2019 Daytona 500: Preview NASCAR at Daytona

The 2019 Daytona 500 features a number of storylines. Here’s what NASCAR fans should watch for in the race from Daytona International Speedway.

The official start of the NASCAR season is the Daytona 500, and the 2019 Daytona 500 has many different storylines that racing fans should keep an eye on.

This is the 61st running of what’s called the “Great American Race,” and the first of 36 races in the 2019 NASCAR season. That means there’s a lot to prove—not only wanting to win the most well known race in the Monster Energy Cup Series, but wanting to start the season off strong, and see what the competition is bringing.

Austin Dillon enters the afternoon as the defending race champion, while Joey Logano begins as the defending series champion. William Byron is the Busch Pole winner; it’s the first time that he has ever started a race from pole position.

What should race fans look for this weekend? Let’s break the race down in our Daytona 500 preview.

ONE THING TO KNOW:

• Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row of Sunday’s starting grid, with Byron on the pole and Alex Bowman on the outside of Row 1. The best finish at Daytona for either one is 17th. Row 2 is comprised of Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, who are both Daytona 500 winners and NASCAR champions. That’s a sizeable disparity!

THREE DRIVERS TO WATCH:

• Kurt Busch: Made one of the most high-profile moves in the offseason, taking over the No. 1 entry at Chip Ganassi Racing. Will the move to a new team be the catalyst that he needs to push himself back toward the top of the sport? Though Busch won this race in 2017, he has not finished higher than 7th in the championship standings in the last five years.
• Jimmie Johnson: Probably won’t be getting much help this weekend, after single-handedly causing a massive crash that damaged most of the field during The Clash. He’s also on the hot seat after a struggling 2018 season that saw longtime crew chief Chad Knaus replaced by Kevin Meendering. So will the departure of Knaus solve his issues, or is there something else to figure out?
• Joey Logano: The reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion wants to start his title defense immediately; he proved that with the aggressive last-lap pass he executed to win the second Duel at Daytona last weekend. But the Daytona 500 has also been very, very good to the No. 22; aside from winning in 2015, he hasn’t finished lower than sixth since.

The 2019 Daytona 500 takes place Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of this weekend’s race and the 2019 NASCAR season, follow the NASCAR category at FanSided.