The Daytona 500 is in full swing!
The highly anticipated NASCAR Cup Series race takes center stage at Daytona International Speedway — and we've got you covered with all the action from start to finish!
Forty drivers make up the Daytona 500 field, including former winners Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson.
Alex Bowman won the pole on Wednesday night, earning his third career pole in the race, as Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row. It was Bowman's sixth consecutive front-row starting spot for NASCAR's biggest race.
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Here are the top moments!
Engines fired
Giving the command to start engines were eight drivers who've won both a Daytona 500 and Cup Series Championship: Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Johnson, Logano and Harvick.
Johnson, Logano and Harvick had to get strapped into their cars after the command while the rest of the field already had done so.
Fans were treated to a flyover show by the Thunderbirds while those three drivers got situated.
Green!
Tiffany Haddish waved the green flag to get things going, and just like that, the 65th Daytona 500 was underway.
It was a back-and-forth battle right out of the gate, with Kyle Larson leading Lap 1. It wasn't long before Bowman took over the lead, however, claiming the No. 1 spot on just the second lap. The rest of the field formed up double-file, while Logano and Larson continued to race nearly side-by-side on the first few opening laps.
Heating up
Larson led at Lap 10, but Christopher Bell was hot on his tail and challenged Larson for the top spot as things continued. Then, Aric Almirola got in on the action, and Almirola was racing Bell for the lead before pit stops started on Lap 37.
Fords were the first to pit road, followed by Chevrolets and then Toyotas.
Elsewhere, Ty Dillon's race ended prematurely due to an engine failure. With that, his 2023 season began with a DNF.
Spin!
Riley Herbst, who was making his first Daytona 500 start and his Cup debut, went for a spin into the infield, but managed to make it to his pit stall. He had to serve a pass-through pit road penalty as a result.
More contact
Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe was pushed to the lead right before Bubba Wallace, who has two runner-up Daytona 500 finishes (2018, 2022) under his belt, hit the wall after taking a run to the outside of Briscoe.
After the collision, Martin Truex Jr., who once lost the Daytona 500 by 0.01 seconds, took the lead.
Stage 1 in the books
Truex and Brad Keselowski were side-by-side for the lead with one lap to go in Stage 1, but it was Keselowski who won the opening stage with a 0.05 second lead over Ryan Preece.
Rounding out the top five in Stage 1 were Chris Buescher, Harvick and McDowell.
Traffic jam
The green flag was back out at Lap 71, the first restart of the day.
For this year's Daytona 500, the new "choose rule" was in full effect, meaning that drivers were able to choose which lane they wanted to use on restarts instead of everyone alternating sides behind the race leader. Almirola took the early lead.
Follow the leader
Keselowski quickly took back to the lead with a push from Preece, while 2021 Daytona 500 champion McDowell was the fourth Ford in the inside line. Keselowski, Preece, Harvick and McDowell were single-file at the front of the lead pack.
No quit
The leaders took to pit road as the halfway mark approached, when Ryan Blaney and Buescher threw huge blocks on Tyler Reddick, which put Logano in the lead ahead of Blaney, Truex, Ty Gibbs and Larson.
Crash!
Logano and Buescher were racing side-by-side for the lead late in the second stage when misfortune struck. Buescher cleared Logano to take the lead before causing an eight-car crash that involved Reddick, Truex, Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Larson, Daniel Suárez and Erik Jones.
Reddick's car was destroyed, while Elliott appeared to sustain major suspension damage.
Bumper cars
A restart came with six laps to go in Stage 2. Logano was leading, but Ross Chastain had other ideas. He got a push in the outside line from Bowman with five laps remaining, while Truex shoved Logano forward.
All eyes on Stage 2
Then, Chastain took the lead for the first time Sunday when it mattered most, claiming the Stage 2 win in style — by just inches over Bowman! Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cindric rounded out the top-five finishers in the second stage.
Stay tuned for updates!
Setting the stage
Ahead of the action, FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass broke down what — and who — to watch for in Sunday's race before the pre-race ceremonies began.
Daytona 500: Breland sings the national anthem before Sunday's race
Singer Breland sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the Daytona 500.
Driver spotlight
FOX's "NASCAR RaceDay" had in-depth pre-race coverage ahead of the 65th running of the iconic Daytona 500.
Joey Logano is "feeling really good" ahead of Daytona 500
Joey Logano won the Dual races on Thursday and spoke to FOX's NASCAR RaceDay crew on how he is feeling ahead of Sunday's Daytona 500.
Daytona 500 is the one race Kevin Harvick wants to win in his final season
Kevin Harvick told Jamie McMurray that if he could win one race in his final season it would be the Daytona 500.
Jimmie Johnson discusses his chances on taking home the Daytona 500
In his sit down with Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson says coming back to race in his 20th Daytona 500 just felt right, and he wants to continue his legacy.
Kyle Busch talks NASCAR career and dream of winning the Daytona 500
Kyle Busch spoke with FOX Sports' Tom Rinaldi about his long career in NASCAR and explained his dream of winning the Daytona 500.
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