The 2019 Daytona 500, the 61st running of the
event, was a
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
race held on February 17, 2019, Contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an
overtime finish, on the asphalt superspeedway. After three multiple cars crash in the last 20 laps (including the Big One on lap 191 which involved 21 cars), only 19 of the 40 cars were running at the end of the race and only 14 completed every lap. It was the first race of the
2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series (also known as the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for sponsorship reasons) was the 71st season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era Cup series season. The seas ...
season, and also marked the debut of the
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
, which
Ford brought in as a replacement for the
Fusion. This race was the final career start for
Casey Mears
Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Sup ...
. 2016 winner
Denny Hamlin held off teammate
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
over the final laps to win his second Daytona 500 in four years.
This
Daytona 500 was the first not to feature the Earnhardt name in the starting lineup since 1978.
Report
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...
is a
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also ...
in
Daytona Beach, Florida, that is one of two
superspeedways, the other being
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
.
Background

Daytona International Speedway is one of two
superspeedways to hold
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
races, the other being
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
.
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
Practice
First practice (February 9)
Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 45.937 seconds and a speed of .
Second practice (February 9)
Darrell Wallace Jr.
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity ...
was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 46.149 seconds and a speed of .
Qualifying
William Byron scored the pole for the race with a time of 46.319 and a speed of .
Qualifying results
Gander RV Duel
The
Gander RV Duels are a pair of NASCAR Monster Energy 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.
For championship purposes, each Duel is a full Championship Stage, except there is no playoff point awarded. The top ten drivers receive championship points.
Duel 1
Duel 1 results
Duel 2
Duel 2 results
Starting lineup
Practice (post–Duels)
Third practice (February 15)
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 44.936 seconds and a speed of .
Fourth practice (February 15)
Paul Menard
John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing.
...
was the fastest in the fourth practice session with a time of 44.830 seconds and a speed of .
Final practice (February 16)
Michael McDowell was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 47.012 seconds and a speed of .
Race
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
wide receiver
Julian Edelman and Houston Texans linebacker
J. J. Watt
Justin James Watt (born March 22, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan and Wisconsin and was drafted by the Houston Texans i ...
each had duties before the race. Watt, the race’s grand marshal, became the first NFL player to give “drivers, start your engines” in race history. Edelman was the race’s honorary starter – something several current and former NFL players have done in year’s past – as Edelman waved the green flag to signal the start of the 500. “I think these guys are absolutely insane,” Edelman, the MVP at
Super Bowl LIII
Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Con ...
earlier that month, said before the race. “First and foremost, they’re going 200 miles an hour around for three hours straight and (are) able to focus in extreme conditions.”
Matt DiBenedetto was the biggest surprise during the race. DiBenedetto started 9th in the race and led the most laps with 49 laps led. Unfortunately for DiBenedetto, his race would come to an end. With Kyle Busch now leading during a race restart with 10 laps to go, DiBenedetto was getting a push by Paul Menard into turn 3 when Menard bumped DiBenedetto a little bit too hard and turned DiBenedetto around triggering a 21 car crash in turn 3. DiBenedetto and Menard collected Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Matt Tifft, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Daniel Hemric, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron, Ty Dillon, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson. NASCAR threw the red flag to clean up the mess. The race restarted with 6 laps to go but another caution would be thrown for a 7 car wreck. It started when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got turned by Kevin Harvick and into Kyle Larson with Harvick spinning collecting Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Ty Dillon, and Brad Keselowski. During the wreck, Ryan Preece went to the bottom and went through in between 2 spinning cars in Stenhouse and Elliott and Preece made it through the wreck. The race restarted with 2 laps to go and it was a battle for the lead between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. But on the backstretch, the final caution flew for an 8 car crash. Clint Bowyer got a run to the inside of Michael McDowell and made it 3 wide and tried to go up in front of McDowell but instead he went across McDowell's nose and collected William Byron, Chase Elliott, Landon Cassill, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, and Brendan Gaughan. The wreck would set up an overtime finish. On the restart, Hamlin got in front of Busch and Hamlin held off the pack to win his 2nd Daytona 500 trophy. Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 5 while Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Jimmie Johnson, and Ross Chastain rounded out the top 10.
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One
''Laps:'' 60
Stage Two

''Laps:'' 60
Final Stage Results

''Laps:'' 80
Race statistics
* Lead changes: 15 among 9 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 12 for 47
* Red flags: 2 for 39 minutes and 38 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 45 minutes and 55 seconds
* Average speed:
Media
Television

Since
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
—with the exception of
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and
2006—the
Daytona 500 has been carried by
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
in the United States. The booth crew consisted of longtime
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
lap-by-lap announcer
Mike Joy, three–time Daytona 500 champion
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Moto ...
, and for the final time
1989 race winner
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...
. Pit road was manned by
Jamie Little,
Regan Smith
The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' " ...
,
Vince Welch and
Matt Yocum.
Spanish-language network
Fox Sports LA aired the race live, with lap-by-lap announcer Jessi Losada and color analyst Rodolfo Landeros.
Radio
The race was broadcast on radio by the
Motor Racing Network
Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of N ...
—who has covered the Daytona 500 since
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...
—and simulcast on
Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. The booth crew was consisted of Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 1989 Cup Series champion
Rusty Wallace
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful car ...
. Longtime turn announcer
Dave Moody was the lead turn announcer. He called the Daytona 500 from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2.
Mike Bagley
Mike Bagley is an American motorsports commentator who works for the Motor Racing Network. He is the secondary turn announcer for MRN and has worked for the radio network since 1992 and became a turn announcer in 1998. Since 2008, Bagley has been ...
worked the backstretch for the Daytona 500 from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track & Kyle Rickey called the Daytona 500 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4 from the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 4. On pit road, MRN was manned by lead pit reporter and
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning ...
Executive Director Winston Kelley. He will be joined on pit road by Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch.
Standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Manufacturers' Championship standings
*
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daytona 500, 2019
2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2019 in sports in Florida
February 2019 sports events in the United States
NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway