EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl — the Daytona 500 — is Sunday. It's the season opener and the signature event on the 36-race Cup Series schedule that runs until November.

“The Great American Race” has been held at Daytona International Speedway since its 1959 debut. This year will be the 68th running, with William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports trying to make history by becoming the first driver to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.

The speedway is a 2 1/2-mile oval, and the race is 200 laps — unless it goes to overtime. Byron won last year’s event in OT after race leader Denny Hamlin got spun on the final lap, igniting a multicar crash. Byron ended up passing eight cars on the last lap to return to victory lane.

Can he make it three in a row? Four others — Richard Petty in 1975, Cale Yarborough in 1985, Sterling Marlin in 1996 and Hamlin in 2021 — came up short in threepeat bids.

Forty other drivers, including seven previous Daytona 500 winners, will try to prevent Byron from taking the checkered flag again.

Kyle Larson is the defending series champ, winning it all for the second time in five years while driving for Hendrick. Larson edged fellow title contenders Hamlin, Byron and Chase Briscoe in the season finale.

Other notables in the field: Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champ who is considered the best driver to never win a series title, will race with a heavy heart after the death of his father in a house fire; Kyle Busch is winless in 20 Daytona 500 starts, the longest current skid in the racing series; Brad Keselowski is racing two months after breaking his right leg and will have a relief driver standing by in case pain becomes an issue; and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson is making his 701st Cup start, this one coming 20 years after his first of two Daytona 500 victories.

Scroll down for more info, including a list of drivers and their hometowns.

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READ AP’S COVERAGE

How to watch the Daytona 500 and what to watch for in ‘The Great American Race’

AP Newsroom: Auto Racing

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DAYTONA WARMUP: THE CLASH

The buildup to the Daytona 500 used to be called “Speedweeks” and spanned nearly two full weeks, with the exhibition Clash used as a warmup for the main event. NASCAR shifted away from that in 2022 by relocating the Clash first to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for three seasons and then holding it the last two years at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The event was delayed three days because of a historic snowstorm.

Ryan Preece won the Clash and will try to become the seventh driver in NASCAR history to sweep the Clash and the Daytona 500. Hamlin last did it in 2016 when both events were held at Daytona.

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HOW TO WATCH

Fox will televise the race live on free television. The network's broadcast booth includes Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Larry McReynolds provides analysis. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims cover pit road. Fox Deportes, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also offer live broadcasts, and the race will be streamed on the Fox One and the Fox Sports app.

NASCAR has practice scheduled Friday and Saturday, and the green flag is set to drop at 2:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday — weather permitting. Forecasts call for a significant chance of rain that could cause the race to be delayed.

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WATCH PARTIES

With the NFL season over, the Daytona 500 should be telecast in most sports bars across the country. However, there are some watch parties scheduled in various locations.

At Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race will be shown in its Speedway Club with reservations required. The NASCAR Hall of Fame will have a viewing party in uptown Charlotte, with general admission at $10. A group of New York and New Jersey-based NASCAR fans has scheduled a watch party at SKYBAR in Long Island City, while in Florida, a viewing event will be held at The Hub in North Fort Myers.

Fans interested in finding a place to watch with others should reach out to their local NASCAR track or favorite sports bar.

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FIND YOUR STATE: DAYTONA DRIVERS

Thirty-seven drivers in the 41-car field arrived at Daytona with guaranteed spots, leaving four up for grabs for the eight teams without charters. Charters are essentially a franchise license that guarantees entry to every race and other financial incentives.

Two of the open spots were claimed Wednesday night, with Justin Allgaier and Corey Heim getting into the race after posting the top qualifying speeds among those remaining cars. Allgaier drives for JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe were the top qualifiers and locked themselves into the front row for the Daytona 500. Busch earned his first Daytona 500 pole and will try to end an 0-for-20 skid in the race.

NASCAR will hold a pair of 150-mile qualifying races Thursday to set the final starting order for the rest of the field. Six drivers will be vying for the last two spots, with the top finisher in each race securing a berth.

