The Daytona 500 is nearly here, with Thursday’s Daytona Duels determining virtually the entire starting grid order for the first event of the 2025 NASCAR season.
The Duel at Daytona will feature two races in one night, with the lineups determined by the results of Wednesday night’s Daytona 500 pole qualifying. Chase Briscoe claimed pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 after posting the top time in qualifying and will also start on the pole for Duel at Daytona No. 1. Austin Cindric, who qualified second and locked himself into the front row of the 67th annual Daytona 500, will start on the pole for Duel at Daytona No. 2.
But every other position in the Daytona 500 starting lineup is up for grabs thanks to the unique format deployed for the Daytona 500. And that’s where the Duel races come into play.
Racers will contest two 60-lap, 150-mile events Thursday night, with the starting order for Sunday only one element in the equation. Top finishers in both Daytona Duels receive NASCAR Cup Series regular season points, and no contender wants to start the season off on the wrong foot.
Here’s what to know about The Duel at Daytona, including how to watch and how the format works:
How to watch The Duel at Daytona: Time, TV channel, live stream
Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
Duel 1 Time: 7 p.m. ET
Duel 2 Time: 8:45 p.m. ET (approximate)
TV: FS1 (both duel races)
Streaming: Fubo, FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
Watch The Duel at Daytona on Fubo
The Duel at Daytona: What to know about unique Daytona 500 qualifying
The Duel at Daytona plays a major part of the Daytona 500, as it sets nearly all of starting grid for Sunday’s race. Qualifying started Wednesday in typical fashion: every driver will get to post one timed lap in the first round, and the top 10 advance to a second round. The winner in that round claims pole position, while the runner-up gets a front-row place on the Daytona 500 grid as well.
From there though, we diverge from normal procedure, and that’s where The Duel at Daytona comes in. Despite the official name, there are actually two races on Thursday: odd-numbered finishers from qualifying will race in Duel 1, while even-numbered finishers go into Duel 2.
Each Duel is a 60-lap, 150-mile race at Daytona International Speedway, and the finishing order sorts out every row of the grid behind the top two drivers from qualifying. Racers from Duel 1 will be placed on the inside lane in order of finish, with the winner behind the driver in pole position and so on. Duel 2’s drivers will be placed in the outside lane, again in order of finish.
What are the starting lineups for the Daytona Duel races?
Duel at Daytona No. 1
(19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
(60) Ryan Preece, Ford
(21) Josh Berry, Ford
(3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
(10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
(38) Zane Smith, Ford
(8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
(9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
(71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
(16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
(24) William Byron, Chevrolet
(56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
(54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
(45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
(23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
(7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
(40) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet
(77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
(1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
(91) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet
(47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
(66) Chandler Smith, Ford
(44) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
Duel at Daytona No. 2
(2) Austin Cindric, Ford
(22) Joey Logano, Ford
(11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
(20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
(5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
(48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
(34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
(6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
(17) Chris Buescher, Ford
(12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
(4) Noah Gragson, Ford
(99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
(35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
(84) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota
(88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
(41) Cole Custer, Ford
(01) Corey LaJoie, Ford
(43) Erik Jones, Toyota
(42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
(62) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet
(78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet
(51) Cody Ware, Ford
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