Daytona 500 live updates: NASCAR Cup Series top moments on FOX

The Daytona 500 is underway!

The highly anticipated NASCAR Cup Series race takes center stage at Daytona International Speedway — and we’ve got you covered with all the action from start to finish!

Forty drivers make up the Daytona 500 field, including former winners Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson.

Alex Bowman won the pole on Wednesday night, earning his third career pole in the race, as Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row, with teammate Kyle Larson qualifying second. It was Bowman’s sixth consecutive front-row starting spot for NASCAR’s biggest race.

Here are the top moments!

Engines fired

Giving the command to start engines were eight drivers who’ve won both a Daytona 500 and Cup Series championship: Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Johnson, Logano and Harvick.

Johnson, Logano and Harvick had to get strapped into their cars after the command while the rest of the field already had done so. Fans were treated to a flyover show by the Thunderbirds while those three drivers got situated.

Green!

Tiffany Haddish waved the green flag to get things going, and just like that, the 65th Daytona 500 was underway.

It was a back-and-forth battle right out of the gate, with Kyle Larson leading Lap 1. It wasn’t long before Bowman took over the lead, however, claiming the No. 1 spot on just the second lap. The rest of the field formed up double-file, while Logano and Larson continued to race nearly side-by-side on the first few opening laps.

Heating up

Larson led at Lap 10, but Christopher Bell was hot on his tail and challenged Larson for the top spot as things continued. Then, Aric Almirola got in on the action, and Almirola was racing Bell for the lead before pit stops started on Lap 37.

Fords were the first to pit road, followed by Chevrolets and then Toyotas.

Elsewhere, Ty Dillon‘s race ended prematurely due to an engine failure. With that, his 2023 season began with a DNF.

Spin!

Riley Herbst, who was making his first Daytona 500 start and his Cup debut, went for a spin into the infield but managed to make it to his pit stall. He had to serve a pass-through pit road penalty as a result.

More contact

Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe was pushed to the lead right before Bubba Wallace, who has two runner-up Daytona 500 finishes (2018, 2022) under his belt, hit the wall after taking a run to the outside of Briscoe.

After the collision, Martin Truex Jr., who once lost the Daytona 500 by 0.01 seconds, took the lead.

Stage 1 in the books

Truex and Brad Keselowski were side-by-side for the lead with one lap to go in Stage 1, but it was Keselowski who won the opening stage with a 0.05 second lead over Ryan Preece.

Rounding out the top five in Stage 1 were Chris Buescher, Harvick and McDowell.

Stay tuned for updates!

Setting the stage

Ahead of the action, FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass broke down what — and who — to watch for in Sunday’s race before the pre-race ceremonies began.

Daytona 500: Breland sings the national anthem before Sunday’s race

Singer Breland sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Daytona 500.

Driver spotlight

FOX’s “NASCAR RaceDay” had in-depth pre-race coverage ahead of the 65th running of the iconic Daytona 500.

Joey Logano is “feeling really good” ahead of Daytona 500

Joey Logano won the Dual races on Thursday and spoke to FOX’s NASCAR RaceDay crew on how he is feeling ahead of Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Daytona 500 is the one race Kevin Harvick wants to win in his final season

Kevin Harvick told Jamie McMurray that if he could win one race in his final season it would be the Daytona 500.

Jimmie Johnson discusses his chances on taking home the Daytona 500

In his sit down with Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson says coming back to race in his 20th Daytona 500 just felt right, and he wants to continue his legacy.