Get caught up before the non-points race at Daytona (8 p.m. ET, Sat., FOX)
Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live
What: 37th annual Sprint Unlimited.
Where: Daytona International Speedway, 2.5-mile tri-oval in Daytona Beach, Florida.
When: Saturday, Feb. 14; 8:15 p.m. ET.
TV/Radio: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Distance: 75 laps; 187.5 miles (two segments -- 25 laps; 50 laps).
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution car speed: 70 mph
Fuel window: 32 laps
On the front row (no qualifying; drivers drew for starting position) | Starting lineup
1. Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet.
2. Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet.
Fastest in practice
First practice: Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet (200.749 mph). | Full results
Final practice: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (196.764 mph). | Full results
Driver rating
(Best driver rating average in the Sprint Unlimited based in the past nine years, minimum 5 starts):
Tony Stewart, 98.4
Jamie McMurray, 95.9
Last year's winner:
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota.
Final Sprint: Saturday night's running of the annual season-opening exhibition race will likely be Jeff Gordon's final drive in the Sprint Unlimited. The four-time champion in NASCAR's premier series holds the record for most consecutive starts in the event -- 21.
Pole predictors? Denny Hamlin stormed to victory in last year's Unlimited from the pole position, marking the fourth time in event history that the race winner has started from the No. 1 spot. The last time a race winner had the same pole-starting distinction was way back in 1989, when Ken Schrader landed his first win in the Daytona preliminary.
History lesson: In its earliest years, the Sprint Unlimited field was solely filled by the previous season's pole winners. In those years when parity was not nearly as prevalent in stock-car racing, fewer drivers topped qualifying, meaning the earliest fields were far from unlimited. In 1981, Darrell Waltrip won the race -- then known as the Busch Clash, a brief 20-lap, 50-mile affair -- beating just six other cars to the checkered flag.
They said it I: "It's just practice. I used to have the (XFINITY) race and things like that to get acclimated with your spotters and everything. I've been driving a tractor. It's been a long offseason and nobody has tested, nobody has been in a car and nobody has been acclimated to your guys and everything else. Just to show up cold turkey and not be ready is real for the Daytona 500, and I believe that. Having that race under our belt with all of us able to talk and (crew chief Brian) Pattie on the box, just to get in sync with one another before the big dance is what that race is all about." -- Clint Bowyer, on using the Sprint Unlimited to get in a rhythm for Speedweeks
They said it II: "Daytona, Talladega, it's unique teaching people that don't know a lot about NASCAR and how different Daytona and Talladega really are, and yet so much preparation goes into these cars. I mean, they're beautiful cars with the most man-hours put into them, and some teams are electing not even to run the Unlimited because they know they're going to destroy a car. Wow, what do we do with restrictor plate racing? It's just that different, the way the racing is. There's strategy, there's drafting. A lot of it is luck, being in the right place at the right time." -- Kurt Busch
They said it III: "This is my first Unlimited. But it's not a points race so I imagine it's a pretty relaxing race. It doesn't even have an effect on where you start in the (Daytona) 500. So, I think this whole weekend is pretty relaxing." -- Kyle Larson
Former Sprint Unlimited winners in the field: Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick (3), Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin (2), Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson (1).