Hendrick Motorsports will have a great shot at producing its first Daytona 500 winner in five years when the 2019 edition of NASCAR’s premier race opens the racing season on Sunday.
William Byron, 21, and Alex Bowman, 25, secured respective first and second-place spots on the grid during qualifying this week, making the Hendrick duo the youngest pair to start up front in Daytona history.
How to Watch the Daytona 500
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free – no contracts required)
When: Sunday, February 17
Where: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX, FOX Deportes
NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the last Hendrick driver to bring the manufacturer a Daytona 500 win in 2014—the second of two Daytona wins during his career, spaced 10 years apart.
The concern for young gun Byron, in particular, is that no driver to start first on the pole has won this race since Dale Jarrett in 2000.
Then there’s the fact he’ll have some of the most experienced competition in the industry close on his heels; Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas) and Joey Logano have each won the Daytona 500 once in their careers and are odds leaders at around 8/1.
Logano’s Team Penske bandmate Brad Keselowski is also highly fancied despite the fact he finished 20th in Duels 1 on Thursday and will line up 35th on the grid.
Hendrick will also have big hopes for two of their other racing stars come Sunday. Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott demonstrated synchronicity by placing eighth in Duels 1 and Duels 2, respectively, and they’ll park up alongside one another at 17th and 18th on the grid.
Weather concerns are a regular talking point in the build-up to the Daytona 500 amid the usual fears that wet conditions could affect proceedings, but the forecast is pointing towards dry and warm weather.
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