The 2017 Daytona 500, the 59th running of the event, was held on February 26, 2017, and was won by Kurt Busch of Stewart–Haas Racing after Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson ran out of fuel over the final laps of the race. This was Busch's first Daytona 500 win, and his first career win on a restrictor plate track. Ryan Blaney finished second, and A. J. Allmendinger finished third. This race was contested for 200 laps on the asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the first race for Monster Energy as the new title sponsor for NASCAR's top series, replacing Sprint. Background Race format and rule changes All three of NASCAR's main national series adopted a new race format and points system for the 2017 season. Under the new format, each race was divided into three stages. A competition caution is held at the end of the first and second stage, and bonus championship points are awarded to the top 10 drivers. For the 500, the first and second stages each comprised 60 laps of the scheduled distance, with the remainder comprising the third. The leader at the end of each stage, including the overall winner, also receives points that are carried over into their total if they qualify for the season-ending playoffs (renamed from the Chase for the Championship).
The race also introduced stricter rules in regard to vehicle repair after on-track accidents; teams are only allowed to repair their cars on pit road in five-minute windows with six crew members, starting once the car crosses the pit road commitment line, and ending when it reaches minimum speed after exiting pit road. Repairs are restricted to repairing sheet metal and re-attaching or reinforcing body panels; body panels may not be replaced. If the vehicle cannot be repaired on pit road and must be taken to the garage, more than six crew members work on the vehicle, or the five-minute clock expires, the vehicle will be removed from the race and cannot return.
Other technical changes took place for the 2017 season and Daytona 500, including having one fewer set of tires available for the race, teams being required to start the race with the same tires used in qualifying, restrictor plate size openings reduced from to , and new structural safety features—some of which are specifically mandated at Daytona and Talladega.
Entry list
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray (W) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (W) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne (W) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Elliott Sadler Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin (W) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Michael Waltrip (W) Premium Motorsports Toyota 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (W) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (W) Team Penske Ford 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman (W) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Timmy Hill Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Ford 75 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 83 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice (February 18) Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.604 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.604 193.116 2 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.619 193.054 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 46.621 193.046Official first practice results
Qualifying
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is different from any other race weekend because the starting lineup for the race, except for the two drivers that post the two fastest timed laps in the final round of qualifying, isn't set on qualifying day. It sets the lineup for the two Duel races the following Thursday.
Unlike qualifying at non-restrictor plate races, qualifying at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway consists of two rounds of cars being sent out one at a time to make a single timed lap. The fastest 12 advance to the final round to run for the pole position.
Chase Elliott scored the pole for the Daytona 500 with a time of 46.663 and a speed of . He said afterwards that everyone at Hendrick Motorsports did "a lot of work this off-season. This team definitely has a knack for these plate tracks, as they showed with Jeff Gordon and then last year with here and Talladega." He also mentioned how these accomplishments don't "just happen by staying the same, as everybody knows. Everyone is always trying to get better and make their cars better and faster, and the engine shop is always finding new things. So I think that's just proof that they're improving with everybody else and taking that next step, which is really impressive." He ended by saying he was "happy to be a part of it, and hopefully we can run good next Sunday."
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 124 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.800 46.663 288 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.810 46.665 32 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 46.820 46.707 414 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 46.854 46.736 578 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 46.826 46.800 611 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.845 46.823 74 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 46.867 46.829 85 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.864 46.853 920 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.840 46.871 1031 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.859 46.876 1118 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.855 46.932 1213 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 46.869 47.009 1317 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.874 — 1448 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.900 — 1519 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.905 — 1642 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.923 — 1722 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.929 — 1821 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 46.937 — 196 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.944 — 2077 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 46.950 — 2127 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.989 — 2241 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 47.017 — 231 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 47.023 — 2410 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 47.042 — 2543 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47.123 — 263 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 47.127 — 2734 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.285 — 2847 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.298 — 2932 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 47.355 — 3095 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 47.438 — 3137 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.513 — 3238 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.518 — 3375 Brendan Gaughan (i)* Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 47.545 — 3472 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Ford 47.592 — 3515 Michael Waltrip Premium Motorsports Toyota 47.599 — 367 Elliott Sadler (i)* Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 47.730 — 3755 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 48.043 — 3896 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 48.175 — 3923 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 48.428 — 4083 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota 48.584 — 4133 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 48.710 — 4251 Timmy Hill (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 48.886 —Official Qualifying Results -Indicates open team. Gaughan and Sadler were the two fastest open teams in qualifying.
Practice (post–qualifying) Both practice sessions scheduled for Thursday following qualifying was cancelled due to rain.
Can-Am Duels
The Can-Am Duels are a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held in conjunction with the Daytona 500 annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. They consist of two races 60 laps and 150 miles (240 km) in length, which serve as heat races that set the lineup for the Daytona 500. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd-numbered positions on pole qualifying day, while the second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even-numbered positions. The Duels set the lineup for positions 3–38, while positions 39 and 40 are filled by the two "Open" (teams without a charter) cars that set the fastest times in qualifying, but did not lock in a spot in the Duels.
Duel 1
Chase Elliott held off late charges in the closing laps to win the first Can-Am Duel race.
Restarting with eight laps to go, the Fords of Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski formed a line on the top side to make a charge at him. The line started stalling out with five to go and was no match for Elliott, only challenged by Harvick and Jamie McMurray.
He said in victory lane that he certainly thought he had a chance of winning on Sunday and that if he "didn't feel that way...I'd stay home. I feel like we have a shot on Sunday. I feel like we had a shot before we got down here. Tonight's result hasn't changed my opinion on that. I'm looking forward to it, obviously. You love to get that qualifying spot on Sunday, but we really earned it tonight, to start on the front row, which is even better. It was definitely a great way to start the season."
The eight-lap run to the finish was set up by a two-car wreck with 12 laps to go. Coming through the tri-oval heading towards Turn 1, Corey LaJoie rear-ended Reed Sorenson, who checked up, turning Sorenson down into Paul Menard, sending Sorenson down the track and into the inside retaining wall. Sorenson, who missed the race as a result of this wreck, said he guessed LaJoie "felt like he did what he had to do to make the race. I hope he's proud of that part of it. There's a lot of pressure going in to making this race. It's a very big deal for a small team like ours."
Duel 1 results