The Daytona 500 is just hours away, which means NASCAR is officially back in action! Winning NASCAR’s biggest race of the year will give one driver bragging rights, as well as a leg up on their competition as the 2022 season begins. The 2022 Daytona 500 will start on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox and the Fox Sports App.
Michael McDowell won last year’s Daytona 500, and it was the first Cup Series race victory in his career. The victory led to him having his best Cup Series season of his career, reaching the playoffs and finishing in 16th place. It will be difficult for McDowell to win again as three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin is the odds-on favorite. Also, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, the two Cup Series Champions, are looking to win their first Daytona 500.
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Kurt Busch won the race in 2017 and is also a Cup Series Champion. PopCulture.com recently spoke to Busch about the keys to having success at Daytona International Speedway. “To win a Daytona 500 is like winning a championship,” Busch told PopCulture. “And you do it with a program and a process to make sure you’re checking off all the right boxes. So even little things like weather, when you have changes in the weather, change the way you approach some of the pit stop sequences. So, looking ahead, it’s not going to be a super hot day, so that will help with tire wear. That’ll help with the engines and the fuel mileage.”
PopCulture.com also spoke to Austin Dillon, 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, and he explained what he needs to do to win it again. “I think the biggest thing is just putting yourself in good opportunities,” Dillion told PopCulture. “Last year, we finished third. It was a close one for us. We had a car that could win the race, and we ran up front a lot. So I feel like you got to establish that position and really have a car that’s under you and you’re driving. I think we’re in a good position.
Larson won pole for this year’s Daytona 500 since he had the fastest in qualifying. The rest of the starting five are Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric. Keselowski and Buescher won the Duel races at Daytona on Thursday.
