BROADCAST INFORMATION: Sunday’s Daytona 500 will air live on FOX at 2 p.m. ET. Can’t make it to a television? The race can be heard live on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Below is the broadcast schedule for the remainder of the weekend:
Saturday, Feb. 25:
12:30 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, Feb. 26:
2 p.m. ET: Daytona 500, FOX
THIS WEEKEND’S PAINT SCHEMES: Kasey Kahne will pilot the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, Chase Elliott will man the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS, Jimmie Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS for this Sunday’s Daytona 500.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT DAYTONA: Hendrick Motorsports has earned eight Daytona 500 wins with five different drivers, including three by Jeff Gordon and two by Johnson. The organization's first Daytona 500 victory came with driver Geoffrey Bodine in 1986, with Darrell Waltrip (1989) and Earnhardt (2014) also posting wins for Hendrick Motorsports. The organization has a total of 14 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victories at Daytona International Speedway.
DAYTONA 500 POLES: Elliott's 2017 pole was the 11th for Hendrick Motorsports in the Daytona 500. Ken Schrader went back-to-back-to-back from 1988 to 1990, followed by Johnson in 2002, Gordon in 2007, Johnson in 2008, Mark Martin in 2010, Earnhardt in 2011, Gordon in 2015 and Elliott in 2016.
ONE-TWO PUNCH: This year’s all-Hendrick Motorsports front row of Elliott and Earnhardt marks the fifth time the organization has earned the top two starting spots in the Daytona 500. It happened for the first time in 1989 with Schrader and Waltrip starting first and second, respectively. Martin, Earnhardt and Johnson went off one-two-three in 2010, Earnhardt and Gordon started one-two in 2011 and Gordon, Johnson and Earnhardt earned the top three spots in 2015.
KAHNE IN THE DAYTONA 500: Rejuvenated after an offseason that included a trip to Australia, Kahne is ready to hit the track for the season-opening Daytona 500 at the 2.5-mile oval. In last year’s Great American Race, the 36-year-old ended the day with a 13th-place finish. Kahne is seeking his first Daytona 500 win after coming close in 2010 with a second-place finish.
ELLIOTT'S HISTORY AT DAYTONA: In the Daytona 500, Elliott will make his third points-paying NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He has also competed there six times in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, highlighted by a victory in the season opener in February 2016. Elliott finished ninth in his lone ARCA Series start at the 2.5-mile track in 2014.
SEVEN-TIME IS A TWO-TIME AT DAYTONA: Daytona marks the first opportunity for Johnson to pilot his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS since winning the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure his record-tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series title. The seven-time champion has won the Daytona 500 on two occasions -- Feb. 6, 2006, and Feb. 24, 2013. Since winning "The Great American Race" in 2013, Johnson finished fifth in the event in 2014 and 2015 and 16th in 2016.
JOHNSON'S RECENT DAYTONA FINISHES: Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have recently racked up some spectacular statistics and laps led for the No. 48 team at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Johnson swept the season with victories in both the Daytona 500 and in the July 400-mile event in 2013. In the 2014 Daytona 500, Johnson finished fifth after leading 15 laps. In 2015, he finished fifth in the Daytona 500, leading 39 laps, and finished second in July of that year to teammate Earnhardt after leading 35 laps. Last year’s Daytona 500 saw Johnson lead the field for 18 laps before finishing 16th.
EARNHARDT AT DAYTONA: Earnhardt qualified third for each of his two superspeedway points races last season, at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. While he encountered misfortune in both events, the 42-year-old driver has a stellar record at superspeedways, earning four wins in points-paying races at Daytona and six at Talladega along with two in The Clash exhibition . He has two Daytona 500 victories, in 2004 and 2014, and most recently drove the No. 88 Chevrolet SS to victory at Daytona in July 2015.