LOS ANGELES — The Daytona 500 is unlike any other NASCAR race. It’s the biggest event on the 36-race schedule, and it kicks off the season each year at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR’s iconic 2.5-mile track.
It’s a crown-jewel race in the sport, and drivers would do just about anything to take NASCAR’s most coveted checkered flag. But it has and continues to elude many of the sport’s best competitors.
Before the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, For The Win caught up with several drivers at the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a preseason exhibition race, to talk about the Daytona 500. We asked them what their favorite and least favorite things are about the race, and their answers didn’t disappoint.
@forthewintok NASCAR drivers weigh in on the #daytona500 #nascar
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
“Best thing is winning; worst thing is losing. It’s pretty simple.”
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
“My favorite thing about the Daytona 500 is, hands down, the walk down the stage for driver intros. It’s one of the few things that — having been in the Cup Series for 13, 14 years now — still give me chills. And I’ll carry that with me ’til my deathbed, right? Is that memory and feeling.
“And then the least [favorite] part is almost always the same: It’s leaving the Daytona 500, driving out of the tunnel, having not won it and how deflating that is. But that’s what it is.”
Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
The best thing is “the trophy,” but the worst is “the wrecks.”
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
“Favorite thing is how historic it is and how big it is from an event perspective. The only downside’s [it’s] the first race of the season, right, and there’s no time for build up in a sense of seeing where you’re at with the season. Usually all the big events in any given sport are toward the end of the year. But I’m not advocating switching it; it’s just the only negative to it.”
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
“Favorite thing’s the hype. I think the hype and the excitement around it’s awesome. Least favorite is just not finishing the race. I haven’t finished many of them, so hopefully this year I can.”
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
“My favorite thing is just how big the event is. I feel like it’s always just the energy that you get from the fans and the people there make that race special, in my opinion. And just the environment. When you show up and you go through driver intros and just running around all morning and seeing people flooding into our event, I have always found a lot of enjoyment in that.
“My least favorite thing is probably just how busy race day morning is for us. Just have a lot of obligations, and there’s just so much more for us — from a scheduling, logistical standpoint — than hopping in the car and racing. So that’s always tough to manage. But the excitement of the event and when it gets time to roll off typically makes up for all that.”
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
“My least favorite — I’ll start there — was finishing 40th two years ago. Finished last. Like the last car, was the first car to wreck and that was really, really humbling. I hope that never happens again.
“Favorite part is just that it’s the Daytona 500. Like, we have a shot. I’m one of the drivers that gets the strap in on Sunday and compete the Daytona 500. The nerves of waking up on that morning and what all goes into that week is indescribable. I’m just happy to be one of them, and I get to go compete for a Daytona 500 trophy.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
“My least favorite thing is just how many guys have a chance to be able to race for the win and it doesn’t really come down to the greatest driver or the greatest car. I feel like it all comes down to circumstances.
“I feel like the greatest thing about the Daytona 500 though is that it’s our Super Bowl of our sport. It’s the biggest race, it’s the pinnacle and you want to go out there and win it.”
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
“My favorite thing about the Daytona 500 is probably just the big-event feel. It’s a really big race, and you can tell that you have probably the most casual fans that we have over the entire schedule that tune in for the Daytona 500.
“My least favorite thing is just the style of racing. Restrictor-plate racing is not my favorite. It is what it is. It’s the Daytona 500, and it’s the biggest one of the year.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
“My favorite thing is probably just you feeling like you’re in a racing community for a week. We’re all in the infield, and [it] just feels like a neighborhood of racers and race fans. So I love that part of it.
“And the least favorite part of it, you asked? Crashing.”
