Overview
- Austin Cindric led the opening practice at Daytona with a 48.025-second lap, followed by Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez.
- Forty-three of 45 entries practiced, with Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland skipping the session ahead of qualifying.
- Open hopefuls Corey LaJoie and Corey Heim showed encouraging speed in practice, while eight non‑chartered drivers are chasing four Daytona 500 spots.
- Two open cars will secure places by speed tonight, two more will advance through Thursday’s 60‑lap Duel races, and Jimmie Johnson is guaranteed the 41st entry via the Open Exemption provisional.
- Qualifying begins at 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1, the Duels run Thursday on FS1, the Daytona 500 starts Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox, and radio coverage is on MRN and SiriusXM, with forecasts calling for a notable chance of rain on race day.