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ALABAMA

Bubba Wallace, hometown is Mobile

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ARIZONA

Alex Bowman, hometown is Tucson

Michael McDowell, hometown is Glendale

JJ Yeley, hometown is Phoenix (trying to make the race)

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CALIFORNIA

AJ Allmendinger, hometown is Los Gatos

Cole Custer, hometown is Ladera Ranch

Jimmie Johnson, hometown is El Cajon

Kyle Larson, hometown is Elk Grove

Casey Mears, hometown is Bakersfield (trying to make the race)

Tyler Reddick, hometown is Corning

Zane Smith, hometown is Huntington Beach

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CONNECTICUT

Anthony Alfredo, hometown is Ridgefield (trying to make the race)

Joey Logano, hometown is Middletown

Ryan Preece, hometown is Berlin

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FLORIDA

Ross Chastain, hometown is Alva

BJ McLeod, hometown is Wauchula (trying to make the race)

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GEORGIA

Chase Elliott, hometown is Dawsonville

Corey Heim, hometown is Marietta

Chandler Smith, hometown is Talking Rock (trying to make the race)

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ILLINOIS

Justin Allgaier, hometown is Springfield

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INDIANA

Chase Briscoe, hometown is Mitchell

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MICHIGAN

Carson Hocevar, hometown is Portage

Erik Jones, hometown is Byron

Brad Keselowski, hometown is Rochester

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MISSISSIPPI

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., hometown is Olive Branch

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OHIO

Ryan Blaney, hometown is Hartford

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OKLAHOMA

Christopher Bell, hometown is Norman

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NEVADA

Kyle Busch, hometown is Las Vegas

Noah Gragson, hometown is Las Vegas

Riley Herbst, hometown is Las Vegas

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NORTH CAROLINA

William Byron, hometown is Charlotte

Austin Cindric, hometown is Mooresville

Austin Dillon, hometown is Welcome

Ty Dillon, hometown is Welcome

Ty Gibbs, hometown is Charlotte

Todd Gilliland, hometown is Statesville

Corey LaJoie, hometown is Concord (trying to make the race)

John Hunter Nemechek, hometown is Mooresville

Cody Shane Ware, hometown is Greensboro

Connor Zilisch, hometown is Charlotte

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TENNESSEE

Josh Berry, hometown is Hendersonville

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TEXAS

Chris Buescher, hometown is Prosper

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VIRGINIA

Denny Hamlin, hometown is Chesterfield

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MEXICO

Daniel Suarez, hometown is Monterrey

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NEW ZEALAND

Shane van Gisbergen, hometown is Auckland

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ADDITIONAL CONTEXT

The Daytona 500 was first televised live flag-to-flag in 1979 and became a phenomenon in part because of a last-lap crash and ensuing fight as brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison duked it out with Cale Yarborough. Because of a snowstorm on the East Coast that day, the race drew an estimated 15 million viewers. It was the highest-rated Daytona 500 until 2002.

The Daytona 500 has been the opening race of NASCAR’s grueling schedule since 1982.

Richard Petty’s seven wins are the most among all drivers in the Daytona 500. There are two other seven-time series champions, Jimmie Johnson and the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. Johnson won the race in 2006 and 2013, while Earnhardt Sr. won it in 1998. He died in a last-lap crash three years later.

Among active drivers, Byron, Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson are the only winners of multiple Daytona 500s. Hamlin has won three times, in 2016, 2019 and 2020.

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VIEW ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE

Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson signs a 5-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports ' AP News

NASCAR fans rally behind Denny Hamlin amid personal and professional trials ' AP News

Brad Keselowski’s broken right leg: NASCAR driver’s worst pain ever ' AP News

How NASCAR’s founding family transformed Daytona Beach into a motorsports mecca ' AP News

NASCAR emerges from federal antitrust lawsuit bruised but ready for its 78th season ' AP News

Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson adds team owner to his racing resume ' AP News

NASCAR champion Tony Stewart to drive Ram Truck at Daytona race ' AP News

Teen driver Connor Zilisch set to take NASCAR Cup Series by storm ' AP News

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