Race details | |||
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Race 1 of 36 in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
Date | February 26, 2017 | ||
Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) |
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Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
Average speed | 143.187 mph (230.437 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
Time | 46.663 | ||
Qualifying race winners | |||
Duel 1 Winner | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
Duel 2 Winner | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
Laps | 50 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | Fox | ||
Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
Nielsen Ratings | 6.5/15 (Overnight) 6.6/15 (Final) 11.9 million viewers |
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Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | MRN | ||
Booth Announcers | Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) |
The 2017 Daytona 500, the 59th running of the event, was held on February 26, 2017, and was won by Kurt Busch with Ryan Blaney and A.J. Allmendinger finishing second and third place. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season and it was Busch's first Daytona 500 win.
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 2.5 miles (4.0 km) 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.
All three of NASCAR's main national series adopted a new race format and points system for the 2017 season. Under the new format, each race was divided into three stages. A competition caution is held at the end of the first and second stage, and bonus championship points are awarded to the top 10 drivers. For the 500, the first and second stages each comprised 60 laps of the scheduled distance, with the remainder comprising the third. The leader at the end of each stage, including the overall winner, also receives points that are carried over into their total if they qualify for the season-ending playoffs (renamed from the Chase for the Championship).
The race also introduced stricter rules in regards to vehicle repair after on-track accidents; teams are only allowed to repair their cars on pit road in five-minute windows with six crew members, starting once the car crosses the pit road commitment line, and ending when it reaches minimum speed after exiting pit road. Repairs are restricted to repairing sheet metal, and re-attaching or reinforcing body panels; body panels may not be replaced. If the vehicle cannot be repaired on pit road and must be taken to the garage, more than six crew members work on the vehicle, or the five-minute clock expires, the vehicle will be removed from the race and can not return.