How the Daytona 500 lineup is set. Event schedule as 'Great American Race' week begins.

Unlike any other race in motorsports, the qualifying procedure that sets the Daytona 500 starting lineup will be finished before the weekend.

So, you won’t have to wait until the green flag waves for the 66th running of the “Great American Race” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday to see the NASCAR Cup Series in action.

How is the Daytona 500 lineup set?

Tuesday afternoon, a random draw will determine the order in which cars will roll off pit road for Wednesday’s Cup Series qualifying session. The final 20 spots, however, will be held for the Top 20 in owners points from last season.

During the qualifying session, at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday on FS1, each entrant will run one timed lap around Daytona’s 2.5-mile tri-oval superspeedway. The fastest two qualifiers will be locked into the top two starting positions for Sunday’s race.

Starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, the Bluegreen Vacation Duels will set the third to 40th positions. There will be a pair of 60-lap, 150-mile races with lineups set from Wednesday night’s qualifying session. The drivers in Duel 1, in order of their finishes, will set the inside rows, while the finishers of Duel 2 will make up the outside rows.

Full schedule for the 2024 Daytona Speedweeks

All times are Eastern.

Wednesday, Feb. 14

— 8:15 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

Thursday, Feb. 15

— 4:05 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice. No TV.

— 5:05 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series practice. Watch on FS1.

— 7 p.m.: Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

— 8:45 p.m. (approx.): Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

Friday, Feb. 16

— 1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series qualifying. No TV.

— 3 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series qualifying. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN.

— 4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN.

•5:35 p.m.: Cup Series practice. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN.

— 7:30 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series race: Fresh from Florida 250. Watch on FS1. Listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

Saturday, Feb. 17

— 10:30 a.m.: Cup Series final practice. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN.

— 11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series qualfiying. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN.

— 1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series race: Daytona ARCA 200. Watch on FS1; Listen on MRN.

— 5 p.m.: Xfinity Series race: United Rentals 300. Watch on FS1. Listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

Sunday, Feb. 18

— 2:30 p.m.: Cup Series race: Daytona 500. Watch on FOX. Listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

They said it

“Everybody talks about how overwhelming and how big the Daytona 500 is — and I’ve been there as a fan — but I’ve looked forward to this day for so many years,” Carson Hocevar, one of three Cup Series rookies alongside Josh Berry and Zane Smith, said on a video call with reporters. “When I was there as a fan, I was like, man, I want to do all these appearances. I want to be that guy for this team, and have all these partners. And do all these media availabilities. I’m just looking forward to getting there, doing the duels, doing qualifying.”