Daytona 500: Race schedule, starting lineup, how to watch the 'Great American Race' on Monday
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway will now be held on Monday, Feb. 19 as cloudy and rainy weather conditions in Florida forced the race to be postponed. It now creates the first-ever Monday double-header at the Speedway as the NASCAR Xfinity Series will also be held on Monday.
Update: The NASCAR Xfinity Series has been moved again to Monday afternoon – after the completion of the Daytona 500 race. The Xfinity Series was supposed to be held at 11 a.m., but rainy conditions early Monday morning forced organizers to delay the race again.
The Daytona 500 is scheduled to be held at 4 p.m. Here is what fans need to know.
What is the Daytona 500?
The Daytona 500 also known as the "Great American Race" is an annual event that has opened the NASCAR season every February since 1982. Drivers race around the Daytona International Speedway track for 500 miles. It's NASCAR's signature event.
Who is racing in the Daytona 500?
- Joey Logano
- Michael McDowell
- Tyler Reddick
- Christopher Bell
- Chase Elliot
- Austin Cindric
- Alex Bowman
- Denny Hamlin
- Carson Hocevar
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Erik Jones
- Harrison Burton
- Daniel Suárez
- Zane Smith
- Ty Gibbs
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- William Byron
- Chris Buescher
- Chase Briscoe
- Ross Chastain
- Justin Haley
- Jimmie Johnson
- William ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr.
- Ryan Preece
- Kaz Grala
- Martin Truex Jr.
- A.J. Allmendigner
- Corey LaJoie
- Josh Berry
- Todd Gilliland
- Ryan Blaney
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Busch
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Riley Herbst
- Daniel Hemric
- Noah Gragson
- Anthony Alfredo
- David Ragan
What are the races happening this weekend at the Daytona 500?
There are several events held at Daytona International Speedway over the Daytona 500 weekend, including the ARCA 200, Xfinity Series race, and the NASCAR Daytona 500.
The ARCA 200 race was held late Friday night - moved up due to inclement weather forecast for the weekend.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series race was supposed to be held on Saturday, but that race has been postponed to Monday morning. However, rain Monday morning forced the race to be moved to Monday night – currently scheduled for one hour after the Daytona 500 ends (estimated to be around 9 p.m.).
As we know now, the Daytona 500 was supposed to be held on Sunday, but has also been rescheduled for Monday at 4 p.m.
How to watch the Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19. You can watch pre-show coverage beginning at 4 a.m. on Good Day Orlando on FOX 35. Then, FOX's NASCAR coverage will begin shortly after, following by the race on FOX & FOX 35.
If you're looking for the latest news and headlines, make sure to download the FOX 35 News app or watch recent news clips via the FOX Local TV app.
Why does racing not happen in the rain?
The tires used on the cars for the superspeedways are smooth – they have no ridges or grooves in the tires. Any kind of rain on the track will cause the race cars to slide all over the place.
If it does rain, the decision of racing lies on whether or not officials have enough time to dry the track.