NASCAR is making this change to the 2022 Daytona 500
New qualifying format being used for The Great American Race
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The Daytona 500 will have a new look this year, and not just because it's the official racing debut of NASCAR's all-new Next Gen cars.
Alex Bowman won the single-car qualifying round for the Daytona 500 in 2021. (Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
NASCAR has changed the single-car qualifying procedure for the marquee event, which will now be conducted over two rounds on Wednesday night. Just one round was held for the 2020 and 2021 edition of The Great American Race.
This year, qualifying will start with all the entries making single car runs and the top 10 moving on to a final round that will determine the front row for Sunday's race. A similar format was in place prior to 2020, but had 12 cars make the pole round.
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The top two finishers in the second round of single-car qualifying will start the Daytona 500 on the front row. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The finishing order will also be used to set the lineups for the Daytona Duels races on Thursday night. The field will be split into two lineups based on their odd and even single-car qualifying finishes for the Duels, the results of which will determine the rest of the 40 car field for the Daytona 500 behind the front row.
The Daytona 500 is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 20. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Thirty-six chartered cars are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500, and 18 will be in each Duel. Cars from Duel one will start the Daytona 500 in their finishing order on the inside row and cars from Duel two on the outside row. The highest-finishing open car from each Duel will also earn a spot in the race, while the final row will be filled by the two open cars with the best single-car qualifying results.
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Coverage of the Daytona 500 qualifying kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, followed by the Duels on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. ET. and both can also be watched on the Fox Sports app.