Live Updates: NASCAR's Daytona 500 Race Weekend
Welcome to Racing America On SI's 2025 Daytona 500 Live Race Weekend Update hub. This post will be updated throughout the week to give you a central landing spot of all things relating to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
- XFINITY: Mother Nature Hands Justin Allgaier Daytona Pole
- TRUCKS: Kligeman has Daytona Win Stripped with DQ; Corey Heim Wins
- William Byron Fastest in Second Daytona 500 Practice
- TRUCKS: Two-Time Champion Ben Rhodes on Pole for Season-Opener at Daytona
- NASCAR Adjusts Start Time of Sunday's Daytona 500 Due to Forecast
- Starting Lineup: 2025 Daytona 500
- Awkward!: Erik Jones Celebrates Victory Before NASCAR Names Different Winner
- Corey LaJoie Laid Down 'Kids' College Fund' For Daytona 500 Chance
- Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric Win Duels; Allgaier, LaJoie Make Daytona 500
- Daytona 500 Bids for JJ Yeley, Chandler Smith End in Duel 1
- Chandler Smith, Helio Castroneves Wreck Out of Duel #1 at Daytona
- Six Drivers Seek Securing Daytona 500 Starting Spot in Thursday Duels
- NASCAR Ejects Two Crew Chiefs for Remainder of Daytona 500 Weekend
- Chase Briscoe Locks Up First Daytona Pole for Toyota, Second Daytona 500 Pole for JGR; Austin Cindric to Start Second
- Truex, Johnson All Smiles After Locking Into Daytona 500 Field
- Daytona 500 Qualifying Results
- Defending Daytona 500 Champion William Byron has Chance to Pull Off Rare Feat
- Denny Hamlin Paces Opening Daytona 500 Practice; Chandler Smith Fastest "Open" Driver
- 45 Drivers to Attempt to Make Daytona 500 Field
- Wednesday's Schedule
XFINITY: Mother Nature Hands Justin Allgaier Daytona Pole
It's been a great week at Daytona International Speedway for Justin Allgaier. The JR Motorsports driver secured a spot in the Daytona 500 field through his performance in Thursday's Duel Qualifier Race, and on Saturday, he locked up the pole for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race with an assist from Mother Nature.
Rain delayed, and then ultimately wiped out qualifying for the United Rentals 300 at Daytona, which led to the starting lineup being set by the Rule Book, which handed the pole to Allgaier, the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
TRUCKS: Kligeman has Daytona Win Stripped with DQ; Corey Heim Wins
Parker Kligerman prevailed on a wild final lap of Friday night's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 to take what he thought was his first career vcictory at Daytona International Speedway. However, after the race, Kligerman's race-winning No. 75 Henderson Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado failed post-race inspection.
According to NASCAR, the No. 75 machine was too low on the rear on both sides of the truck. And as a result, Kligerman was disqualified. With Kligerman out of the picture, initial second-place finisher Corey Heim was awarded the victory.
For the 22-year-old Heim, it's his 12th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his first at Daytona.
William Byron Fastest in Second Daytona 500 Practice
William Byron, who is looking to become just the fifth driver to ever win back-to-back Daytona 500s, was the fastest driver in Friday's Daytona 500 practice session. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet turned a lap time of 46.172 seconds (194.923 mph), which allowed him to slot ahead of his teammate Chase Elliott by 0.038 seconds.
Byron showcased speed in the draft, and he also feels confident that his team has resolved some mechanical gremlins that they experienced in Thursday night's Duel race.
"Yeah, we didn't have any issues. It was just a weird sort of fuel pressure situation going on. I think [Jimmie Johnson] had the same thing, so, just trying to figure that out, and I feel like we got it resolved," Byron said. "Feel good about that. We just ran some single laps by ourselves for the last eight or 10 laps, and had no issues or signs of it. Hopefully, fingers crossed that it doesn't show up on Sunday."
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Full Daytona 500 Practice 2 Results
TRUCKS: Two-Time Champion Ben Rhodes on Pole for Season-Opener at Daytona
It had been a long drought for Ben Rhodes since he last scored a pole position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but, on Friday, at Daytona International Speedway the driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 snagged his first pole since August 2018.
The two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion will lead the field to the green flag in Friday night's Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona, and he'll be joined by his teammate and defending Truck Series champion Ty Majeski on the front row.
NASCAR Adjusts Start Time of Sunday's Daytona 500 Due to Forecast
With pending inclement weather scheduled to impact the Daytona Beach area on Sunday, February 16, NASCAR has made the decision to bump up the start time of the Daytona 500. The race is now scheduled to start at 1:30 PM ET, which is an hour earlier than the original start time.
NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway are also encouraging attendees to arrive early on Sunday as the track will have heightened security protocols in place this weekend, presumably because President Donald Trump will be attending the race, but that has yet to be officially announced.
Starting Lineup: 2025 Daytona 500
With qualifying and the Duels at Daytona International Speedway now officially complete. the starting lineup for the 2025 Daytona 500 has been set.
Chase Briscoe, after landing the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE on the pole for Sunday's 67th-annual Daytona 500, will lead the field to green with outside front-row sitter and Duel 2 winner Austin Cindric alongside. For both drivers, it's the first time they've started on the front row for 'The Great American Race'.
A pair of Toyota GAZOO Racing teammates will occupy the second row when the green flag drops on Sunday, with Bubba Wallace (Duel 1 winner) starting third in the No. 23 McDonald's Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. Erik Jones (Duel 2 runner-up) will start fourth in the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.
William Byron will start from fifth-place, with Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano rounding out the top-10.
Helio Castroneves, a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, will start from an unprecedented 41st-place spot in Sunday's 500-mile contest, after being forced to take the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) with a poor qualifying result and an early wreck in Duel 1.
Awkward!: Erik Jones Celebrates Victory Before NASCAR Names Different Winner
Erik Jones may have been the first driver to cross the start-finish line in Thursday’s second Duel at Daytona International Speedway, but the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver wasn’t awarded the victory.
After a side-by-side battle with Austin Cindric, the outside front-row sitter for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, Jones edged out the Team Penske driver at the start-finish line by one of the narrowest margins in NASCAR Cup Series history, 0.004 seconds.
Unbeknownst to the race-leaders, and several of the viewers watching from the comfort of their own homes, a multi-car accident – involving the likes of Shane Van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs – broke out behind the leaders, and drew a caution flag.
Jones, having crossed the start-finish line ahead of Cindric, did what most drivers in that situation would do: run the cooldown lap and park in the tri-oval to be interviewed by broadcast partner FOX Sports. Austin Cindric, believed to be the runner-up in the contest, did as procedure dictates and came down to pit road for post-race lug nut checks and lined up accordingly.
The kicker? NASCAR had yet to officially declare the winner.
Corey LaJoie Laid Down 'Kids' College Fund' For Daytona 500 Chance
Corey LaJoie was able to get the job done in Thursday's Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway, scoring an impressive sixth-place result, netting him a strong starting spot in Sunday's Daytona 500.
It was a landmark moment for LaJoie, who took a step back from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition this season, instead taking on a part-time role with Rick Ware Racing, as well as a role as an analyst for Amazon's Prime Video.
In order to secure his spot with Rick Ware Racing for the DAYTONA 500, one of NASCAR's most meaningful and prestigious events, LaJoie had to front the money and did so without any sort of sponsorship committed. Luckily. he was later bailed out by DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change.
"Come back down here, front Rick [Ware] the money in January to make sure nobody else got the car because I know his car is one of the more desirable, one of the open cars to drive and be on the hook for a couple of weeks, not knowing what was going to happen there," LaJoie said. "I was probably dumb enough to let my chips ride on the table and try to make this race on my own dime, but luckily for me, DuraMAX and Take 5 came in at the last minute and took me off the hook."
But, as LaJoie revealed Thursday after making the Daytona 500, the money that he fronted just to have a shot at racing in 'The Great American Race' on Sunday, came from the college fund of his children, making the entire situation quite risky.
"It was all of my kids' college fund rolled into one race, right," LaJoie stated, and later, when asked on how much money was in his kids' college fund, LaJoie added: "Four zeros, one comma."
Fortunately, for LaJoie, and his children, sponsorship was indeed found for his No. 01 Rick Ware Racing ride for this week at Daytona International Speedway in the form of DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change and as a result, his deposit was returned.
Now, LaJoie will get the opportunity to line up on the grid for Sunday's 67th-annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, as he looks to do the improbable and etch his name into the history books as a winner of one of America's most prestigious events.
Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric Win Duels; Allgaier, LaJoie Make Daytona 500
When the checkered flag was displayed for the second time on Thursday evening, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric had earned themselves victories in the Duels at Daytona International Speedway.
After the early calamity in the first Duel race -- which saw Chandler Smith, Justin Haley, and Helio Castroneves knocked out in an early wreck -- Wallace was able to find his way to the front of the pack courtesy of a push from teammate Tyler Reddick.
Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 10 Chevrolet, was able to mount a charge on the race's final lap, but after throwing a massive block on the backstretch, the Kaulig Racing driver scraped the outside wall, killing his momentum.
William Byron, Ty Dillon, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick completed the top-five.
In ninth-place, Justin Allgaier, driving the No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, was the highest-finishing open entry, thus locking himself and car owners Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-MIller into the Daytona 500 -- the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series event for the organization.
The second of Thursday's 60-lap Duel races certainly didn't lack excitement either, with multiple incidents, including one on the final lap of the event. That last-lap wreck ultimately caused the caution to be thrown mere seconds before the leaders crossed the start-finish line.
Erik Jones crossed the start-finish line first, 0.004 seconds ahead of Austin Cindric, but upon further review NASCAR determined that the caution was thrown beforehand, giving the victory to Cindric.
Jones finished in the runner-up spot, with Chris Buescher third, Denny Hamlin fourth, and Joey Logano, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, rounding out the top-five.
Corey LaJoie managed to race his way into the Daytona 500 in the No. 01 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing, finishing sixth in his Duel, and earning a position in Sunday's 500-miler, and a good starting spot at that.
Daytona 500 Bids for JJ Yeley, Chandler Smith End in Duel 1
For the second consecutive year, JJ Yeley and NY Racing Team have narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2025 Daytona 500.
During Thursday's Duel at Daytona International Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series veteran was in fantastic position to qualify for 'The Great American Race', until Justin Allgaier was able to utilize a third lane next to the outside wall to surge ahead of the No. 44.
"Unfortunately, didn't make it, there. I was just trying to play a little chess match there," Yeley said after the race. "If I would have followed [Allgaier], there, I was going to be stuck. And with [Truex] going to the back, I thought maybe he was just going to ride. Once he pushed to the outside and got three-wide, and got clear of [Allgaier], and I just thought I needed to go where they're not."
Joining Yeley on the list of drivers eliminated from the Daytona 500 in the opening Duel on Thursday was Chander Smith, driver of the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Smith was collected in the first multi-car incident of Speedweeks, after attempting to get down to the inside line and block Justin Haley to hold third-place.
"Just honestly didn't know where [Haley] was. My digital mirror stopped working after we got on the backstretch of the first lap," Smith explained. "[I] couldn't see out of my left side mirror unless they were 10 feet to my left side. I couldn't really see where Justin was."
Chandler Smith, Helio Castroneves Wreck Out of Duel #1 at Daytona
After making an incredible early rally from 22nd-place to the front in Thursday's first Duel at Daytona International Speedway, a possible Cinderella story for Chandler Smith and Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) came to an abrupt halt on Lap 14.
Smith, who had driven the No. 66 QuickTie Ford Mustang up to third-place in the running order, tried to get down to the inside lane in front of Justin Haley, but wasn't clear, triggering an eight-car accident that destroyed multiple cars.
The Talking Rock, Georgia-native took a vicious lick to the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1, collecting Ty Gibbs, and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who was looking to qualify into the event via his Duel, and avoid having to take the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP).
Smith and Garage 66 will fail to qualify for the 2025 DAYTONA 500, while Castroneves, being out of the event, will rely on a provisional, giving the team a 41st-place start and no prize money.
Six Drivers Seek Securing Daytona 500 Starting Spot in Thursday Duels
NASCAR Cup Series champions Martin Truex, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson secured themselves a spot in the Daytona 500 via their qualifying speed on Wednesday, leaving the remaining seven unchartered entries to fight for the last two (or three) spots in the field.
Helio Castroneves, piloting the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, is locked into Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, regardless of what happens on Thursday. If he isn’t the highest-finishing open entry in Thursday’s duel race, he’ll claim the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) – although taking the extra spot in the field means the team gets no prize money.
Justin Allgaier - driver of the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet - has the most possible options when it comes to making the DAYTONA 500. The defending Xfinity Series champion can race his way into the field by being the highest unchartered entry in his Duel, or fall back on his qualifying speed should Jimmie Johnson and Truex, Jr. race their way in.
Corey LaJoie - driver of the No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford - has just two paths to make the Daytona 500. The part-timer can either race his way into the field via Duel #2, or hope that both Jimmie Johnson AND Martin Truex, Jr. are able to do so, allowing him to fall back on his speed.
For J.J. Yeley (NY Racing), Anthony Alfredo (Beard Motorsports), B.J. McLeod (Live Fast Motorsports), and Chandler Smith (Garage 66), there's only one way to qualify for Sunday's DAYTONA 500: be the highest finisher in their respective Duel.
NASCAR Ejects Two Crew Chiefs for Remainder of Daytona 500 Weekend
On Thursday, NASCAR announced the ejection of two NASCAR Cup Series crew chiefs for the remainder of Daytona 500 weekend, following Wednesday's pre-race inspection for the Duels at Daytona International Speedway.
Chris Lawson, who serves as the crew chief for Todd Gilliland and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team, has been ejected, and will be replaced by Kevyn Rebolledo, an engineer for the organization, for the remainder of the weekend.
Also ejected from the premises was Billy Plourde, who serves as the crew chief for Cody Ware and the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team. Tommy Baldwin, Jr., competition director for Rick Ware Racing, will replace Plourde as crew chief of the entry.
Chase Briscoe Locks Up First Daytona Pole for Toyota, Second Daytona 500 Pole for JGR; Austin Cindric to Start Second
Well, talk about a statement. Chase Briscoe will lead the field to green flag in his first points-paying race as a Joe Gibbs Racing driver as he secured the pole for Sunday's 67th Annual Daytona 500 in Wednesday night's qualifying session.
Briscoe cranked off a lap time of 49.249 seconds (182.745 mph) in the final round of the session, which allowed him to best Austin Cindric by a margin of 0.076 seconds to secure his first career Daytona 500 pole position, the second-ever Daytona 500 pole for Joe Gibbs Racing, and the first pole for Toyota at Daytona International Speedway.
The 30-year-old driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE explained that the pole-winning run was the culmination of Joe Gibbs Racing addressing their subpar superspeedway qualifying efforts last season over the offseason.
"It is the pole, we'd much rather win the race, but still, it's neat regardless. And even this whole offseason, a lot of the emphasis at JGR has been to qualify better at superspeedways. They felt that was the biggest area where they lacked," Briscoe explained.
While the front row for Sunday's Daytona 500 was locked in on Wednesday night, the remainder of the 2025 Daytona 500 starting lineup will be set in Thursday night's Duel Qualifier Races.
Truex, Johnson All Smiles After Locking Into Daytona 500 Field
What a difference a few hours make. During Daytona 500 Media Day on Wednesday afternoon, you could sense how nervous Martin Truex Jr. (2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion) and Jimmie Johnson (seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion) were about securing a place in the field for the 2025 Daytona 500.
Both drivers came into the weekend as one of the nine "Open" entries, which are vying for the four starting spots remaining in the field for the Great American Race. In Wednesday's Daytona 500 qualifying session, Truex (22nd-fastest) and Johnson (29th) were the two fastest Open entries overall and will start Sunday's race regardless of what happens in Thursday's Duels as a result.
"Yeah, it's a big weight lifted off, to say the least," Johnson admitted. "You know, the experience I had last year has been ringing through my brain at night. I've jumped out of bed a few times with some nightmares as the day got closer. We're doing so much to turn LEGACY MOTOR CLUB around and have it pointed in the right direction."
Truex is just relieved to head into Thursday's unpredictable Duels not having to worry about whether he will be in the Daytona 500. Instead, Truex and his No. 56 TRICON Garage team can focus on their car for Sunday's race.
"It's huge. It's speedway racing, so, a lot could happen. You know, you could have a great car, a great plan, execute a great race and something could take you out of it," Truex explained. "So, we can just go concentrate on working on our car for Sunday now, and be smart for [Thursday] night if we need to be."
Daytona 500 Qualifying Results
Rank | Car | Driver | Lap time | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | 49.249 | -- |
2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | 49.325 | 0.076 |
3 | 60 | Ryan Preece | 49.335 | 0.086 |
4 | 22 | Joey Logano | 49.358 | 0.109 |
5 | 21 | Josh Berry | 49.376 | 0.127 |
6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 49.413 | 0.164 |
7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 49.444 | 0.195 |
8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 49.465 | 0.216 |
9 | 10 | Ty Dillon | 49.466 | 0.217 |
10 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 49.522 | 0.273 |
Click Here For Full Qualifying Results
Defending Daytona 500 Champion William Byron has Chance to Pull Off Rare Feat
William Byron, who picked up a win in last year's Daytona 500, could become just the fifth driver to ever score back-to-back wins in the Great American Race if he can win this year's edition of the crown jewel event.
Despite the historic achievement dangling in front of his face, Byron isn't letting the possibility of joining the likes of Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, and Denny Hamlin distract him from the task at hand.
"No, I don't really think about the history," the North Carolina native explained. "There's so many things, so many boxes to check as this week goes. I mean, obviously, that would be a great footnote after the race is over, but right now, there's just so many things to get to that point."
Byron vows he is focused on setting himself up for a good run on Sunday by focusing on qualifying and Thursday's Duel Qualifier.
Denny Hamlin Paces Opening Daytona 500 Practice; Chandler Smith Fastest "Open" Driver
Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion, led the way in the first NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity ahead of Sunday's Daytona 500. Hamlin turned a best lap time of 48.005 seconds (187.480 mph), which came in the draft.
Hamlin topped Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs to secure the fastest lap in the 50-minute session.
Chandler Smith, who is driving this week for the Garage 66 team and is one of nine drivers looking to secure a place in the field, was fourth-fastest in the session and was by far the fastest "Open" entry in the practice session.
Click Here for Full Practice Results
45 Drivers to Attempt to Make Daytona 500 Field
In one of the biggest Daytona 500 entry lists in years, 45 drivers will attempt to make it into the field for Sunday's Daytona 500. For 36 drivers, who pilot the cars that have Team Charters, they already know that they have a starting spot in Sunday's race, but they are now just wondering what position they'll start the race from.
For the nine drivers competing in "Open" entries, they have no comfortable feeling.
Only 40 cars are permitted to start events in the NASCAR Cup Series unless an approved driver utilizes NASCAR's new Open Exemption Provisional (OEP), in which case the field would expand to 41 cars to accommodate that driver.
Helio Castroneves, making his NASCAR debut in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing entry, has the OEP to fall back on if he fails to qualify for the race in the traditional fashion through qualifying speed or the Duel Qualifying Races.
The other drivers and teams battling it out for a starting spot in the Daytona 500 include Corey LaJoie (Rick Ware Racing), Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports), JJ Yeley (NY Racing Team), Martin Truex Jr. (TRICON Garage), Anthony Alfredo (Beard Motorsports), Chandler Smith (Garage 66), BJ McLeod (Live Fast Motorsports), and Jimmie Johnson (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB).
Of these eight drivers, at least four will not advance to the Daytona 500 field, and if Castroneves does qualify for the race by way of qualifying speed or his finish in the Duel Qualifiers, five of the drivers would miss The Great American Race.
Click Here for the Full Daytona 500 Entry List
Wednesday's Schedule
The official kick-off of on-track activity for the Daytona 500 takes place on Wednesday, February 12. The NASCAR Cup Series is set to take to the track for the first of this week's three Daytona 500 practice sessions, the drivers will then break for Daytona 500 Media Day, which will take place for a seven-hour stretch of the day, and the evening will conclude with Daytona 500 Qualifying, which will set the front row starters for Sunday's Daytona 500.
Qualifying will also set the starting lineups for Thursday's Duel Qualifier Races, which will set the starting lineup for Sunday's running of The Great American Race. Here is the full TV Schedule for Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway:
- 10:00 AM ET: Daytona 500 Practice on FS1 (streams on the FOX Sports App)
- 8:15 PM ET: Daytona 500 Qualifying on FS1 (streams on the FOX Sports App)
Click here for the full Daytona 500 week schedule
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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Joseph Srigley covers NASCAR for TobyChristie.com, Racing America, and OnSI, and is the owner of the #SrigleyStats brand. With a higher education in the subjects of business, mathematics, and data analytics, Joseph is able to fully understand the inner workings of the sport through multiple points of perspective.
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