Every year, the NASCAR Cup Series opens its season with its biggest event on the 36-race calendar: the Daytona 500. A 500-mile race around the iconic 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway track, it’s the most coveted checkered flag in the sport.

After JR Motorsports announced plans to enter a car in the Daytona 500, team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. has discussed his wider NASCAR Cup Series vision.

Jimmie Johnson said he was not happy when he found out about NASCAR's new provisional and that he wouldn't be eligible for it at Daytona.

The Daytona 500 has NASCAR’s most unique — and complicated — qualifying format. And it got more convoluted this year with the largest number of entrants in a decade and a new rule that could add a 41st driver to the 40-car field.