Daytona 500 qualifying 2025: NASCAR Cup Series drivers meet with media, complete first practice
Drivers took to the track, and the red carpet, Wednesday prior to the Daytona 500 pole qualifying.
NASCAR Cup Series drivers will hit the 2.5-mile oval at Daytona International Speedway tonight for the Daytona Duels – two 60-lap, 150-mile races that set the starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
The front row for the 67th annual Daytona 500 was set Wednesday night in pole qualifying, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe posting the fastest time and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric taking second. Those two drivers will also start first tonight, with Briscoe on the pole for Duel No. 1 and Cindric on the pole for Duel No. 2.
The finishing order of the Daytona Duel races will determine the rest of the starting positions in the “Great American Race,” with drivers in Duel No. 1 filling in the inside lane to start Sunday’s race and drivers in Duel No. 2 taking starting spots on the outside lane.
The Duel races will also give drivers their first taste of real racing this season, giving teams the opportunity to prepare the best setup for Sunday’s race.
USA TODAY Sports will provide results and highlights from tonight’s Daytona Duel races. Follow along for updates:
What time do the Daytona Duel races start?
Duel at Daytona No. 1 is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. Barring delays, Duel at Daytona No. 2 should begin at 8:45 p.m. ET.
What TV channel is showing the Daytona Duel races?
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is televising both Daytona Duel races.
Will there be a live stream of the Daytona Duel races?
Both Daytona Duel races can be streamed on FoxSports.com, the Fox Sports app and Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.
Watch the Daytona Duel races on Fubo
The National Weather Service is calling for mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s Thursday night for the start of Duel No. 1, before dropping into the high 60s for Duel No. 2. There is a slight possibility of showers and thunderstorms before 10 p.m. ET, with the odds of precipitation at 20%.
All odds provided by BetMGM as of Thursday afternoon:
Duel No. 1 odds
- Kyle Busch … +650
- Chase Elliott … +900
- William Byron … +1000
- Bubba Wallace … +1200
- Chase Briscoe … +1400
- Michael McDowell … +1400
- Ryan Preece … +1600
- Josh Berry … +1600
- Ty Gibbs … +1600
- Tyler Reddick … +1600
- Ross Chastain … +1600
Duel No. 2 odds
- Joey Logano … +650
- Brad Keselowski … +700
- Ryan Blaney … +700
- Denny Hamlin … +750
- Austin Cindric … +900
- Christopher Bell … +1000
- Kyle Larson … +1000
- Chris Buescher … +1100
- Todd Gilliland … +1400
- Alex Bowman … +1600
The Daytona Duels consist of two 60-lap, 150-mile races that set positions third to 40th on the starting grid for the Daytona 500 – after the top-two finishers in Wednesday’s night pole qualifying locked up the Daytona 500 front row. The winners of the two Duel races will start on the second row of Sunday’s Daytona 500 (if they didn’t already land on the front row in pole qualifying).
The drivers who finished first, third, fifth, etc., in Wednesday’s pole qualifying will race in Duel No. 1, while those who finished second, fourth, sixth, etc., in qualifying will race in Duel No. 2. The finishing order from Duel No. 1 will make up the inside lane for the starting lineup of the Daytona 500, starting with position No. 3. The results of Duel No. 2 will make up the outside lane on the starting grid.
The top finishers in both Daytona Duel races also receive NASCAR Cup Series regular season points.
Chase Briscoe posted the top time in Wednesday night’s Daytona 500 pole qualifying, guaranteeing the pole position for both the Daytona 500 and Duel No. 1. Austin Cindric posted the second-fastest time in qualifying and will start on the pole in Duel No. 2 and second in the Daytona 500.
∎ Duel at Daytona No. 1 front row
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
∎ Duel at Daytona No. 2 front row
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
- Joey Logano. No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Duel at Daytona No. 1
- (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
- (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
- (21) Josh Berry, Ford
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
- (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
- (38) Zane Smith, Ford
- (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
- (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
- (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
- (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
- (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
- (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
- (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
- (40) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet
- (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
- (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- (91) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet
- (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
- (66) Chandler Smith, Ford
- (44) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
Duel at Daytona No. 2
- (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
- (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
- (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
- (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
- (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
- (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
- (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
- (84) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota
- (88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
- (41) Cole Custer, Ford
- (01) Corey LaJoie, Ford
- (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
- (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
- (62) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet
- (78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet
- (51) Cody Ware, Ford
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