During the second Cup Series practice, the drivers ran in packs; keeping with teams and manufacturers.

After the big crash at the end of Deul one on Wednesday night Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, and William Byron have all moved to a backup car.

After post race inspection, Anthony Alfredo had his car disqualified and is out of the race.  BJ McLeod is the open car moving on to the Daytona 500 from Duel two.

The official starting lineup for the Daytona 500:
Kyle Busch
Chase Briscoe
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Carson Hocevar
Austin Dillon
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Michael McDowell
John Hunter Nemechek
Christopher Bell
Shane van Gisbergen
Josh Berry
Daniel Suarez
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Casey Mears
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Ty Gibbs
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
Cole Custer
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Riley Herbst
Corey Heim
Zane Smith
Jimmie Johnson
Connor Zilisch
Cody Ware
Ty Dillon
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Ross Chastain
BJ McLeod
William Byron
Justin Allgaier
Chris Buescher

Corey LaJoie, Anthony Alfredo, Chandler Smith, and JJ Yeley failed to qualify for the race.

Stages one and two of the race are 65 laps each with stage three lasting 70 laps for a total of 200 laps around the 2.5 mile high banked tri-oval.  The drivers will have to make pit stops for fuel in each of the stages with a fuel load of 40 to 44 laps.

Miranda Lambert and The Thunderbirds entertained the crowd before the start of the race.  Grammy Award winning comedian Nate Bargatze is the grand marshal for the race and will give the command.

And the most famous under achieving fourth grader in history – Bart Simpson – will be waving the green flag to start the race.

The wind has picked up with sustained winds at 20mph and gusts up to 35mph.  The strong winds will affect how the cars handle.  Storms are expected later…hopefully after the race has completed.

Dinah Jane from 5th Harmony performs “America the Beautiful”.

Kurt Russell is the honourary driver for the pace car.

Kurth Busch is giving NFL star Puca Nacua a ride around the track.

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag start of the race before a packed house of fans with Chase Briscoe alongside.  Kyle Busch gets out in front for the lead on the inside lane.  Chase Briscoe moves up to battle with Busch for the lead.  Drivers are already getting three wide.

Lap two, the top five are Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Chase Ellliott, and Ryan Blaney.

It has been 25 since Dale Eanhardt Sr died in a last lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500 and fans still raise three fingers in a salute on lap three of the race.

Lap four, Dyle Busch leads from the outside lane with the field three wide.

Coming up form the inside, John Hunter Nemechek takes the lead.

The caution flag comes out on lap five when BJ McLeod got loose and spins out.  He hits Justin Allgaier as he moves down the track.  Casey Mears also has some damage to his car.  All three drivers earned a spot in the 500 as open cars.  Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick and William Byron in a backup car were also involved.  There was a fire and smoke under BJ McLeod’s car before the crash.

Much of the field comes down pit road for fuel.  Kyle Busch is among the few drivers who stayed out on the track.

Shane van Gisbergen’s heel booties came off and he had to get permission from NASCAR to come down pit road and remove them.

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap eleven from the outside lane with Joey Logano alongside.  Getting a push from behind, Joey Logano takes the lead.

Lap 13 Kyle Busch comes up on the outside lane to battle for the lead.

New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen is in sixth place.

BJ McLeod is the first car out of the race.  He has been checked and released from the infield car center.

Lap 15, Joey Logano moves up to the outside lane in front of Kyle Busch; John Hunter Nemechek moves up on the inside to take the lead.

Lap 18, the top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Chase Elliott.

Lap 19, Joey Logano and John Hunter Nemechek battle for the lead.

Lap 23, rookie Connor Zilisch has worked his way up to 15th in his very first Daytona 500.

Lap 24, even though most of the field made a pit stop between laps eight and 10, they do not think they can make it to the end of the stage without making another fuel stop.

When drivers get into a pack drafting, the further back in the field a car is, the more fuel they are saving.  During a pit stop it takes less time to fill the tank than the drivers at the front of the field burning more fuel.

Lap 28, John Hunter Nemechek leads the race with Joey Logano in a battle for the top spot.

The top five drivers are John Hunter Nemechek, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Josh Berry.

Lap 32 with the flag flying straight out, Joey Logano leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; John Hunter Nemechek, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

The wind is strong enough during gusts to actually move the 3,400 pound cars!

Lap 34, John Hunter Nemechek retakes the lead.

The field has gotten three wide with Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, and John Hunter Nemechek leading each lane.

Lap 36, Chase Briscoe takes the lead.  Shane van Gisbergen has entered the top five.

Kyle Busch has fallen out of the top 10.  He got loose after a gust of wind.

Lap 38, after being involved in the BJ McLeod wreck, Justin Allgaier has moved up to the top 15.

Lap 40, the top five are Chase Briscoe, John Hunter Nemechek, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs.

