The 2022 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and the 64th running of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a asphalt superspeedway. In a green-white-checker finish, rookie Austin Cindric, driving for Team Penske, led 21 of the final 45 laps and held off challenges from teammate Ryan Blaney, RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski and eventual second-place finisher Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race. Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing finished third. Team Penske dedicated their Daytona 500 win to legendary sportscaster Bob Jenkins after the race. Jenkins used to broadcast NASCAR Races on ESPN from 1981 to 2000.
This race marked the season debut of the Next Gen car, which replaced the previous Gen-6 Car.
Report
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways, the others being Auto Club Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway 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.
Due to shortage issues surrounding the new Next Gen car, it was planned that the team that won the race would retain their car for the rest of the season, with NASCAR instead scanning the winner's car and place an identical paint scheme wrap (complete with Victory Lane confetti) on a prototype that would be shown at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, with the tradition of the exact winner's car being displayed at the Hall of Fame (formerly the Daytona 500 Experience) for a year being scheduled to continue in 2023. However, it was later announced on March 8 that Austin Cindric's exact winning car would be displayed at the Hall of Fame.
This was the first Daytona 500 without 2008 winner Ryan Newman since 2001. This was the first Daytona 500 for The Money Team Racing and Team Hezeberg. This was also the first Daytona 500 since 2016 to feature Greg Biffle, and the first Daytona 500 ever to feature Jacques Villeneuve. (Villeneuve previously failed to qualify for the event in 2008.)
Entry list
(W) denotes past 500 winner. (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon (W) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (W) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin (W) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 David Ragan Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 Daniel Hemric (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (W) Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Jacques Villeneuve Team Hezeberg Powered by Reaume Brothers Racing Ford 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell (W) Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 44 Greg Biffle (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 45 Kurt Busch (W) 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50 Kaz Grala (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 55 J. J. Yeley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 77 Landon Cassill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice First practice (February 15) Michael McDowell was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.696 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.696 192.736 2 15 David Ragan Rick Ware Racing Ford 46.713 192.666 3 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.717 192.649Official first practice results
Second practice (February 15) Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 46.732 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 46.732 192.588 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.842 192.135 3 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 47.095 191.103Official second practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.680 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.789 49.680 2 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.870 49.711 3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.765 49.765 4 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.946 49.854 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.927 49.913 6 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.078 49.989 7 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 50.051 50.043 8 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.152 50.077 9 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 50.157 50.106 10 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.139 50.137 11 16 Daniel Hemric (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 50.159 — 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 50.160 — 13 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 50.162 — 14 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.187 — 15 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.191 — 16 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 50.196 — 17 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 50.196 — 18 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.202 — 19 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.203 — 20 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.204 — 21 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 50.205 — 22 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.209 — 23 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 50.218 — 24 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 50.225 — 25 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 50.285 — 26 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.312 — 27 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 50.315 — 28 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 50.378 — 29 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.539 — 30 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 50.550 — 31 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.559 — 32 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.639 — 33 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 50.689 — 34 77 Landon Cassill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 50.884 — 35 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 50.928 — 36 27 Jacques Villeneuve Team Hezeberg Powered by Reaume Brothers Racing Ford 51.010 — 37 50 Kaz Grala (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 51.094 — 38 44 Greg Biffle (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 51.100 — 39 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford 51.153 — 40 15 David Ragan Rick Ware Racing Ford 51.216 — 41 55 J. J. Yeley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 52.005 — 42 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 52.263 —Official qualifying results
Bluegreen Vacations Duel
The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are a pair of NASCAR Cup Series races held in conjunction with the Daytona 500 annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. They consist of two races 60 laps and 150 miles (240 km) in length, which serve as heat races that set the lineup for the Daytona 500. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd-numbered positions on pole qualifying day, while the second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even-numbered positions. The Duels set the lineup for positions 3–38, while positions 39 and 40 are filled by the two "Open" (teams without a charter) cars that set the fastest times in qualifying, but did not lock in a spot in the Duels.
Duel 1
Duel 1 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 9 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 60 102 11 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 60 93 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 60 84 10 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 75 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 66 12 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 60 57 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 48 8 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 39 13 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 60 210 4 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 60 111 5 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 60 012 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 013 14 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 60 014 18 77 Landon Cassill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 015 16 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 016 15 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 59 017 6 16 Daniel Hemric (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 59 018 19 50 Kaz Grala (i) The Money Team Racing Chevrolet 58 019 21 55 J. J. Yeley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 58 020 20 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford 58 021 17 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 57 0Official race results
Duel 2
Duel 2 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 14 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 60 102 11 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 93 5 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 84 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 75 7 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 66 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 57 8 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 60 48 16 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 60 39 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 59 210 13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 59 111 15 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 59 012 12 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 59 013 19 44 Greg Biffle (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 59 014 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59 015 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 59 016 17 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 59 017 20 15 David Ragan Rick Ware Racing Ford 58 018 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 58 019 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 58 020 21 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 56 021 18 27 Jacques Villeneuve Team Hezeberg Powered by Reaume Brothers Racing Ford 34 0Official race results
Starting lineup