Daytona 500 Cup Series Starting Lineup

Today, Feb. 16, the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500 kicks off. The Great American was initially scheduled to start at 2:30 pm but has now been moved to 1:30 due to potential rain in tomorrow’s forecast. Unless the weather forecast changes, the race is set to start tentatively, so tune into Fubo or Fox Sports to catch the action live.

Recap of the Daytona 500 Duel Winners

Wednesday, Cup Series drivers dueled on the tri-oval track to gain a starting spot for Sunday. With help from teammate No. 45 Tyler Reddick in Duel 1, 23xL driver  N0. 23 Bubba Wallace held off William Bryon for the win.

On Duel 2, however, there was a heated on-track battle between Austin Cindric and Legacy Motorclub No. 43 Erik Jones for the win. Jones made it to the finish line, but after a review from NASCAR officials,  Team Penske No. 2 driver Austin Cindric was declared the winner to lock into the Daytona 500 in the No. 2 spot.

The call was baffling to fans but nearly as baffling as the wreck amongst Trackhouse No. 91 Helio Castroneves, Chandler Smith, and Justin Haley, who wrecked at the start of the race. Castroneves and Haley are locked into Sunday’s race, but Smith unfortunately did not cut.

Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, and Alex Bowman Smith were ousted after their collision caused Friday’s 60-lap race’s first caution.  Keselowski and Bowman are nonetheless locked in, but Suarez will be sitting this one out. Here’s the breakdown of what today’s Daytona 500 entails.

Cup Series Starting Lineup – Daytona 500

1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota (Row 1)
2. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford (Row 1)
3. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota (Row 2)
4. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota (Row 2)
5. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet (Row 3)
6. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford (Row 3)
7. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet (Row 4)
8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota (Row 4)
9. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet (Row 5)
10. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford (Row 5)
11.  Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota (Row 6)
12.  Corey LaJoie, No. 01 Ford (Row 6)
13. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet (Row 7)
14. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford (Row 7)
15. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet (Row 8)
16. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford (Row 8)
17. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet (Row 9)
18. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota (Row 9)
19. Justin Allgaier, No. 40 Chevrolet (Row 10)
20. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota (Row 10)
21.  Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet (Row 11)
22. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet (Row 11)
23. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota (Row 12)
24. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota (Row 12)
25. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet (Row 13)
26. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet (Row 13)
27. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford (Row 14)
28. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford (Row 14)
29. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford (Row 15)
30. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford (Row 16)
31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet (Row 16)
32. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford (Row 16)
33. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet (Row 17)
34. Brad  Keselowski, No. 6 Ford (Row 17)
35. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet (Row 18)
36. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet (Row 18)
37. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford (Row 19)
38. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet (Row 19)
39. Martin Truex Jr. No 56 Toyota (Row 20)
40. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Toyota (Row 20)
41. Helio Castroneves, No. 91 Chevrolet (Row 20)

Final Thoughts

Based on Duels 1 and 2 results, it will be interesting to see how today’s Daytona 500 pans out. Bubba Wallace emerged strong in Duel 1, thrusting himself into the No. 3 spot. It was an intense battle to hold off William Byron, but the lineup for this afternoon will prove to be more difficult.

Chase Briscoe, No. 19, is in the starting position after winning his first career Daytona pole, followed by Austin Cindric. Will an on-track battle between these three contenders ensue during the Great American Race? Stay tuned.

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