Each year, the NASCAR Cup Series kicks off the season with its pinnacle event -- the Daytona 500.
The 65th annual running is set for Sunday, Feb. 19 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway. And, like any big event, some unique quirks are part of the build-up.
The "Great American Race's" most notable difference compared to any other on the Cup schedule is how the starting lineup is set. Forty cars will make the Daytona 500 starting grid. Thirty-six teams are guaranteed starting spots thanks to their Charters, leaving only four spots available for Open teams.
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The process began with single-car qualifying on Wednesday, where the two fastest drivers secured the front-row starting positions for Sunday's race (Hendrick Motorsports' teammates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson) and the fastest overall earned the Busch Light Pole (Bowman). Additionally, the two fastest Open cars clinched a spot in Sunday's main event — those honors went to seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana.
The remaining results from qualifying set the field for the two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races on Thursday. The duel races were 60-lap affairs, the results of which set the lineup for the Daytona 500.
Drivers who were in odd-numbered positions on the speed chart from single-car qualifying made up the starting grid of Duel No. 1, while those who qualified in even-numbered positions made up Duel No. 2. The highest-finishing Open car in each duel advanced into the Daytona 500.
The results of Duel No. 1 set the inside row for the 2023 Daytona 500, while the results of Duel No. 2 set the outside row for Sunday's race.
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Bluegreen Vacations Duel No. 1 results
* denotes Open, non-Charter team
Finishing Position
Car No.
Driver
1
22
Joey Logano
2
20
Christopher Bell
3
12
Ryan Blaney
4
17
Chris Buescher
5
34
Michael McDowell
6
4
Kevin Harvick
7
23
Bubba Wallace
8
36*
Zane Smith*
9
21
Harrison Burton
10
24
William Byron
11
1
Ross Chastain
12
43
Erik Jones
13
3
Austin Dillon
14
84*
Jimmie Johnson*
15
16
AJ Allmendinger
16
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17
48
Alex Bowman
18
13*
Chandler Smith*
19
54
Ty Gibbs
20
51
Cody Ware
21
77
Ty Dillon
Bluegreen Vacations Duel No. 2 results
* denotes Open, non-Charter team
Starting position
Car No.
Driver
1
10
Aric Almirola
2
2
Austin Cindric
3
9
Chase Elliott
4
6
Brad Keselowski
5
7
Corey LaJoie
6
5
Kyle Larson
7
38
Todd Gilliland
8
19
Martin Truex Jr.
9
11
Denny Hamlin
10
41
Ryan Preece
11
42
Noah Gragson
12
99
Daniel Suárez
13
45
Tyler Reddick
14
31
Justin Haley
15
14
Chase Briscoe
16
78
BJ McLeod
17
50*
Conor Daly*
18
62*
Austin Hill*
19
8
Kyle Busch
20
15
Riley Herbst
21
67*
Travis Pastrana
Projected Daytona 500 starting lineup
Position
Car No.
Driver
How Spot is Determined
1
48
Alex Bowman
Fastest in qualifying
2
5
Kyle Larson
Second fastest in qualifying
3
22
Joey Logano
Duel No. 1 winner
4
10
Aric Almirola
Duel No. 2 winner
5
20
Christopher Bell
Duel No. 1 second place
6
2
Austin Cindric
Duel No. 2 second place
7
12
Ryan Blaney
Duel No. 1 third place
8
9
Chase Elliott
Duel No. 2 third place
9
17
Chris Buescher
Duel No. 1 fourth place
10
6
Brad Keselowski
Duel No. 2 fourth place
11
34
Michael McDowell
Duel No. 1 fifth place
12
7
Corey LaJoie
Duel No. 2 fifth place
13
4
Kevin Harvick
Duel No. 1 sixth place
14
38
Todd Gilliland
Duel No. 2 sixth place
15
23
Bubba Wallace
Duel No. 1 seventh place
16
19
Martin Truex Jr.
Duel No. 2 seventh place
17
36*
Zane Smith*
Highest finishing Open car in Duel No. 1; Duel No. 1 eighth place
18
11
Denny Hamlin
Duel No. 2 eighth place
19
21
Harrison Burton
Duel No. 1 ninth place
20
41
Ryan Preece
Duel No. 2 ninth place
21
24
William Byron
Duel No. 1 10th place
22
42
Noah Gragson
Duel. No. 2 10th place
23
1
Ross Chastain
Duel No. 1 11th place
24
99
Daniel Suárez
Duel No. 2 11th place
25
43
Erik Jones
Duel No. 1 12th place
26
45
Tyler Reddick
Duel No. 2 12th place
27
3
Austin Dillon
Duel No. 1 13th place
28
31
Justin Haley
Duel No. 2 13th place
29
84*
Jimmie Johnson*
Fastest Open car in qualifying; Duel No. 1 14th place
30
14
Chase Briscoe
Duel No. 2 14th place
31
16
AJ Allmendinger
Duel No. 1 15th place
32
78
BJ McLeod
Duel No. 2 15th place
33
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Duel No. 1 16th place
34
50*
Conor Daly*
Highest-finishing Open Car in Duel No. 2; Duel No. 2 16th place