This weekend’s NASCAR race on FOX: Drivers clash at the Daytona 500
NASCAR’s biggest race kicks off this weekend as the sport’s top drivers compete in the 66th running of the Daytona 500.
The action begins at Daytona International Speedway at 1 p.m. ET Sunday with NASCAR RaceDay on FOX, followed by "The Great American Race" at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Last year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Daytona 500 after starting 31st in the race, and looks to win for a second consecutive year.
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, lifts the Harley J. Earl trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023 in Daytona Beach, F
But Stenhouse Jr. will face tough competition from fellow drivers as he defends his title, including from Ryan Blaney, who begins his 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship title defense and is favored to win this year’s Daytona 500.
If Blaney wins, he would become the first defending champion to win the Daytona 500 since Dale Jarrett won the race in 2000.
According to NASCAR.com, Blaney has finished eighth or better in five of the last seven Daytona 500 races, including two runner-up finishes.
Other drivers to watch on Sunday are Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner of the Daytona 500, Brad Keselowski, who has led the most laps in the last two Daytona 500s, William Byron, who has finished in the top 10 in his last four races, Chris Bueschler, two top finishes in both Daytona races in 2023, and Kyle Busch, who is making his 19th start at Daytona this weekend.
In 2023, the Daytona 500 sold out for the eighth consecutive year for the 75th anniversary of NASCAR.
This story was reported from Washington, D.C.