2025 DAYTONA 500 Facts & Figures

On the heels of another successful year in 2024, NASCAR continued to experience strong momentum in terms of viewership, commercial success, and fan growth and engagement with the 67^th running of the DAYTONA 500.

Below please find containing comprehensive metrics and anecdotes reflecting that momentum in these key areas, which will help NASCAR drive continued growth throughout a milestone 2025 season.

2025 DAYTONA 500 Facts & Figures

DAYTONA 500 Competition/Event Highlights

• 16,389 Total Green Flag Passes – most ever at DAYTONA
• 331 Green Flag Passes for the Lead – most ever at DAYTONA
• 56 Lead changes (most in NextGen Era in D500) – 4th-most in event’s history
• Third straight D500 with 40 or more lead changes (2023-2025)
• William Byron is the youngest driver to win multiple DAYTONA 500s, breaking the record held by Jeff Gordon also in the #24 (Younger than Gordon by 4 months – Gordon was 27y, 6mo, 10 days)
• Fifth driver to win back-to-back DAYTONA 500s, first since Denny Hamlin (2019-2020).
• Hendrick Motorsports wins their 10th Daytona 500 – series-most.
• Third driver to win multiple DAYTONA 500s for Hendrick Motorsports (Gordon, Johnson, Byron).
• 10th consecutive sellout for the DAYTONA 500.
• DAYTONA 500 ads on FOX sold out in record time

TV Metrics

• Daytona Qualifying 

• Aired Wednesday, Feb. 12 on FS1 
• 2025: 916,000 
• Up +12% over 2024 (821,000 on FS1) 
• Duels at Daytona 

• Aired Thursday, Feb. 13 on FS1 
• 2025: 1.84M on FS1 
• Up +12% over 2024 (1.64M on FS1) 
• • • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 

• Aired Friday, Feb. 14 on FS1 
• 2025: 1.01M on FS1 
• Off slightly vs. 2024 (1.06M on FS1) 
• NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 

• Aired Saturday, Feb.15 on The CW 
• 2025: 1.80M 
• Up +93% over 2024 Daytona I on FS1 (934,000; Monday) 
• Up +7% over 2023 Daytona I on FS1 (1.7 million; Saturday) 
• Most watched season-opener at Daytona since 2020 
• Most watched Xfinity race anywhere since Talladega spring 2022 
• NASCAR Cup Series DAYTONA 500 

• Aired Sunday, Feb. 16 on FOX 
• 2025: 6.76M 
• Up +13% over 2024 (5.96 million on FOX) 
• Most viewed sport of the weekend 

Digital Metrics 

• Digital NDM platform race day: 

• Nearly 4 million total visits, a +30% YoY increase, marking it the second-highest race day traffic in the past 10 seasons 
• 14.5 million total page views consumed 
• 791,000 video views, up +39% 
• Tracks app:  

• Nearly 80,000 visits to the Tracks app this weekend, from 25,000 unique users—marking a +25% increase in Track app usage year-over-year 
• 7,400 new downloads of the Tracks app this weekend 
• New Live leaderboard feature across the site/app: 

• Over 1 million total visits, with NASCAR Mobile as the leading LIVE platform   
• 2.4M page views 
• Fantasy: 

• Over 130K unique Fantasy game players. This is a 30% increase from the start of 2024. This is all due to our increased Fantasy presence with the addition of 36’ for 36’ and the Fantasy Hub. 
• 36’ for 36’, our new “one-and-done” illumination style free-to-play Fantasy game received over 30k entries to start the season. This is a 33% increase over what we saw last year with a secondary Fantasy game. 
• Scanner: 
• Over 340K visits to Scanner Audio on DAYTONA 500 race day and a total of 650K visits to Scanner Audio on NASCAR Mobile throughout Speedweek. 

Social Media Metrics

• NASCAR’s Daytona week-long (2/9-2/17) social coverage led to:
  • 222M impressions
  • 7.4M engagements
  • 118M video views
  • $6.6M in social value
• Race day alone accounted for 65M impressions, up 17% YoY.
• The social team shifted strategy, doubling down on social-first content designed to showcase the sport’s energy, and push creativity. A few examples of the new approach:
  • Links to: Anthony Mackie, Ross Chastain & Busch Light, Daytona Flyover
  • Content direction was well received by fans. Attached is a snapshot of the fan response.
• The influencer content team hosted 11 creators in Daytona, which resulted in 93 pieces of content published, 7.8M impressions, 3.7M video views, and 627K engagements.
• NASCAR collaborated with The Rizzler on IG across two posts, leading to 154,241 engagements, 1,549,524M impressions, and 696,344 video views.
• 30+ Influential Voices created over 300 pieces of content that generated 90MM impressions and over $4M in earned media value. 

Roblox – Groundbreaking Collaboration with Driving Empire

• NASCAR’s first-ever video game experience launched alongside the start of the season was a massive success, generating record-breaking engagement.
• The DAYTONA 500event saw 7.3M NASCAR World visits in just two days—eclipsing combined visits over the last year on the platform. Players completed 2.2M races, while the event amassed 139M+ impressions (112M in-game, 28M on Roblox), with 27M+ minutes of engagement time.