The wind is causing some handling issues for the drivers.

Lap 43, Chase Briscoe leads the race with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Justin Allgaier has entered the top 10.

Twenty laps remain in stage one, Chase Briscoe leads the race with Ty Gibbs in second; Joey Logano, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 50, Kyle Busch finally comes down pit road for service; a few other drivers join Busch on pit road.

Chase Briscoe continues to lead the race with Chase Elliott in second; Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Just 10 laps remain in stage one with Chase Briscoe leading the race; Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.

Lap 56 more drivers come down pit road for fuel including Joey Logano.

William Byron hits the wall but the track stays green.  Byron reports that everything is fine.

Lap 58, more drivers make a pit stop for fuel including leader Chase Briscoe.  Chase Elliott is the new leader.

Lap 59, leader Chase Elliott brings another group of drivers down for fuel.  Todd Gilliland is the new leader.

Lap 60, Zane Smith passes Todd Gilliland for the lead.

Lap 61, just four laps remain in stage one and drivers continue to come down pit road for fuel.

The top seven drivers have not made a stop for fuel since laps eight to 10.

The top six drivers are in Fords.

Zane Smith wins stage one for his first stage win.

The top 10 drivers at the end of stage one:
Zane Smith
Austin Cindric
Ryan Blaney
Carson Hocevar
Daniel Suarez
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Michael McDowell
Alex Bowman
Noah Gragson

Cody Ware is the “lucky dog”.

Noah Gragson ran out of fuel and got a push from Josh Berry.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Carson Hocevar winning the race off of pit road.

Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ty Gibbs all had issues during pit stops.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Austin Cindric alongside on lap 71.

The top five are Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 74, Austin Cindric leads the race but Denny Hamlin leads the inside lane with Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick on his bumper.

Lap 75, Denny Hamlin leads the race on the outside lane; Bubba Wallace is moving up on the inside to battle for the lead.

Lap 78, Bubba Wallace takes the lead as the drivers get three wide.

Lap 80, after getting the “lucky dog”, Cody Ware leads the inside lane in a three way battle for the lead with Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.

Cody Ware is the leader of the race with Kyle Larson on his bumper.

Lap  82, Melon Man Ross Chastain takes the lead.

Lap 8, the top five are Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Justin Allgaier, Cody Ware, and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 84, Justin Allgaier leads the race with Connor Zilisch right behind.

Lap 85, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, Ty Dillon, Ross Chastain, and Cody Ware.

The caution flag come out on lap 85 that leaves Connor Zilisch sitting in the grass with splitter damage.  Zilisch got loose and the drivers stacked up behind him.  Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, Corey Heim, and Cody Ware were all involved in the crash.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain leading the way after taking fuel only.  The drivers came off pit road five wide.

Ross Chastain leads the race and brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 92 with Kyle Larson alongside.  Melon Man jumps out for the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Austin Dillon and Chase Briscoe are off the track for repairs.

With enough fuel to make it to the end of the stage, leaders are running sub 47 second laps.

Lap 95, drivers are three wide through the field with Melon Man Ross Chastain leading the way; Austin Cindric, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher, and Shane van Gisbergen rounding out the top five.

Lap 98, Ross Chastain leads the race with teammate Shane van Gisbergen challenging for the lead; Chris Buescher, Kylearson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

The skies have gotten cloudy.

Lap 99, road course expert Shane van Gisbergen takes the lead.

Lap 103, Kyle Larson battles Shane van Gisbergen for the lead; Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 105, Kyle Larson is the new leader.

It’s the Kyle and Kyle battle with Larson and Busch in a battle for the lead.

Lap 106, pole sitter Kyle Busch takes the lead; Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Shane van Gisbergen, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 108, Kyle Busch leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Lap 110 Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch battle back and forth for the lead.

Busch is 0 for 20 in 500 wins.  He is one of five championship drivers who has yet to win the 500.

Lap 114, BJ McLeod is the only driver out of the race with Austin Dillon off the track.  Chase Briscoe has returned to the track eleven laps down.

Lap 115, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch continue to battle for the lead with Shane van Gisbergen, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 120, Kyle Busch leads the race from the outside lane; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Lap 121, Connor Zilisch and Chase Briscoe go another lap down as the field passes them.

Justin Allgaier passes Shane van Gisbergen for fifth.

Lap 123, Denny Hamlin passes Kyle Busch for the lead.

Justin Allgaier passes Denny Hamlin on the inside lane for the lead.

The caution flag comes out after Denny Hamlin pulls up to block Justin Allgaier and makes contact to bring out the caution for a big crash.  Justin Allgaier, Shane van Gisbergen, Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastan, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Austin Cindric were all among the cars involved in the crash.

