By Michael Pedro
Speedweeks marks the beginning of the NASCAR season. Beginning with qualifying for the Daytona 500 the Wednesday before the Daytona 500 and ending after the race reaches its conclusion (weather permitting), it’s become a major part of any NASCAR fan’s February.
Shortly before Speedweeks, though, there was one more event to kick off the season. The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, which ran on February 3, 2024, was the first official event of the season. Initially planned to run on the 4th, heavy rain in Los Angeles on the site of this event forced it up a day, making it the first-ever NASCAR race to have free admission. Twenty-three drivers took to the LA Coliseum for a great night race. In the end, the #11 SportClips Toyota Camry of Denny Hamlin would emerge victorious. “You know I beat your favorite driver again, right?” Hamlin said at the end of the race, a nod to his win at Bristol the previous year. Hamlin would decide to retire the phrase after this race, though.
Qualifying races for the Daytona 500 kicked off Speedweeks. Qualifying ran late on Valentine’s Day night, with 42 drivers racing for 40 spots in the big show. While 36 of the drivers were guaranteed to race, six drivers had to either go big or go home. At the end of the night, two of the six “open” cars, the #62 Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet Camaro of Anthony Alfredo and the #60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang of David Ragan, secured positions in the Daytona 500 with fast qualifying laps, leaving only two slots remaining. Joey Logano’s #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang ended up in pole position, with the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang of Michael McDowell runner-up.
The Bluegreen Vacations Duels, two sixty-lap shootouts with twenty-one cars apiece, were run the following night to determine where the rest of the grid would stack up. However, it was here two drivers would be sent packing.
Duel 1’s battle for a spot was between two veterans of the sport- the #84 Carvana Toyota Camry of Jimmie Johnson and the #44 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet Camaro of JJ Yeley. The latter car had been involved in some controversy prior to qualifying, with some sources, including the design on the hauler itself, stating another veteran driver, Greg Biffle, would be behind the wheel. Biffle refuted these claims, and the #44 team had to find a new driver. Yeley wasn’t announced as the car’s driver until the morning before the qualifying race. In the end, Jimmie Johnson, who spun out only a few laps prior, placed above JJ Yeley after Yeley made a daring move to pass cars on the last lap, a move that failed in the end. The Duel was won by the #45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry driven by Tyler Reddick, but Johnson secured his spot in the Daytona 500, delighting his many fans.
Duel 2’s battle was between the #36 Ruedebusch Ford Mustang of Kaz Grala and the unsponsored #78 Chevrolet Camaro of BJ McLeod. Though McLeod put up an excellent fight and ran with the lead pack for most of the race, his Cinderella story was hindered by a late caution, stacking up the field once more. Grala got around him on a late restart and barely defeated him, while the #20 DeWalt Toyota Camry of Christopher Bell clinched the second Duel. The grid was set, but the Cup Series would have to wait until Sunday.
Friday belonged to the Craftsman Truck Series’ Fresh From Florida 250 race, a race won by the #2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado of Nick Sanchez, as a massive wreck occurred behind him that saw the #17 JBL Audio Toyota Tundra of Taylor Gray flip over. This was Sanchez’s first career win.
The ARCA Menards Series would run their race, the Daytona ARCA 200, soon after. The #55 Dean Custom Air Toyota Camry of Gus Dean would emerge victorious as a near flip would occur on the final lap. Saturday was supposed to have the Xfinity Series’ United Rentals 300, but rain postponed it to the following Monday. The Daytona 500 would sadly suffer the same fate, being postponed to the late afternoon that Monday as well.
Rain continued into Monday morning, postponing the United Rentals 300 to a nighttime slot after the Daytona 500. After Mother Nature quelled the storms, the time had come. After over a day of waiting and an entire off-season of anticipation, it was finally time to begin the Great American Race, the 66th annual Daytona 500.
The yellow Ford Mustangs of Joey Logano and Michael McDowell led the field to the green flag, and the race was on. However, the first crash occurred early in the race. On only lap 5, drivers like Kaz Grala, Jimmie Johnson, the #41 Haas Tooling Ford Mustang of Ryan Preece, the #21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang of Harrison Burton, and the #77 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro of Carson Hocevar would wreck, with most of those drivers being taken out of the race. The #9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro of Chase Elliott would take Stage 1, while the #12 Menards Ford Mustang of Ryan Blaney would clinch Stage 2.
All eyes were on the final 65 laps to determine the winner, though. Hard racing highlighted the final stretch of the Daytona 500. With just eight laps to go, the field scrambled when the #48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro of Alex Bowman started a chain reaction crash that left 18 cars damaged, including the #38 gener8tor Ford Mustang of Todd Gilliland, who had dominated most of the race, and the #6 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang of Brad Keselowski, who was vying for his first Daytona 500 victory.
After the crash, the field restarted one final time for a five-lap shootout. Bowman, alongside teammates Chase Elliott and the #24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro of William Byron, rocketed to the front. Elliott faded fast, though, and another crash occurred as the field approached the white flag, ending the race. Byron was narrowly ahead of Bowman at the time of caution, giving him his first Daytona 500 victory and securing him a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs.
The biggest race of Speedweeks was done, but the events weren’t over. After a little over two days of waiting, it was finally time for the Xfinity Series to take to the track for the United Rentals 300. The drivers raced aggressively, with many crashes collecting the majority of the field. For the third consecutive year, Austin Hill brought his mildly damaged #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro to a victory in the season opener, securing a spot in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Overall, this year’s Speedweeks was a very solid start to what the NASCAR fan base can only hope is yet another good season.
