What channel is the Daytona 500 on and when does it start? How to follow NASCAR’s season opener

NFL’s big game may be over but NASCAR’s signature race is about to begin with the Daytona 500 coming up this weekend.

The ‘Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing’ is the crown jewel of the Cup Series season and a highlight of the motorsport calendar.

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Despite F1’s explosion in the US market in recent years, the Daytona 500 remains one of the most-watched race events on TV.

One week after the Super Bowl, sports fans will descend upon the Daytona International Speedway for the  67th iteration of the race.

This year promises to be grander than ever, with Captain America actor Anthony Mackie set to give the command for drivers to start their engines.

Daytona Beach’s long stretch has made it synonymous with racing for over a century, with Florida an iconic hotspot for speed records.

Over time, the city became the host for stock car events on a combined beach-and-road course.

Its popularity led NASCAR founder Bill France Sr to pioneer the way to the construction of the Great American Race in 1959.

Since then, Daytona 500 has signalled the official start of the racing season and here’s all you need to know about the 500-mile race.

When is the Daytona 500?

The 2025 race will take place on Sunday, February 16.

It will begin at 2:30pm ET, which is 7:30pm GMT.

There are traditionally 40 drivers in the field, with 36 guaranteed spots and another nine for the winners of earlier qualifying races.

The one exception is for Helio Castroneves, who is the beneficiary of a new provision this year for ‘world-class drivers’.

Under the new rule change, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner will expand the field to 41 cars should he not qualify traditionally.

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Daytona 500: How to follow

The race will be broadcast live on FOX and the FOX Sports App.

In the US, fans without a cable subscription can live stream FOX via several services including YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu+.

All NASCAR races on Fox or FS1 can also be streamed on Fubo, which is offering a free trial.

In the UK, Viaplay has the rights to show the Daytona 500.

A subscription to the streaming service costs £11.99/month for a year, while a free trial is available for Amazon Prime Video customers.

talkSPORT.com will also have the best of the reaction.

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Who won last year’s Daytona 500?

William Byron kicked off the 2024 season by winning the 66th annual Daytona 500.

The 27-year-old earned Hendrick Motorsports first victory at the ‘Great American Race’ in a decade on what was their 40th anniversary season.

Ironically, the American enjoyed a 1-2 finish with his teammate Alex Bowman to give team owner Rick Hendrick a record-tying nine Daytona 500 victories.

“I feel like I definitely grew up in the sport very differently,” he told CNN Sport following his triumph. “I just was racing online on the computer, sim racing, and that’s how I learned how to drive.

“It was just a completely different start than a lot of people but I was really fortunate for that background because I felt like that allowed me to learn a lot at a quick rate and once I got into real cars I was able to translate a lot of that.”

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What has been said?

IndyCar legend Castroneves has defended himself from the controversial Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) that allows other motorsports elite to secure a starting spot in Daytona without qualifying.

In an interview with Autoweek addressing the backlash, the Brazilian said: “I’m not the one who writes the rules, I’m the one very blessed and honored to be in this position to go to an incredible race.

“Hopefully, I’m going to do justice not only for the people that are fans of all kinds of races—not just about Indy cars or prototypes or NASCAR…

“If I can do it the way I want to do it, we won’t have to use the rule.”

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Daytona 2025: Event schedule

Daytona 500 pole qualifying

• Date: Wednesday, Feb. 12
• Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
• TV: TV: 🇬🇧📺 Viaplay// 🇺🇸📺 FS1

Daytona Duel races

• Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
• Duel 1 Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Duel 2 Time: 8:45 p.m. ET
• TV: TV: 🇬🇧📺 Viaplay// 🇺🇸📺 FS1 (both duel races)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opener

• Date: Friday, Feb. 14
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: 🇬🇧📺 Viaplay// 🇺🇸📺 FS1

ARCA Menards Series 200 race

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
• Time: 12 p.m. ET
• TV: 🇬🇧📺 Viaplay// 🇺🇸📺 FS1

NASCAR Xfinity Series opener

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
• Time: 5 p.m. ET
• TV: 🇬🇧📺 Viaplay// 🇺🇸📺 CW

Daytona 500

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 16
• Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
• TV: 🇬🇧📺 Viaplay// 🇺🇸📺 Fox

Daytona 500 winners by year

• 1959: Lee Petty
• 1960: Junior Johnson
• 1961: Marvin Panch
• 1962: Fireball Roberts
• 1963: Tiny Lund
• 1964: Richard Petty
• 1965: Fred Lorenzen
• 1966: Richard Petty
• 1967: Mario Andretti
• 1968: Cale Yarborough
• 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough
• 1970: Pete Hamilton
• 1971: Richard Petty
• 1972: A.J. Foyt
• 1973: Richard Petty
• 1974: Richard Petty
• 1975: Benny Parsons
• 1976: David Pearson
• 1977: Cale Yarborough
• 1978: Bobby Allison
• 1979: Richard Petty
• 1980: Buddy Baker
• 1981: Richard Petty
• 1982: Bobby Allison
• 1983: Cale Yarborough
• 1984: Cale Yarborough
• 1985: Bill Elliott
• 1986: Geoff Bodine
• 1987: Bill Elliott
• 1988: Bobby Allison
• 1989: Darrell Waltrip
• 1990: Derrike Cope
• 1991: Ernie Irvan
• 1992: Davey Allison
• 1993: Dale Jarrett
• 1994: Sterling Marlin
• 1995: Sterling Marlin
• 1996: Dale Jarrett
• 1997: Jeff Gordon
• 1998: Dale Earnhardt Sr. 
• 1999: Jeff Gordon
• 2000: Dale Jarrett
• 2001: Michael Waltrip
• 2002: Ward Burton
• 2003: Michael Waltrip
• 2004: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• 2005: Jeff Gordon
• 2006: Jimmie Johnson
• 2007: Kevin Harvick
• 2008: Ryan Newman
• 2009: Matt Kenseth
• 2010: Jamie McMurray
• 2011: Trevor Bayne
• 2012: Matt Kenseth
• 2013: Jimmie Johnson
• 2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• 2015: Joey Logano
• 2016: Denny Hamlin
• 2017: Kurt Busch
• 2018: Austin Dillon
• 2019: Denny Hamlin
• 2020: Denny Hamlin
• 2021: Michael McDowell
• 2022: Austin Cindric
• 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• 2024: William Byron