What will the Daytona 500 provide?

By ZECH YODER

This weekend marks the official start of the 2025 NASCAR season with the biggest race of the season, the Daytona 500. Qualifying is over and the field is set with Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer, Chase Briscoe, starting from pole and 2022 Daytona 500 champion, Austin Cindric, starting second.

In recent years with the Gen7 car, the racing product at Daytona has been criticized by many. The increased drag on the Gen7 car makes passing more difficult and the stage breaks result in extended periods of fuel saving and less racing on the track. Yet, I am hopeful that this year’s Daytona 500 will be more exciting than the previous few years. NASCAR has done a great deal of work improving the raceability of the Gen7 car. The short track package on the Gen7, which was abysmal in 2022 and 2023, put on a great performance at Bowman Gray Stadium just two weeks ago. I expect the same will be true of the superspeedway package for Daytona and Talladega.

With rain looming in the forecast for Sunday, I believe teams will experience urgency in getting their cars to the front. Though I hope the race is not shortened or delayed by rain, the threat of rain may create increased pressure on the drivers and excitement on the track. At the end of the day, I believe this is going to be a Toyota vs. Ford fight. Toyota and Ford each won a Duel race on Thursday with Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric respectively. In the Gen7 era, Ford has been extremely fast on drafting tracks. Toyota has been right behind Ford but this year, unlike in the past, Toyota has numbers. With Martin Treux, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson qualifying for the Daytona 500, Toyota will have 11 cars in the field. Where manufacturer alliances are so important and strength is in the numbers, Toyota seem to finally be on level footing with Chevy and Ford.

My prediction this year is for a first-time winner and Daytona 500 champion. With the departure of Michael McDowell from Front Row Motorsport, I believe Todd Gilliland steps up and gets a win. He and his Front Row Motorsports team have had speed on the big tracks. I think he will be there in the end and cross the finish line first.

Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.