2015 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
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| Date | February 22, 2015 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) |
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| Distance | 203 laps, 507.5 mi (812 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Sunny skies with a temperature of 79 °F (26 °C); wind out of the south/southeast at 9.2 mph (14.8 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 161.938 mph (260.614 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |
|
Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Time | 44.711 | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (W) | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Jimmie Johnson (W) | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon (W) | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 87 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 7.3/16 (Overnight) 7.7/17 (Final) 13.4 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 2015 Daytona 500, the 57th running of the event, was held on February 22, 2015 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 203 laps – extended from 200 laps due to a green–white–checker finish – on the 2.5 mi (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Joey Logano won the race, recording the second Daytona 500 win for Team Penske, and his ninth career Sprint Cup victory. Kevin Harvick finished second while Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top–five.
Jeff Gordon won the pole for his 23rd and final career start in the Daytona 500. Hendrick Motorsports swept the Budweiser Duel races with Earnhardt, Jr. winning the first Duel race and fourth career qualifying race and Johnson winning the second Duel race and second career qualifying race. Gordon led a race high 87 laps and ran up front for most of the race. He was caught up in the backstretch multi-car wreck on the final lap of the race and finished 33rd. Logano took the lead with 10 laps to go in the scheduled 200 lap distance and was ahead of Kevin Harvick before the last caution flag ended the race in his favor. The race had 27 lead changes among 12 different drivers, as well as 7 caution flag periods for 26 laps. There was also a single red flag period that lasted for 6 minutes and 42 seconds.
Logano left Daytona with a five–point lead over Harvick in the points standings, while Ford left Daytona with a five–point lead over Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings.
The 57th Daytona 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
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