2023 Daytona 500 starts the NASCAR season: Here's what to know about the race

Former NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer says if you're a racecar driver or fan, 'this is the place you want to be.'

The 2023 NASCAR season is about to get underway at Daytona International Speedway.

Sunday’s race marks the culmination of the beginning of the season as 40 drivers will look to get off on the right foot and pick up their first win of the year with hopes that it will be enough to lock them into a position for the Round of 16.

Rookie Austin Cindric is the defending champion at Daytona while Alex Bowman earned his third pole at the race. It will be the sixth consecutive time Bowman has started in the front row – the most at the track in NASCAR history. Bowman is starting alongside 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who was on the pole for last year’s race.

Austin Cindric celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 20, 2022, in Florida. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Here’s what you need to know about "The Great American Race."

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The 64th running of the Daytona 500 begins at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race can be seen on FOX and heard on MRN.

Pole Award winner Alex Bowman and Front Row winner Kyle Larson after the Busch Light Pole at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 15, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Alex Bowman will be on the pole. It’s the third time he’s sat on the Daytona 500 pole. His Hendricks Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson will start alongside him. Joey Logano and Alec Almirola won their duel races and will start in row two.

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