Daytona 500 2021: Key information for the NASCAR Cup Series season-opener

It's race day at Daytona International Speedway, but it will be a far different one than most fans are used to.

The Daytona 500, NASCAR's most famous race, will once again kick off the Cup Series season, but it will do so without a sold-out crowd in the stands or the usually numerous revelers on the infield and excited guests in the corporate suites. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has mandated a much smaller and more cautious gathering at NASCAR's Super Bowl.

But the racing itself remains unchanged, and once the green flag flies it will matter less who and how many are in the stands and more which cars and how many are on the track. Will reigning race winner Denny Hamlin win his fourth Daytona 500 and unprecedented third in a row? Will reigning series champion Chase Elliott conquer the 2.5-mile oval as he has the Daytona road course? Will Kyle Busch finally win the one major prize he has yet to win?

Before those questions can be answered, we have all the information you need to get ready for today's 63rd annual Daytona 500, the season-opener of the NASCAR Cup Series:

START TIME: 2:30 p.m. ET. Grand marshal and new NASCAR team owner Pitbull will instruct drivers to start their engines at 2:53 p.m. ET.

GREEN FLAG: Drivers are scheduled to take the green flag and begin the race at 3:05 p.m. ET.

TV: Fox with Fox Deportes showing the Spanish-language broadcast. Pre-race broadcast begins at 1 p.m ET.

RADIO: Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. STREAMING: Fox Sports Go.

RACE DISTANCE: 200 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 500 miles.

STAGE LENGTHS (laps per stage): Stage 1: 65, Stage 2: 65, Stage 3: 70.

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WEATHER: Bleak. The forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms beginning early Sunday morning through the afternoon and early evening hours. There is a 55% chance of rain when the green flag is scheduled to drop, and delays are certainly possible.

LAST TIME: Hamlin led 79 laps, including the final two, and held off Ryan Blaney in a photo finish in the second overtime after multiple wrecks in the final 20 laps decimated the field in the longest Daytona 500 in history. But while Hamlin was speeding toward his second consecutive victory, Ryan Newman was involved in a horrific crash on the final lap that left him hospitalized him for two days.

NEWMAN:His Daytona 500 crash, like Earnhardt's, forced safety upgrades

LINEUP: Alex Bowman topped Wednesday's qualifying, putting a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the pole for the sixth time in the last seven years. Another Hendrick driver, William Byron, was slated to start beside Bowman on the front row but crashed during the Duels at Daytona on Thursday. Byron will use a backup car Sunday and will have to move to the rear of the field for the start.

Here is the lineup for the 63rd annual Daytona 500 (car number in parentheses; x-will start at the rear):

1. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet.

x-2. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet.

3. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford.

4. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.

5. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota.

6. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota.

7. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford.

8. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.

9. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.

10. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.

11. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet.

12. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.

13. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet.

14. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford.

15. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet.

16. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet.

17. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford.

18. (36) David Ragan, Ford.

19. (77) James McMurray, Chevrolet.

20. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.

21. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet.

22. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford.

23. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford.

24. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.

25. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.

26. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.

27. (41) Cole Custer, Ford.

28. (53) Joey Gase, Ford.

29. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet.

30. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford.

31. (43) Eric Jones, Chevrolet.

32. (15) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet.

33. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet.

34. (42) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet.

35. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet.

36. (38) Anthony Alfredo, Ford.

37. (52) Josh Bilicki, Ford.

38. (78) BJ McLeod, Ford.

39. (33) Austin Cindric, Ford.

40. (16) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet.

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