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While Thursday’s duels may have handed out official points, the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series doesn’t really get underway until the 61st running of the famed Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon.
“The Great American Race” is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET and will televised on Fox. But if you don’t have cable, you can still watch the race live on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
FuboTV
Fox (live in most markets) is included in FuboTV’s main package, which includes 75-plus total channels and is largely tailored towards sports fans.
You can start a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Daytona 500 on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a handy “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch the race on-demand up to three days after it airs even if you don’t record it.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including Fox (live in most markets).
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Daytona 500 on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Fox (live in select markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package.
You can start a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Daytona 500 on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Fox Sports Go
Additionally, you can watch a live stream of the Daytona 500 on your computer via the Fox Sports Go website, or on your phone, tablet, or streaming device via the Fox Sports Go app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your FuboTV, Hulu, or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the Fox digital platforms.
2019 Daytona 500 Preview
Leading the way into the biggest race of the year on Sunday afternoon will be the youngest front row in Daytona 500 history: 21-year-old William Byron, who sits on the pole for the first time in his young Cup Series career, and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate 25-year-old Alex Bowman, who captured the pole last year but ultimately finished 17th.
It marks the fifth consecutive Daytona 500 that will start with a Hendrick driver at the front of the starting grid, with Byron following in the immediate footsteps of Jeff Gordon in 2015, Chase Elliott in 2016 and ’17, and Bowman last year.
“To have them on top of each other means the organization did a heck of a job,” Hendrick said. “This is the deal to sit on the pole at Daytona.”
Of course, the qualifying success actually means that Byron won’t have history on his side. Each of the aforementioned Hendrick pole-sitters finished the famed race outside the Top 10, while Dale Jarrett in 2000 was the last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the No. 1 position.
Nevertheless, Hendrick clearly has reason for optimism after posting the four fastest times in qualifying last weekend, as Jimmie Johnson and Elliott were just behind Byron and Bowman with their times.
Meanwhile, as the Hendrick drivers opted to take things relatively easy in Thursday’s duel races (Johnson eighth and Byron 24th in Duel 1; Elliott ninth and Bowman 13th in Duel 2), that allowed Ford drivers to secure sports No. 3 through 8 for Sunday’s starting grid. Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, who won their respective duels, will fill out the second row, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Aric Almirola.
Logano, who has picked up four consecutive Top-10 finishes at the Daytona 500, including a win in 2015, is considered the oddsmakers’ co-favorite along with Brad Keselowski, who will start way back in 35th. Harvick, who won in 2007 and has six career Daytona 500 Top-5’s, is right behind them with the third-shortest odds.
Defending champion Austin Dillon will start 20th. He didn’t capture any more victories after last year’s triumph and ultimately was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round to finish 13th, but with a win and seven Top-10 finishes in 11 career races at Daytona, he can’t be overlooked. If he could repeat history, he’d be the fourth driver in history to win back-to-back Daytona 500’s, joining Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Sterling Marlin.
Put it all together–the young teammates up front, the pair of former winners right behind them, the seemingly vast amount of contenders, and the end of the restrictor plate era–and you have the recipe for a must-watch Daytona 500.
As if it could every be anything else.