NASCAR Cup Series: Daytona 500 format explained for 2025

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season officially kicks off this weekend and what better place to do it than at Daytona International Speedway with the jewel in the sport's crown — the Daytona 500.

The 67th running of the iconic race is set to take place on Sunday, with a thrilling week of practice, qualifying, and duel action lined up ahead of the main event.

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Indeed, whilst most NASCAR race weekends are limited to running over two to three days, Daytona 500 race week is set to see Cup Series cars on track from Wednesday right through to Sunday.

In that sense, it is a race week format unlike any other, and to help guide you through it, we've fully explained when each session will take place, when, and with what purpose.

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NASCAR Cup Series: Daytona 500 format explained

First and foremost, it has been confirmed that there will be a total of 45 drivers attempting to qualify for this Sunday's Daytona 500.

36 of these entries are chartered cars and are therefore guaranteed entry into Sunday's main event, leaving nine open entry cars to fight it out for four spots, with a 40-car grid for the race.

However, following the introduction of the open exemption provisional (OEP), this could be extended to 41 cars if Helio Castroneves — the beneficiary of this week's OEP — fails to make it into the top 40. If Castroneves does qualify inside the top 40, however, it will be a 40-car field.

Daytona 500: Single Car Qualifying

After the first practice session on Wednesday morning, Cup Series cars will take part in single-car qualifying on Wednesday night.

Single-car qualifying at the Daytona 500 has two purposes — set the front row for Sunday's race, and determine the lineups for Duels 1 and 2 later in the week (more on those to come later).

In single-car qualifying, each driver will do one timed lap around the Daytona International Speedway, with the fastest ten drivers making it through to the second round.

In the second round, drivers will do another lap, with the two fastest locking out the front row for Sunday's race, with the fastest star naturally starting on pole.

Daytona 500: Duel 1 & Duel 2

Outside of the top two, the purpose of single-car qualifying is to determine the field and lineups for both Duel 1 and Duel 2, set to take place on Thursday night.

For example, those finishing third, fifth, seventh, and so on, will race in Duel 1, whilst those finishing fourth, sixth, eighth, and so on, will race in Duel 2. Essentially, the higher a driver finished in qualifying, the higher their starting place in their respective duel.

This does come with a small caveat, however, as NASCAR ensures there is an even number of chartered cars and open-entry cars in each race to the best of their ability.

The Duels consist of two 60-lap, 150-mile qualifying races that set the remainder of the field for Sunday's race.

The finishing order from Duel 1 will make up the inside rows for the race, for example, whilst those in Duel 2 will compete for the spots on the outside rows.

On top of that, those finishing in the top 10 will be rewarded points. However, the winners of the duels will not be awarded playoff points for their victories.

Daytona 500

Following single-car qualifying and Duel 1 and Duel 2, the starting field for the 67th Daytona 500 will be set.

At that stage, we will know if there will be 40 or 41 cars running in Sunday's main event, depending on how Helio Castroneves gets on.

Sunday's race is set to run for 500 miles — or 200 laps — and kicks off at 2:30 pm, with the winner set to etch their name into the NASCAR history books.

Daytona 500 start times

The 200-lap Daytona 500 is scheduled to start on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 2:30 pm EST. Here are the race start times in some major cities within the United States and around the world:

Fox will broadcast the race with radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

READ MORE: NASCAR TV Schedule: How to watch EVERY Cup Series race in 2025 including for FREE

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