Five to Watch: 2020 Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The preliminaries of Speedweeks are finally in the books, and the main event at Daytona International Speedway is here: Monday's Daytona 500 (4 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). With the NASCAR Cup Series bracing for its first official event of 2020, here are five stories to watch for the 62nd annual Great American Race.

BLOCK PARTY: Big-time blocking of the aerodynamic draft turned last Sunday's Busch Clash into a crashfest, but the antics had cooled slightly for Thursday's qualifying races. The intensity of the tactics typically rises as the race nears its conclusion, but it remains a fine line for what's acceptable when trying to stem the pack's momentum. "At the end of the day, you block because it works, and it works until it doesn't," said Clint Bowyer, who starts 29th. "That's the only unfortunate difference between one that works and one that doesn't is a crash. It's successful until it's not, and then you're the bad guy."

CYCLING BACK TO TANDEMS: Another tactic making a comeback in Speedweeks is the superspeedway concept of tandem drafting, with two cars gaining an aero boost by working together in close bumper-to-bumper formation. Joey Logano used a locked-on push from fellow Ford driver Aric Almirola to prevail in Thursday's first qualifying race, but said that current-day tandems may not resemble those from its infancy some 10-12 years ago. "It's not going to be the old-school tandem where you lock for laps, you lock for half a run," Logano said. "That was a lot of fun. The cars don't handle good enough to do that. ... A car that can get there and stay there, a car that can handle, but you've also got to have two drivers that know what the heck they're doing because it's dangerous. We've seen plenty of times that that's where the wrecks come from is things like that."

BRAND SOLIDARITY: Teams providing aerodynamic help along manufacturer lines has been a recurring theme in recent superspeedway events. This week's practice sessions reinforced the idea that drivers should not break ranks, that the risks associated with going rogue is too great. "Yes, we will work together, but I want these guys to be adaptive out there," said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports for Chevrolet. "At 200 miles an hour, they have to be smart. All things being equal, I want them to help a Chevy." Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota have divided the last three Daytona 500s evenly with one win each.

FAREWELL TO SEVEN-TIME? Jimmie Johnson enters his final Cup Series season with a bright spotlight on what's his last Daytona 500 as a full-time driver. Johnson has said that he's interested in continuing to race in select bucket-list races in semi-retirement. When asked if a return to the Great American Race might be on his docket, the seven-time series champ -- a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2006, 2013) -- wouldn't rule it out. "It could be my last 500. I don't know," Johnson said Saturday. "I am officially retiring from 38 weekends a year at the end of the season. I do know that. But the right situation, I would certainly consider it."

SAVE ROOM FOR SURPRISES: The factors of attrition and superspeedway scrambling typically offer leverage for underdogs to claim finishes in the upper reaches of the leaderboard. Though an out-and-out Cinderella hasn't won this race since Trevor Bayne's stunner in 2011, plenty of drivers have secured season- or career-bests on stock-car racing's biggest stage. That includes Daytona's most recent winner, Justin Haley, who shocked the field in a rain-shortened event here last July. "I'm definitely a lot more confident," said Haley, who won last year for Spire Motorsports but will lead Kaulig Racing's charge in this year's 500. "The circumstances this time are a lot more in my favor to win."