Cosm & Xtadium – A Historic First: The Most-Watched Immersive DAYTONA 500

• NASCAR and FOX streamed the DAYTONA 500live in VR on Xtadium for Meta Quest, marking the most successful authenticated (subscription-based) content in Xtadium’s history.
• Additionally, the race was broadcast live at Cosm’s shared reality venues in Dallas and Los Angeles, making this year’s DAYTONA 500 the most-watched immersive race ever.

Licensing and Consumer Products: Trackside at the DAYTONA 500

• Overall, Industry Trackside Retail sales were the highest they have been since, at least 2014. (as far back as official records go).
• The 2025 DAYTONA 500 was record-setting for Legends Global Merchandise as they broke the previous high from 2023 during NASCAR’s 75^th anniversary season, up 9%.
• Highlights:
• • Results were driven by:
    • Focus on building elevated and diverse shopping experiences around the facility
    • Continued innovation around bringing “brands” that resonate with the consumer
    • Offering expanded experiences to the consumer
  • Elevated and diverse retail experiences:
    • Holistically, 52 locations were operated across the facility. 
    • A few highlights included:
      • Enhanced retail presentation in the main shopping tent including upgraded fixtures, lighting, and decorated photo experiences
      • Specialty retail shops themed around 47 Brand, Crocs, and Oakley
      • An exclusive premium shopping experience for suite-level customers in the Rolex Lounge.
  • Brand offerings:
    • A focus on brands and premium products saw the growth of 47 Brand with a mobile specialty shop and broadened assortment. The introduction of lululemon NASCAR-brand line, along with continued support from brands like Under Armor, Tommy Bahama, New Era, Johnnie-O, Columbia, and others.
  • Continued Product Elevation:
    • Focus on Women: With the addition of an elevated satin jacket and the lululemon line, the women’s merchandise category grew by 21% over 2023**.
    • NASCAR brand: Saw continued gains, topping 75^th anniversary sales by 23%. Key items like the lululemon line, hockey jerseys and a letterman jacket help drive continued growth. Outside of Track and Event Product, NASCAR Brand represented the #1 Brand for the event.
    • DAYTONA 500 Event merchandise was up 12% over 2023**. With a refreshed brand look for the logo harkening to the heritage of the famous Harley J Earl Trophy—the line focused the iconic history of the storied event paired with the ever-present American tradition. Core items like the ghost tee, twill jacket and heavyweight hoodie continued to lead the way while key novelties like full and mini size helmets and 1:24 scale event diecast with Galaxy coat finish helped round out the assortment.

**Licensing comparisons are to 2023 since the 2024 DAYTONA 500 was postponed

Sports Betting

• Launched the first ever sports betting partner integration with DraftKings on FOX leading up to and during the DAYTONA 500.
• Acquired more customers during the DAYTONA 500 than all 2024 broadcast integrations combined.

• Betting volume on the DAYTONA 500 increased as much as 40% YoY on sportsbook apps.
  • • Most popular states by betting volume were New York, North Carolina & Ohio.
• Live betting (after green flag) accounted for almost 25% of all bets.
  • This is up from 7% YoY.

VIPs and Notable Guests

• Actor and star of Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie
• Actor Alan Ritchson, known for his role as Jack Reacher
• Musician / Rapper Pitbull Pre-Race Concert
• Comedian Anthony Anderson
• Actress Emelia Hartford of Gran Turismo
• Country Music Star Dylan Scott
• NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter
• NFL running back Alvin Kamara
• NFL linebacker Jamin Davis
• WWE stars Thea Hail and Ivy Nile
• AMA Supercross star Ken Roczen
• Grammy Award-winner Chris Stapleton
• Pro wakeboarder Steel Lafferty
• Influencers such as:
  • Daniel Mac
  • Tavarish
  • The Rizzler
  • Jersey Jerry from Barstool
• Fenway Sports Owner John Henry
• Founder and CEO of Buc-ee’s Beaver Aplin
• CEO of FOX Corp. Lachlan Murdoch
• Executives from Fortune 500 brands and partners including:
  • ABB
  • Coca-Cola
  • Sunoco
  • Mobil 1
  • Chevy
  • Ford
  • Toyota
  • Goodyear
  • Suburban Propane
  • Ally
  • National Debt Relief
  • Advance Auto Parts
  • United Rentals
  • Hilton Grand Vacations
  • Jack Link’s
  • Stanley Black & Decker
  • Kroger
  • Fifth Third Bank
  • Mohawk Industries
  • Shell-Pennzoil
  • Brinker/Chili’s
  • Darden/Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen
• Other major/fast growing brands:

• Bank OZK
• Group 1001
• Zeigler Auto Group
• Sunny D
• Axalta

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.

For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and Facebook. 

  

About Daytona International Speedway     
Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of The Great American Race – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the World Center of Racing, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. Some of the exciting racing events include January’s Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and Roar Before The Rolex 24, February’s DAYTONA 500 and Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth, March’s Bike Week At DAYTONA Presented By Monster Energy, featuring DAYTONA Supercross and the DAYTONA 200, the August Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend, and much more. The Speedway grounds are also used extensively for other events that include concerts (Welcome to Rockville, Heroes Honor Festival, etc.), sporting events (DAYTONA Soccer Fest, CLASH DAYTONA, etc.) civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.