DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will set the field for its season opening Daytona 500 with a pair of qualifying races Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway. Here are the particulars:
START, RACE #1: Paul Wise, a zone merchandise leader for 7-11, will give the command for drivers to start their engines at 7:07 p.m. Eastern Sunday, followed by the green flag at 7:19 p.m.
START, RACE #2: Jorge Torres, a Budweiser wholesaler, will give the command for drivers to start their engines at approximately 8:51 p.m. Eastern Sunday, followed by the green flag at 9:01 p.m. (TIMES WILL DEPEND ON FINISH OF FIRST RACE).
DISTANCE: Each qualifying race is scheduled for 60 laps (150 miles) around the 2.5-mile oval.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed by Melissa TenBroeck of Daytona Beach, Fla., at 7:01 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Fox Sports 1 will broadcast tonight’s race, starting at 7 p.m. Motor Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and MRN.com.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 41 degrees at race time with no chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth made it a clean sweep for Joe Gibbs Racing in the first Gatorade Duel under the lights at Daytona.
LOCKED INTO THE RACE: There are 13 drivers with guaranteed spots. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (front row), Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray (qualifying speeds), Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kenseth (points), Tony Stewart (champion). Everyone else either must make the race by finishing in the top 15 or taking a spot on qualifying spot or points.
STARTING LINEUP:
Race No.1:
- Jeff Gordon
- Matt Kenseth
- Kasey Kahne
- Ty Dillon
- Jamie McMurray
- Johnny Sauter
- Trevor Bayne
- Aric Almirola
- Brad Keselowski
- Joey Logano
- J. Yeley
- Paul Menard
- J. Allmendinger
- Kevin Harvick
- Tony Stewart
- Casey Mears
- Michael Annett
- Kyle Larson
- Michael McDowell
- Clint Bowyer
- Justin Marks
- Cole Whitt
- Landon Cassill
- Ron Hornaday Jr.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Race No. 2:
Jimmie Johnson
- Kyle Busch
- Carl Edwards
- Austin Dillon
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Greg Biffle
- Sam Hornish Jr.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ryan Blaney
- Michael Waltrip
- Bobby Labonte
- Alex Bowman
- Ryan Newman
- Kurt Busch
- Danica Patrick
- Brian Scott
- Justin Allgaier
- David Gilliland
- Jeb Burton
- Reed Sorenson
- David Ragan
- Josh Wise
- Mike Wallace
- Denny Hamlin