The Daytona 500 schedule for 2013 brings NASCAR racing back to fans of the sport this coming Sunday, Feb. 24. The televised race will feature history with the first-ever female race car driver, Danica Patrick, having already won pole position in the Daytona 500 starting lineup.
The Daytona 500 live race start time is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST on Sunday. Forty three drivers from NASCAR's Sprint Cup make up the starting grid with Patrick the pole winner. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports is the outside pole winner. A report on Feb. 21 from ESPN.com indicates that Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick won the Daytona Duels to secure strong positions in the starting grid. Busch said of the upcoming race's increased number of cars on the track at Daytona International Speedway:
"With more cars out there, we might see it be a little bit different come Sunday," Busch said. "There were half the field in each race, obviously. There's going to be twice as many good cars, twice as many middle of the pack cars, twice as many back of the pack cars. If you can get your car handling, driving, feeling good, you'll be able to be one of the guys that's up front."
Rounding at the first five on the grid will be Greg Biffle. Kasey Kahne, driving for Chevroley will be at the #6 spot, with Juan Pablo Montoya at #7, Auston Dillon at #8, Jimmie Johnson at #9 and Clint Bowyer at #10. As far as race car drivers with local ties, Roanoke NASCAR fans will notice that Jeff Burton of South Boston, VA is at #18, while Denny Hamlin, who lived in Chesterfield, VA, is down at #35 in the starting grid.
In terms of favorites to win, odds currently favor Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson to win the Dayton 500 in 2013. Danica Patrick has odds of 30 to 1, as does Burton, while Hamlin has 12 to 1 odds to become 2013 Daytona 500 winner.
The Daytona 500 start time for 2013 is 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 24. Televised coverage will be on Roanoke's local FOX affiliate station WFXR 8. As far as Daytona 500 live online coverage, fans will be able to follow along with the leader boards on ESPN.com and NASCAR.com during the race, but there is no live streaming online feed available to watch the race.
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