Daytona 500 starting grid: How they line up for NASCAR Cup Series opener
The starting lineup for the Daytona 500 has been set after the twin Duel qualifying races at Daytona.
On Wednesday, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson made it another front row lockout for Hendrick Motorsports in the Daytona 500, and will lead the field to the green flag.
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano won the first Duel race on Thursday, beating Christopher Bell by 0.018s at the finish line. A push from teammate Ryan Blaney helped to secure him the victory.
Zane Smith, the defending NASCAR Truck Series champion, raced his way into the field in the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports entry. Chandler Smith in the No. 13 Kaulig Racing entry missed the show.
The second Duel race was far more eventful. Kyle Busch led a good portion of the race until he was hooked head-on into the outside wall by Daniel Suarez, collecting several other cars.
Among them was Austin Hill, who was not locked into the field. He was forced to retire from the race, allowing Conor Daly and the TMT Racing team to make the Daytona 500 field. Hill and Beard Motorsports did not.
Todd Gilliland led the race at the white flag, but a bad push sent him sideways. He saved it, but that allowed Aric Almirola to surge ahead and take the race win ahead of Austin Cindric.
On Friday, Jimmie Johnson topped the charts in the first Daytona 500 practice of the weekend. Zane Smith claimed victory in the Truck Series season-opener, which was cut short by rain. It was his eighth career Truck Series victory and his second consecutive at Daytona.
On Saturday, only 16 cars took part in final practice. Among them, Brad Keselowski was fastest in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford. Greg Van Alst claimed an upset victory in the ARCA race that followed, winning for the first time in his career.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series race ended in dramatic fashion, with Sam Mayer flipping from the race lead. Although it was close between Austin Hill, John-Hunter Nemechek, and Justin Allgaier, NASCAR reviewed the footage and determined Hill to be the race winner for the second consecutive year.
Starting Pos. | Car No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
9 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
10 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
11 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
12 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
13 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
14 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
16 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
17 | 36 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
18 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
19 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers | Ford |
20 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
21 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
22 | 42 | Noah Gragson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
23 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
24 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
25 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
26 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
27 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
28 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
29 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
30 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
31 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
32 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorspors | Chevrolet |
33 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
34 | 50 | Conor Daly | TMT Racing | Chevrolet |
35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
36 | 8 | *Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
37 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
38 | 15 | *Riley Herbst | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
39 | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
40 | 67 | *Travis Pastrana | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
*Car damaged in an incident during the Duel races
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.