Daytona 500: 59th Annual NASCAR Race Kicks Off Sunday
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The 59th running of the Daytona 500 is underway, with pole-sitter Chase Elliott leading the 40-car field to the green flag waved by Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.
Elliott started on the pole for the second consecutive year, with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. also on the front row. Earnhardt is trying to make a triumphant return from his fifth documented concussion, the latest costing him half of last season.
Two-time race winner Michael Waltrip is making his final NASCAR start. Four drivers -- rookies Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones as well as Corey LaJoie and D.J. Kennington -- are making their first start in "The Great American Race."
Denny Hamlin is the defending Daytona 500 winner, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates are among others to watch. So are Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, who three of four restrictor-plate races last season.
Three drivers dropped to the back of the field because of engine changes: seven-time and defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard and Ryan Blaney.
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Earnhardt will start alongside Elliott on the front row of "The Great American Race."
Elliott won one of two qualifying races Thursday. Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, the defending Daytona 500 winner, won the other.
Others to watch in the season opener -- NASCAR's most prestigious race -- include Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. The Team Penske teammates won three of four restrictor-plate races last season.
Mario Andretti is at Daytona as an honorary race official, 50 years after his victory in "The Great American Race."
Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 and is one of only four drivers to win both the 500 and the prestigious Rolex 24 sports car race. He joins AJ Foyt, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon in that club.
Andretti is a fixture in IndyCar, and his visits to NASCAR are rare. But he understands this race is the equivalent of the Indianapolis 500 and a Daytona 500 victory carries the same weight on a drivers' resume.
"There are many drivers who are deserving to win, and never win the big ones," Andretti said. "I guarantee during the driver meeting, there is more tension than any other race. This is the crown jewel of NASCAR. The winner of today's race will have a big, big feather on his or her hat."
Daytona International Speedway officials presented Andretti with a painting of his two winning cars at Daytona.
Denny Hamlin is trying to join an exclusive club of repeat Daytona 500 champions.
Hamlin would become only the fourth driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s, and the first in 22 years. Richard Petty, a seven-time Daytona 500 champ, went back-to-back in 1973 and 1974. Cale Yarborough did the same in 1983 and 1984. Sterling Marlin was the last driver -- in 1994 and 1995 -- to have his name etched on the Harley J. Earl Trophy two straight years.
Hamlin defeated Martin Truex Jr. by 0.010 seconds last year, the closest finish in race history.
Hamlin is in solid shape in the No. 11 Toyota to be a contender to repeat. He won a 150-mile qualifying race last week and starts fourth.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)