The 2013 Daytona 500, the 55th running of the event, was held on February 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida over 200 laps and on the 2.5-mile (4 km) asphalt tri-oval. It was the first race of the 2013 Sprint Cup season. Danica Patrick won the pole for the race, becoming the first woman to earn a pole position in NASCAR's highest division. She also achieved the best-ever finish by a woman at the Daytona 500, finishing 8th. Jimmie Johnson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his first win of the season and his second win in the "Great American Race" and his first since the 2006 race. His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 2nd while Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top 5.
The race was the final Daytona 500 start for Mark Martin, Dave Blaney, Juan Pablo Montoya, Travis Kvapil, David Reutimann, Scott Speed, and Jeff Burton.
The race marked the first time since 2000 that Dodge did not partake in the Sprint Cup Series. It also marked the debut of the Gen-6 car.
Report
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. Matt Kenseth was the defending race winner. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary high speed tri-oval, a sports car course, a motorcycle course, and a karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004, and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.
In preparation for the race, NASCAR held several test sessions on January 10–12, 2013, for teams to test the sixth generation of race cars. Every test session began at 9 a.m. EST, paused between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. EST, and concluded at 5 p.m. EST. During the first session on the morning of January 10, 2013, thirty-four drivers participated; Kenseth, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was quickest with a speed of 192.757 mph while Denny Hamlin had the highest speed of 195.712 mph during the second session in the afternoon.
The third test session, held during the morning of January 11, was led by Jeff Burton after having the highest speed of 194.805 mph. The fourth session was the first session in which multiple drivers were on track to draft, which resulted in a large accident following contact between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marcos Ambrose. Following the crash, ten teams left the track because of a shortage of parts for the new car. During that fourth session, held during the afternoon, thirty-two drivers participated with 2011 race winner Trevor Bayne being quickest with a speed of 199.650 mph. During the fifth session, held on the morning of January 12, twenty-one drivers participated; Kenseth was quickest with a speed of 194.062 mph. Greg Biffle was quickest with a speed of 194.936 mph in the final session.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver (i) denotes ineligible for drivers points (W) denotes past 500 winner
DriverTeamManufacturer1Jamie McMurray (W)Earnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingFord5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord10Danica Patrick (R)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R)Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Mike Bliss (i)Humphrey Smith RacingToyota20Matt Kenseth (W)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota21Trevor Bayne (W) (i)Wood Brothers RacingFord22Joey LoganoPenske RacingFord24Jeff Gordon (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26Michael Waltrip (W)Swan RacingToyota27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29Kevin Harvick (W)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Terry Labonte FAS Lane RacingFord33Austin Dillon (i)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord35Josh Wise (i)Front Row MotorsportsFord36J. J. YeleyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord39Ryan Newman (W)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota48Jimmie Johnson (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet51Regan Smith (i)Phoenix RacingChevrolet52Brian Keselowski (i)Brian Keselowski Motorsports Hamilton Means RacingToyota55Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota56Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota78Kurt BuschFurniture Row RacingChevrolet83David ReutimannBK RacingToyota87Joe NemechekNEMCO-Jay Robinson RacingToyota88Dale Earnhardt Jr. (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota95Scott SpeedLeavine Family RacingFord98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord
Practice and qualifying
Seven practice sessions were held before the race. The first two on February 16 ran 120 minutes and 105 minutes each. The next two on February 20 were 90 minutes each. Two days later, two more 60 minute practice sessions were scheduled. The final practice session was held on February 23. Joey Logano was quickest with a time of 46.057 seconds in the first session, less than one-hundredth of a second faster than Austin Dillon. Danica Patrick was just off Dillon's pace, followed by Paul Menard, Burton and Kasey Kahne. Bayne was seventh, still within two-tenths of Logano's time. In the second practice session, Patrick remained fastest with a time of 45.867 seconds, less than one second quicker than second-placed Tony Stewart. Kyle Busch took third place, ahead of Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray and Bayne.
Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three raced because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Unlike most races during the season, the qualifying session only determined the first two positions, while the rest of the drivers qualified by the 2013 Budweiser Duels. Patrick clinched her first pole during her Sprint Cup career, with a time of 45.817 seconds, and became the first woman to win the pole position in the Sprint Cup Series. She was joined on the front row of the grid by Jeff Gordon.
Once the qualifying session were completed, Patrick commented, "I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl. That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning. Then I feel like thriving in those moments, where the pressure's on, has also been a help for me. I also feel like I've been lucky in my career to be with good teams and have good people around me. I don't think any of it would have been possible without that. For those reasons, I've been lucky enough to make history, be the first woman to do many things. I really just hope that I don't stop doing that. We have a lot more history to make. We are excited to do it."
Michael Waltrip was quickest in the third practice with 45.375 seconds, followed by David Ragan, Stewart, Menard and Kyle Busch. Kahne led fourth practice with 45.515 seconds, only one-tenth of a second faster than Greg Biffle. Gordon was third ahead of Patrick and Carl Edwards. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were the winners of the Budweiser Duels. The qualifying grid was finalized with Harvick in third and Kyle Busch fourth. Biffle qualified fifth ahead of Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dillon, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer. Drivers who failed to qualify were Mike Bliss and Brian Keselowski.
Aric Almirola was fastest in fifth practice with a 45.699 seconds lap, ahead of Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte and Michael McDowell. Stewart led the sixth session ahead of Gordon and Patrick. Kahne was next with a 45.711 second lap ahead of Kenseth with 45.827 seconds. Earnhardt's 45.319 seconds topped the final practice session, followed by David Gilliland and Bowyer. Ambrose and Almirola rounded out the first five drivers in the fourth and fifth positions.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.817 196.434 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.850 196.292 3 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 45.924 195.976 4 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.931 195.946 5 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.936 195.925 6 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.953 195.852 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.972 195.771 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.973 195.767 9 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 45.973 195.767 10 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.983 195.725 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.016 195.584 12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.027 195.537 13 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.034 195.508 14 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.035 195.503 15 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 46.037 195.495 16 33 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.063 195.385 17 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.097 195.240 18 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 46.100 195.228 19 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 46.105 195.207 20 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.117 195.156 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.134 195.084 22 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.144 195.042 23 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 46.163 194.461 24 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.203 194.793 25 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.215 194.742 26 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.215 194.742 27 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.218 194.729 28 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 46.229 194.683 29 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.236 194.654 30 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.245 194.616 31 26 Michael Waltrip Swan Racing Toyota 46.317 194.313 32 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.331 194.254 33 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 46.474 193.657 34 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 46.501 193.544 35 95 Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 46.502 193.540 36 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 46.508 193.515 37 51 Regan Smith Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 46.609 193.096 38 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 46.633 192.996 39 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 46.738 192.563 40 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 46.852 192.024 41 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 47.284 190.339 42 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 47.333 190.142 43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 47.357 190.046 44 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 47.509 189.438 45 52 Brian Keselowski Hamilton Means Racing Toyota 48.946 183.876Source:
Starting grid