed of 182.745, for his first Daytona 500 pole, second pole at Daytona and third pole of his career.
#2-Austin Cindric will start the race in second.
The rest of the field will be set after the Duel races on Thursday night. Qualifying sets the lineup for those races.
#19-Chase Briscoe will start on the pole for the first duel, followed by #60-Ryan Preece, #21-Josh Berry, #3-Austin Dillon, and #10-Ty Dillon.
#2-Austin Cindric is the pole sitter for the second duel, followed by #22-Joey Logano, #11-Denny Hamlin, #20-Christopher Bell, and #5-Kyle Larson.
The fastest two open team drivers: #56-Martin Truex Jr. and #84-Jimmie Johnson are guaranteed a starting position in the race based on their qualifying speeds. Their starting spots for the race will be determined by their finish in the Duels. They can also qualify by being the top open driver in their Duel race.
The remaining open drivers: #40-Justin Allgaier, #01-Corey LaJoie, #62-Anthony Alfredo, #66-Chandler Smith, #78-B.J. McLeod, and #44-J.J. Yeley need to race their way in. The top open driver in each Duel makes the race. If Truex or Johnson race their way in, Allgaier and LaJoie could rely on their qualifying speeds to get in.
#91-Hélio Castroneves will be able to make the race through an open exemption provisional if he does not qualify through his Duel finish tomorrow night.
See the Qualifying results, Duel #1 Starting Lineup and Duel #2 Starting Lineup page.
Daytona International Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Chase Briscoe won the Pole Award for the DAYTONA 500 with a lap of 49.249 seconds, 182.745 mph.
This is his third pole in 145 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2025.
This is his second pole in nine races at Daytona International Speedway.
Austin Cindric (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2025 and his fifth in eight races at Daytona International Speedway.
Ryan Preece (third) posted his third top-10 start at Daytona International Speedway. It is his first in one race this season.
Riley Herbst (27th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
This is Toyota’s first pole in the Daytona 500.
TRICON Garage’s Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56) and Legacy Motor Club’s Jimmie Johnson (No. 84) have qualified into the DAYTONA 500 as the two open cars on speed.
(NASCAR)
NASCAR Cup Series pre-qualifying inspection is complete at Daytona.
- 23 of 25 cars passed on their second attempt.
- #51 #66 passed third attempt.
#51 Engineer Chris Stanley and #66 Car Chief Dylan Roberts have been ejected for the duel races for multiple inspection failures, they can return to track on Friday 2/14 for the remainder of this event. #51 and #66 will also lose pit selection for the Daytona Duel races.
Paint Schemes – Getty
Paint Schemes – Joel Bray
Driver and Car Shots
Qualifying Order
Opening practice for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is over after 50 minutes. The results:
#11-Denny Hamlin 187.480
#23-Bubba Wallace 186.915
#45-Ty Gibbs 186.370
#66-Chandler Smith 186.177
#42-John Hunter Nemechek 186.100
Slowest: #44-J.J. Yeley 179.669
Most laps run: #11-Denny Hamlin, 19 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 7 drivers): #54-Ty Gibbs, 184.379mph.
Notes: Drivers that did not practice: #7-Justin Haley, #71-Michael McDowell.
The session was mostly single car runs with teams shaking down the cars for qualifying tonight. There was some limited drafting near the end.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the First Daytona 500 Practice speeds page.
The entry list for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is posted, 45 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
The 36 chartered teams are entered, as well as 9 open teams that must race their way into the field.
The open teams are: #01-Corey LaJoie, #40-Justin Allgaier, #44-J.J. Yeley, #56-Martin Truex Jr., #62-Anthony Alfredo, #66-Chandler Smith, #78-B.J. McLeod, #84-Jimmie Johnson, and #91-Hélio Castroneves.
Since 45 cars are entered, 5 drivers could miss race. Castroneves will make the race through an open exemption provisional if he does not otherwise qualify and the field will be 41 cars in that case.
See the full entry list on the Daytona 500 Entry List page.
Tentative and unofficial entry list
Daytona 500 qualifying procedures
Crew Rosters
NASCAR National Series News & Notes
Statistical Advance: Analyzing The DAYTONA 500 – A statistical look at some of the top performers at Daytona International Speedway.
Goodyear Tire Notes – Being on 18-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona this week . . . this is the same left-side tire Cup teams have run at Daytona since the beginning of 2022 . . . this is the first time they will run this right-side tire, with a construction update over what was run at Daytona in 2024 . . . Cup teams are scheduled to run this same tire set-up at Talladega in April . . . with this 18-inch bead diameter tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars do not run inner liners in any of their tires.
At Track Schedule
Race rules and information: