NASCAR’s Daytona 500, its marquee event, will be held on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Chase Elliott captured the pole for the second year in a row and will be joined in the front row by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NASCAR’s Daytona 500
Where: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
When: Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017
Time: 2 p.m. Eastern
TV: FOX
(Pre-race coverage begins at 1 p.m.)
Livestream: Fox Sports Go, NASCAR.com
Daytona picks and predictions
The good news for NASCAR is that all signs indicate Earnhardt Jr. has a legitimate shot to win.
A victory for NASCAR’s most popular driver, in his return to racing after a concussion sidelined him the second half of last season, would be a massive boost for the sagging series. Earnhardt’s star power has been one of the bright spots of Speedweeks and his strength on the track has been obvious every time he’s behind the wheel of his Chevrolet.
Earnhardt was part of a Hendrick Motorsports qualifying sweep for Sunday’s season-opening race. Chase Elliott won the pole, and Earnhardt will line up next to him on the starting grid. Elliott added a win in a qualifying race, and Earnhardt led 53 of 60 laps in a second qualifying race before he was passed at the end .
So the Hendrick cars have speed, the drivers aren’t cowering from the Toyota teamwork that dominated last year’s race, and they are ready to go bumper-to-bumper with the Team Penske fleet.
It means Sunday could be a strong opening day for NASCAR, particularly if Earnhardt can pull off his third victory in “The Great American Race.” He’s not ready to call himself a favorite, and thinks he’ll have his hands full with the Joe Gibbs Racing group and Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
“Watching the last several plate races, I think the Gibbs guys have the market cornered on the favorite,” he said. “The Penske guys are really strong. So I think it’s their race to lose. The Hendrick cars are going to be up there trying to mix it up.”
NASCAR needs Sunday to go off without a hitch.
The series is under heavy scrutiny because of sliding attendance and television ratings, plus the title sponsor deal with Monster Energy came in at a fraction of what NASCAR was looking for when it began shopping the naming rights almost two years ago.
Starting grid:
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.
2. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet.
3. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.
5. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.
6. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford.
7. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.
8. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford.
9. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota.
10. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.
11. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford.
12. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford.
13. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford.
14. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet.
15. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.
16. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet.
17. (72) Cole Whitt, Ford.
18. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet.
19. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota.
20. (38) David Ragan, Ford.
21. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.
22. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet.
23. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford.
24. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.
25. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford.
26. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet.
27. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford.
28. (96) DJ Kennington, Toyota.
29 (23) Joey Gase, Toyota.
30. (15) Michael Waltrip, Toyota.
31. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota.
32. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet.
33. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet.
34. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota.
35. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.
36. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford.
37. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet.
38. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet.
39. (75) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet.
40. (7) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet.
Failed to Qualify
(55) Reed Sorenson
(51) Timmy Hill
The good news for NASCAR is that all signs indicate Earnhardt Jr. has a legitimate shot to win.
A victory for NASCAR’s most popular driver, in his return to racing after a concussion sidelined him the second half of last season, would be a massive boost for the sagging series. Earnhardt’s star power has been one of the bright spots of Speedweeks and his strength on the track has been obvious every time he’s behind the wheel of his Chevrolet.
Earnhardt was part of a Hendrick Motorsports qualifying sweep for Sunday’s season-opening race. Chase Elliott won the pole, and Earnhardt will line up next to him on the starting grid. Elliott added a win in a qualifying race, and Earnhardt led 53 of 60 laps in a second qualifying race before he was passed at the end.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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