Daytona International Speedway has announced that the 67th Daytona 500 has sold out as of Monday, January 13th. Though tickets will still be available on the secondhand market and via premium packages and upgrades, the Speedway says that grandstand and camping tickets are all gone. An announcement was also made confirming the date of next year’s Daytona 500, which we now know will run on February 15th, 2026.
The 2025 Daytona 500, slated for February 16th, is one of the most watched annual motorsports events on the globe, certainly one of the biggest sporting events in Florida. It also serves as the opening race of each year’s NASCAR Cup Series season, and the most significant single-race accomplishment in the top division of stock car racing.
Setting the Stage for the Great American Race
“The Daytona 500 continues to be a spectacle of elite racing and entertainment, and the consecutive sellouts just prove this event is one of a kind,” said Speedway President Frank Kelleher. “You can quite literally feel the atmosphere from the moment Speedweeks begins. The crowd is buzzing with excitement and every team, from the driver to the crew chief, is eager to get their season started. It all comes to a head when that green flag drops on Sunday, February 16th, and I can’t wait to see what this year’s Daytona 500 has in store for us.”
This year as in most, the Daytona 500 is receiving more competition entries than any other event on the NASCAR schedule. Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves is going to be competing, his first time ever piloting a NASCAR Cup Series car. Other entries from stars of other forms of motorsports include Formula 1 stars Mario Andretti, who won in 1967 and Jacques Villeneuve who placed 22nd in 2022, plus stunt driver Travis Pastrana who finished 11th in 2023.
The defending race winner is William Byron, who survived late-race crashes to win the 2024 Daytona 500. Even coming in as the most recent winner, Byron’s odds of a repeat are steep – racing at Daytona International Speedway is more conducive to upset winners than most racing tracks. In 2011, 20-year-old Trevor Bayne won the race in only his second NASCAR Cup Series start. Austin Cindric won in 2023 at 24 years old, in only his eighth ever race.
