The 2023 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race and the 65th running of the event. It was held on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson returned to the Cup Series for Legacy Motor Club in this race. This was the longest Daytona 500 in history going 530 miles.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driving for JTG Daugherty Racing, won his first Daytona 500 and third career race after edging out two-time series champion Joey Logano for the lead in front of a multi-car accident on the final lap.
Report Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways, the others being Auto Club Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.
Background Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. (W) denotes former winner. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (W) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon (W) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (W) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin (W) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Chandler Smith (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Riley Herbst (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (W) Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell (W) Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Zane Smith (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50 Conor Daly (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 67 Travis Pastrana 23XI Racing Toyota 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 84 Jimmie Johnson (W) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Qualifying Alex Bowman scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.536 and a speed of . Kyle Larson earned the outside pole.
Only the top two cars qualify from time trials. The Duels set the lineup for positions 3–38. 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. Only one Open team in each Duel will qualify in this manner. Grid 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.
The fastest two Open team qualifiers were Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana which earned them a spot in the race regardless of the outcome of the Duels.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.717 49.536 2 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.870 49.708 3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.926 49.799 4 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.903 49.800 5 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 49.881 49.803 6 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.869 49.817 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 49.965 49.985 8 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 49.927 49.996 9 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 49.996 50.070 10 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.920 0.000 11 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 49.997 — 12 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 50.022 — 13 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 50.031 — 14 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.033 — 15 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 50.038 — 16 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.042 — 17 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.088 — 18 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 50.091 — 19 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.107 — 20 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 50.108 — 21 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.140 — 22 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.182 — 23 84 Jimmie Johnson Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 50.202 — 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.205 — 25 67 Travis Pastrana 23XI Racing Toyota 50.208 — 26 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.236 — 27 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 50.280 — 28 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 50.296 — 29 36 Zane Smith (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.318 — 30 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 50.332 — 31 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 50.346 — 32 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 50.375 — 33 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.473 — 34 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.504 — 35 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.583 — 36 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 50.609 — 37 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 50.799 — 38 15 Riley Herbst (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 50.891 — 39 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 51.045 — 40 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 51.053 — 41 13 Chandler Smith (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 51.422 — 42 50 Conor Daly (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 0.000 —Official qualifying results
Bluegreen Vacations Duel
The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are a pair of NASCAR 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. Both races sets the lineup for positions 3–38. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd–numbered positions on pole qualifying day with exceptions based on open teams. The second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even–numbered positions. Only the top finishing open car will transfer from each qualifying race. After qualifying races, the final two positions are determined by fastest times in qualifying of open teams that did not advance.
Duel 1
Duel 1 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 60 102 11 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 93 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 60 84 7 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 60 75 13 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 66 9 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 57 6 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 60 48 15 36 Zane Smith (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 39 5 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 210 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 111 8 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 60 012 14 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 60 013 17 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 014 12 84 Jimmie Johnson Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 60 015 16 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 60 016 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 59 017 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59 018 21 13 Chandler Smith (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 59 019 10 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 59 020 19 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 59 021 20 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 59 0Official race results
Duel 2
Duel 2 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 102 4 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 60 93 7 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 84 9 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 60 75 20 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 66 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 57 17 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 48 11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 39 13 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 210 8 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 111 14 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 60 012 6 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 60 013 10 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 60 014 15 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 60 015 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 016 18 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 60 017 21 50 Conor Daly (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 59 018 16 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 41 019 5 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40 020 19 15 Riley Herbst (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 40 021 12 67 Travis Pastrana 23XI Racing Toyota 40 0Official race results
Starting lineup