DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) The Daytona 500 is underway, with Kyle Busch leading the 41-car field to the green flag on a sun-splashed and windy Sunday.
The start of the race was moved up an hour in hopes of avoiding afternoon showers that are expected at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, is trying to win The Great American Race for the first time in 21 tries. He holds the races longest active skid.
William Byron is trying to become the first driver in history to win the Daytona 500 three consecutive years. But Byron had to switch to a backup car following a qualifying crash and landed on pit road in the opening laps Sunday after B.J. McLeod spun in front of him, leading Byron to hit the outside wall.
Byron won last years event in overtime after race leader Denny Hamlin got spun on the final lap, igniting a multicar crash. Byron ended up passing eight cars on the last lap to return to victory lane.
Can he make it three in a row? Four others Richard Petty in 1975, Cale Yarborough in 1985, Sterling Marlin in 1996 and Hamlin in 2021 came up short in three-peat bids at NASCARs signature race.
The field includes seven other previous Daytona 500 winners, most notably three-time winner Hamlin and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson . Hamlin is trying to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss in the 2025 season finale and the December death of his father. Johnson, meanwhile, is again driving the No. 84 Toyota for his team, Legacy Motor Club.
McLeod , who grabbed a spot in the race when Anthony Alfredo was disqualified following an inspection after Thursdays qualifying races, spun five laps into the race and had to get towed to the garage. Casey Mears , who claimed one of the few open spots in his qualifier, sustained car damage when McLeod lost control.
___
AP auto racing:
美联社佛罗里达州代托纳比奇电——在阳光明媚、微风轻拂的周日，凯尔·布施率领41辆赛车组成的车队驶过绿旗，戴通纳500大赛正式拉开战幕。
为避开预计在代托纳国际赛道出现的午后阵雨，比赛开始时间提前了一小时。
驾驶理查德·柴尔德里斯车队8号雪佛兰赛车的布希，正试图在第21次参赛中首次赢得“美国大赛”冠军。他目前保持着该赛事最长的连续无冠纪录。
威廉·拜伦正试图成为历史上首位连续三年赢得戴通纳500赛事的车手。然而在排位赛撞车后，他不得不更换备用赛车参赛。周日的正赛刚开始几圈，由于B.J.麦克劳德在他前方打滑，导致拜伦撞上外侧护墙，最终被迫停入维修区。
拜伦在去年的比赛中通过加时赛获胜，当时领先的车手丹尼·哈姆林在最后一圈被撞失控，引发多车相撞事故。拜伦最终在最后一圈超越八辆赛车，重返胜利车道。
他能实现三连冠吗？此前已有四位车手——1975年的理查德·佩蒂、1985年的凯尔·亚伯勒、1996年的斯特林·马林和2021年的汉姆林——在NASCAR标志性赛事中冲击三连冠未果。
参赛阵容还包括其他七位曾赢得戴通纳500大赛的车手，其中最引人注目的是三届冠军得主丹尼·哈姆林（Hamlin）和七届NASCAR总冠军吉米·约翰逊（Jimmie Johnson）。哈姆林正试图从2025赛季决赛的惨痛失利以及父亲于去年12月去世的双重打击中重整旗鼓。与此同时，约翰逊再次为其所属的遗产汽车俱乐部（Legacy Motor Club）车队驾驶84号丰田赛车。
麦克劳德在周四排位赛后的检查中因安东尼·阿尔弗雷多被取消资格而获得参赛资格，但他在比赛进行五圈时失控打转，不得不被拖回维修区。而通过预选赛获得少数开放席位之一的凯西·米尔斯，也因麦克劳德失控导致赛车受损。
美联社赛车专题：
纯旭配资提示：文章来自网络，不代表本站观点。
