Is Daytona 500 qualifying on TV? What time? How does it work? A schedule, the format and more.
Part of what makes the Daytona 500 a unique event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule has always been its unique qualifying procedure.
And while it's changed over the years, the drama involved with it has not.
This year is no different. Currently, 42 drivers and teams have officially entered to try and qualify for the Great American Race after a late entry by the NY Racing Team, which will field the No. 44 Chevrolet. No driver for that car has yet been announced.
Of those, 36 are guaranteed spots in the field via full-time charters. The other six will be left to duke it out for four starting spots.
Those five drivers include seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who will run the No. 84 car, a part-time entry for Legacy Motor Club, a team he co-owns. Kaz Grala, former Coke Zero Sugar 400 winner David Ragan, Anthony Alfredo and B.J. McLeod are the other four trying to earn their way in.
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Two of them will lock in during Wednesday's qualifying runs via single-lap time. The other two spots will come via highest two finishers in Thursday's BlueGreen Vacation Duel races at Daytona.
Here's everything you need to know about Daytona 500 qualifying.
When is pole qualifying for the 2024 Daytona 500?
Qualifying for the 66th Daytona 500 is set to begin at 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Daytona 500 qualifying tickets
Plenty of tickets for Daytona 500 qualifying remain and can be purchased at daytonainternationalspeedway.com.
How much are tickets for Daytona 500 qualifying?
General admission tickets for Wednesday's qualifying are just $20.
How can I watch Daytona 500 pole qualifying?
Daytona 500 pole qualifying will be broadcast on FS1. It can be listened to on MRN Radio, SiriusXM and NASCAR Radio.
Who goes first in Daytona 500 qualifying?
The order for qualifying is determined on Tuesday afternoon via random draw. This story will be updated after that draw is completed.
How does Daytona 500 qualifying work?
Each of the 42 drivers will make a single-car, single-lap run to open the session. The top 10 fastest times will advance to a "Round 2" and will run another lap. The fastest two drivers from that session will lock themselves into the front row for the Daytona 500.
Those two drivers will each start on the pole for one of Thursday's BlueGreen Vacation Duel races. Those races, each 150 miles, will determine the starting grid for the Daytona 500 with one race determining odd-numbered starting spots and the other taking care of the even numbers. With 42 entrants in the field and a cap at 40 starting positions, two drivers will be left out of the Daytona 500.
Daytona 500 qualifying trends
The pole position for the Daytona 500 has become little more than a Hendrick Motorsports invitational in recent years.
The organization has claimed eight of the last nine poles for the Daytona 500 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2020 being the lone exception. But that year, Stenhouse was running an engine built by? You guessed it, Hendrick Motorsports.
Individually, Alex Bowman has claimed three of the last six poles.
Daytona 500 qualifying order
* denotes driver that is not locked into the Daytona 500
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet*
Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford*
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet*
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Driver TBA, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet*
Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Ford
Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kaz Grala, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford*
Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota*
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Chis Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
Daytona 500 pole winners by year
1959: Bob Welborn, Chevrolet
1960: Cotton Owens, Pontiac
1961: Fireball Roberts, Pontiac
1962: Fireball Roberts, Pontiac
1963: Fireball Roberts, Pontiac
1964: Paul Goldsmith, Plymouth
1965: Darel Dieringer, Mercury
1966: Richard Petty, Plymouth
1967: Curtis Turner, Chevrolet
1968: Cale Yarborough, Mercury
1969: Buddy Baker, Dodge
1970: Cale Yarborough, Mercury
1971: A.J. Foyt, Mercury
1972: Bobby Isaac, Dodge
1973: Buddy Baker, Dodge
1974: David Pearson, Chevrolet
1975: Donnie Allison, Chevrolet
1976: Ramo Stott, Chevrolet
1977: Donnie Allison, Chevrolet
1978: Cale Yarborough, Oldsmobile
1979: Buddy Baker, Oldsmobile
1980: Buddy Baker, Oldsmobile
1981: Bobby Allison, Pontiac
1982: Benny Parsons, Pontiac
1983: Ricky Rudd, Chevrolet
1984: Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet
1985: Bill Elliott, Ford
1986: Bill Elliott, Ford
1987: Bill Elliott, Ford
1988: Ken Schrader, Chevrolet
1989: Ken Schrader, Chevrolet
1990: Ken Schrader, Chevrolet
1991: Davey Allison, Ford
1992: Sterling Marlin, Ford
1993: Kyle Petty, Pontiac
1994: Loy Allen Jr., Ford
1995: Dale Jarrett, Ford
1996: Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet
1997: Mike Skinner, Chevrolet
1998: Bobby Labonte, Pontiac
1999: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
2000: Dale Jarrett, Ford
2001: Bill Elliott, Dodge
2002: Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
2003: Jeff Green, Chevrolet
2004: Greg Biffle, Ford
2005: Dale Jarrett, Ford
2006: Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
2007: David Gilliland, Ford
2008: Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
2009: Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet
2010: Mark Martin, Chevrolet
2011: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
2012: Carl Edwards, Ford
2013: Danica Patrick, Chevrolet
2014: Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
2015: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
2016: Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
2017: Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
2018: Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
2019: William Byron, Chevrolet
2020: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
2021: Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
2022: Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
2023: Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
Who has the most Daytona 500 poles?
4: Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott
3: Fireball Roberts, Ken Schrader, Dale Jarrett, Alex Bowman
2: Donnie Allison, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott
Has anyone won the Daytona 500 from the pole?
There have been nine occasions of the pole sitter winning the Daytona 500:
1962: Fireball Roberts
1966: Richard Petty
1968: Cale Yarborough
1980: Buddy Baker
1984: Cale Yarborough
1985: Bill Elliott
1987: Bill Elliott
1999: Jeff Gordon
2000: Dale Jarrett
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Daytona 500 qualifying order, format, TV, schedule etc.