The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s most iconic race – the most important and prestigious –, being held at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 500-mile long motor race is held annually and it is one of the first two Cup races held year after year at Daytona.
It is also the race with the highest purse in the American motorsport. In fact, the 2020 edition had the biggest prizes in the history of races in USA, NASCAR announcing total prizes of $23.6 million. The share for the winner is almost 10%.
According to Chip Wile, the president of the Daytona International Speedway, the season-opening race is “a life-changing event for the winner, whose name will join the legends of this sport”, naming it “one of the premier events in all of sports”.
The event also attracts huge TV audiences. For example, the 2006 one had the sixth live global TV audience of any sporting event, with an average of around 20 million viewers.
Fans or no fans?
This year’s edition will be the 63rd and it will be held on February 14. It will be different from the previous races in terms of attendance. Daytona International Speedway announced, at the beginning of December, that the race will run with limited number of fans.
“While we won’t be able to have a capacity crowd here in February, we are excited that we can host the Daytona 500 with those in attendance, as well as for the millions who will tune in live on FOX”, said Chip Wile.
But the officials are not sure regarding the percentage of attendance, given that the Speedway has a capacity of over 100,000, which usually means a full crowd at the race. There will be a reseating process for the guests to watch the race in safe conditions.
Who are the favorites?
The race from last year was interrupted by the rain, on February 16th, and resumed on the 17th. Denny Hamlin won it for the second time in a row, and the third time overall, the first being in 2016.
He is also the favorite to win the race this year. According to the bookmakers, Hamlin has +800 odds at winning the race again. He is followed by Elliot Chase and Joey Logano, with +1000 each, while the winner from 2017, Kurt Busch, has +1800.
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In 2020, Denny Hamlin drove a Toyota Camry leading the most laps and finally winning his third Daytona title. The 40-years old races for Joe Gibbs Racing and won all three titles with Toyota. Last year, he became the fourth driver to win back-to-back seasons. If he manages to win this year’s race, then only Richard Petty, with seven races won, will have more.
Last September, Hamlin announced a partnership with Michael Jordan for a single-car team for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series. The team’s name is 23XI Racing – 23 being Jordan’s number, and XI (11) is the number on Hamlin’s car.
And there is Joey Logano, who won the race in 2015, becoming the second-youngest to win the Daytona 500. Last year, he won the first duel in the qualifying race. He is now the second favorite, as is 25-years old Elliott Chase.
The fourth is Ryan Blaney, with +1100, tied with Brad Keselowski. Blaney finished second last year’s edition. The 27-years old lost the race by 0.014 seconds on the second restart in overtime. This was the second closest finish in the race’s history, so we might as well see the driver want to have it successfully done this year.
