How to watch the Daytona 500: Starting lineup, schedule, favorites for NASCAR's biggest race

Drivers, start your engines.

With Super Bowl LVIII in the rearview mirror, it’s time for the “Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing.”

Unlike the NFL, NASCAR starts the season with its biggest event – the Daytona 500. Forty drivers will battle it out at Daytona International Speedway this week, where speeds around the 2.5-mile track can reach upwards of 200 mph. Winning the “Great American Race” is on the bucket list for every competitor, but only one will lift the Harley J. Earl Trophy on Sunday.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 66th annual Daytona 500:

Starting lineup for 2024 Daytona 500 on Sunday

There were 42 drivers who attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 – including 36 chartered teams who were locked into the race and six “open” teams who fought to make it in. The field is capped at 40 cars, so two drivers went home after the qualifying races: B.J. McLeod and J.J. Yeley.

After qualifying on Wednesday, Joey Logano secured the pole award with a speed of 181.947 mph. Michael McDowell, with a speed of 181.686 mph, will start second. The rest of the starting lineup was set by the Duel qualifying races on Thursday night.

Here’s the full starting lineup for Sunday's Daytona 500 (driver, car number, team, sponsor):

1. Joey Logano, No. 22, Team Penske, Shell/Pennzoil
2. Michael McDowell, No. 34, Front Row Motorsports, Love’s RV Stops
3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 23XI Racing, Monster Energy
4. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing, DeWalt/Interstate Batteries
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9, Hendrick Motorsports, NAPA Auto Parts
6. Austin Cindric, No. 2, Team Penske, Discount Tire
7. Alex Bowman, No. 48, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally Financial
8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx
9. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, Spire Motorsports, Zeigler/Gainbridge
10. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, Legacy Motor Club, Dollar Tree
11. Erik Jones, No. 43, Legacy Motor Club, Advent Health
12. Harrison Burton, No. 21, Wood Brothers Racing, Motorcraft/DEX Imaging
13. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, Trackhouse Racing, Freeway Insurance
14. Zane Smith, No. 71, Spire Motorsports, WeatherTech
15. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, Joe Gibbs Racing, Monster Energy
16. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, RFK Racing, Castrol
17. Kyle Larson, No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com
18. William Byron, No. 24, Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta
19. Chris Buescher, No. 17, RFK Racing, Fastenal
20. Chase Briscoe, No. 14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Mahindra Tractors
21. Ross Chastain, No. 1, Trackhouse Racing, Busch Light
22. Justin Haley, No. 51, Rick Ware Racing, TreeTop Apple Juice
23. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84, Legacy Motor Club, Carvana
24. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 23XI Racing, McDonald’s
25. Ryan Preece, No. 41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Haas Tooling
26. Kaz Grala, No. 36, Front Row Motorsports, Ruedebusch
27. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Bass Pro Shops
28. A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16, Kaulig Racing, Celsius
29. Corey LaJoie, No. 7, Spire Motorsports, Chili’s Grill & Bar
30. Josh Berry, No. 4, Stewart-Haas Racing, SunnyD
31. Todd Gilliland, No. 38, Front Row Motorsports, gener8tor
32. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, Team Penske, Menards
33. Austin Dillon, No. 3, Richard Childress Racing, Bass Pro Shops
34. Kyle Busch, No. 8, Richard Childress Racing, Zone Nicotine Pouches
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Kroger
36. Riley Herbst, No. 15, Rick Ware Racing, Monster Energy
37. Daniel Hemric, No. 31, Kaulig Racing, Cirkul
38. Noah Gragson, No. 10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Black Rifle Coffee
39. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62, Beard Motorsports, Death Wish Coffee
40. David Ragan, No. 60, RFK Racing, BuildSubmarines.com

Blaney, Byron, Busch, Gragson and Hemric will give up their starting spots and drop to the back of the field on the pace laps after going to backup cars due to damage from the Duels.

NASCAR Duel results

Reddick and Bell won the first and second Duels, respectively, to secure the third and fourth starting positions. Here are the full results from each Duel:

DUEL 1 RESULTS

1. Tyler Reddick
2. Chase Elliott
3. Alex Bowman
4. Carson Hocevar
5. Erik Jones
6. Daniel Suarez
7. Joey Logano
8. Ty Gibbs
9. Kyle Larson
10. Chris Buescher
11. Ross Chastain
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Ryan Preece
14. Martin Truex Jr.
15. Corey LaJoie
16. J.J. Yeley (DNQ for Daytona 500)
17. Todd Gilliland
18. Austin Dillon
19. Anthony Alfredo
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. Daniel Hemric

DUEL 2 RESULTS

1. Christopher Bell
2. Austin Cindric
3. Denny Hamlin
4. John Hunter Nemechek
5. Harrison Burton
6. Zane Smith
7. Brad Keselowski
8. William Byron
9. Chase Briscoe
10. Justin Haley
11. Bubba Wallace
12. Kaz Grala
13. AJ Allmendinger
14. BJ McLeod (DNQ for Daytona 500)
15. David Ragan
16. Michael McDowell
17. Josh Berry
18. Ryan Blaney
19. Kyle Busch
20. Riley Herbst
21. Noah Gragson

When is the Daytona 500 in 2024?

The Daytona 500 is set for Sunday, Feb. 18.

Before the race on Sunday, there will be several other on-track events.

All 42 cars hit the track for qualifying on Wednesday, where each driver got one lap to set a fast time. The two fastest drivers (Logano and McDowell) will start on the front row, while the rest of the field raced for their starting spot on Thursday. There were two 60-lap races – known as the Duels –  to set the full starting lineup.

With the full lineup set, there will be practice sessions on Friday and Saturday before the race on Sunday.

Daytona 500 schedule, TV and streaming info in 2024

Friday, Feb. 16 (FS1 and streaming)

• Practice: 5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com

Saturday, Feb. 17 (FS1 and streaming)

• Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com

Sunday, Feb. 18 (FOX and streaming)

• Daytona 500: 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOXSports.com

Daytona 500 past winners, race history

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing won the Daytona 500 last year in an upset. Stenhouse, now entering his 12th full-time season, has just three career wins in 400 starts.

Take a look at what happened to bring out the yellow flag at the end of the #DAYTONA500. @StenhouseJr is the winner! pic.twitter.com/c4Fkagwcfn

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2023

Six other active drivers have won the Daytona 500: Denny Hamlin (2016, 2019, 2020), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013), Joey Logano (2015), Austin Dillon (2018), Michael McDowell (2021) and Austin Cindric (2022).

Daytona 500 favorites, drivers to watch for 2024

With the frequency of accidents at tracks like Daytona, it can be tough to find a favorite to win. But even with the unpredictability of the race, the sport’s best drivers usually find their way to the front of the field.

Hamlin, with three Daytona 500 wins, is one of the best drivers in the history of the Daytona 500. He’s one of just six drivers in history with at least three victories.

Beyond Hamlin, Bubba Wallace (second-place in 2018 and 2022), Ryan Blaney (second-place in 2017 and 2023) and Joey Logano (2015 winner, six top-10s in last nine starts) have had recent success in the Daytona 500.

In recent years, though, the winner has become even harder to predict. Over the first 62 years of the Daytona 500, 36 of the 62 winners were future NASCAR Hall of Famers – and that doesn’t include likely future inductees Hamlin, Logano, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch. But over the last three years, two drivers scored their first-ever win (McDowell, Cindric) and another (Stenhouse) won just his third race.

Will the underdogs continue to steal the show, or is it time for the best of the best to reclaim the Harley J. Early Trophy?