Stage two ends under caution with Bubba Wallace winning stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
John Hunter Nemechek
Riley Herbst
Joey Logano
Corey Heim
William Byron
Tyler Reddic
Chris Buescher

Austin Dillon returns to the race many laps down.

Jimmie Johnson is the “lucky dog”.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down pit road for service with Wallace winning the race off of pit road.  Kyle Busch’s crew takes a little extra time on pit road to fix a little damage incurred on the track.

So far there has been 42 different lead changes.

A total of 28 of the 41 cars in the field have some sort of crash damage.

Inclement weather is on the way…an hour or so.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 136 with Corey Heim alongside.  Wallace and Heim go side by side as they battle for the lead.

There are 31 cars on the lead lap.

Todd Gilliland, Austin Dillon, and Alex Bowman are out of the race.

The field has gotten three wide with Corey Heim and Bubba Wallace still in a battle for the lead.

Lap 139, Bubba Wallace leads the race with Christopher Bell, Corey Heim, Riley Herbst, and Chris Buescher rounding out the top five.

The pack is three wide with Corey Heim inside, Bubba Wallace in the middle, and Christopher Bell on the outside.

Lap 142 part time driver Corey Heim leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Christopher Bell, Riley Herbst, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 145, Corey Heim leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Christopher Bell, Riley Herbst and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

After dominating the Craftsman Truck Series last season with 12 wins, Corey Heim has signed a development deal with 23XI Racing to drive part time this season.  In his first start in the Cup Series at Daytona, Corey Heim leads the race!  Could the race end in “Heim Time”???

With 52 laps remaining in the race, three Toyotas are holding the field at bay with Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Corey Heim all leading one of the three lines of racers.

Justin Allgaier is out of the race.

With 47 laps remaining in the race, the pit window is open for a stop to make it to the end of the race.

Just 44 laps to go, Bubba Wallace, Corey Heim, and Christopher Bell continue to swap the lead as they control the three wide pack around the track.

The top 25 drivers are separated by just one second.

Denny Hamlin made contact with leader Justin Allgaier to start a 20 car pile up.  In his interview Allgaier took the blame for the incident.

The fuel cans hold 14 gallons this year and weigh 108 pounds!

Just 35 laps to go, Bubba Wallace leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Back in 12th place, Brad Keselowski is calling for the lane to push out the leader and get moving.

Noah Gragson is calling the field a road block.

Thirty to go with Bubba Wallace in the lead; Cole Custer leads the outside lane with Christopher Bell leading the inside lane.

Just 28 laps remaining in the race and the field has yet to make their pit stops.

With 26 laps to go, leader Bubba Wallace dropped to the bottom lane and has pulled a bit in front of the field.

Twenty to go!  Bubba Wallace continues to lead the race and finally comes down pit road with just three other drivers.  Chris Buescher is the new leader.

With 17 laps to go, leaders stay out but a few more drivers come down pit road for fuel.

Cole Custer is slowed on the track; out of fuel.

Fifteen to go, more drivers come down pit road.

Kyle Busch is the new leader.

With 14 to go, Ross Chastain leads the race for a new lead change record.

Drivers continue to pit in small groups of four or five drivers.

Joey Logano takes the lead with 12 to go.

Eleven to go, Michael McDowell takes the lead.

The caution flag comes out with just nine laps to go for a crash involving Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.  Bell is stuck up against the wall.  Corey Heim makes contact with Hamlin to start the reaction.

Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Tyler Reddick alongside; there are just four laps remaining in the race.  There are 30 cars on the lead lap.  Tyler Reddick takes the lead.  William Byron moves down on the inside to take the lead.  But Michael McDowell comes up from the outside to retake the lead.

Three to go, Michael McDowell leads the race with Carson Hocevar in second; Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Carson Hocevar takes the lead.

Carson Hocevar takes the white flag but gets turned around.  Erik Jones leads the race.

Chase Elliot takes the lead.

Tyler Reddick comes down on the inside to pass Chase Elliott for the lead and the win of the Daytona 500 as cars are wrecking behind him.

The unofficial results of the Daytona 500:
Tyler Reddick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Brad Keselowski
Zane Smith
Chris Buescher
Riley Herbst
Josh Berry
Bubba Wallace
Noah Gragson
William Byron
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
Kyle Busch
Kyle Larson
Cody Ware
AJ Allmendinger
Carson Hocevar
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell
Ty Gibbs
Cole Custer
Ryan Preece
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Blaney
Corey Heim

Jimmie Johnson
Shane van Gisbergen
Denny Hamlin
Casey Mears
Connor Zilisch
Austin Cindric
Christopher Bell
Chase Briscoe
Austin Dillon
Justin Allgaier
Todd Gilliland
Alex Bowman
BJ McLeod

During the pre-race interviews 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan said that he had four drivers in the race and was hoping that one of them would win…and one did!

Reddick said that he never thought he would be a Daytona 500 champion.