The Great American Race Hosts Regular Season Debut of Much Anticipated NASCAR Next Gen Car
Intensity-Filled Coke Zero Sugar 400 Summer Classic set to be Final Event of Regular Season
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2021) – The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule was announced today, and like 2021, the DAYTONA 500, NASCAR’s biggest and most prestigious event, will kick off the season while
the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will again be final race of the regular season.
The 64th annual DAYTONA 500, which has had tickets (starting at $99) on sale since June, is set for Presidents’ Day Weekend, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 (as was announced this past February during Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth). It will mark the 41st straight time (dating back to 1982) The Great American Race has started off NASCAR’s season, and it will be the site of the points-race debut of the premier series anticipated ‘Next Gen’ car. Tickets are selling fast for the DAYTONA 500 and fans are encouraged to make their plans now.
Next year’s summer classic, Coke Zero Sugar 400, is set for Saturday evening, August 27. Last month, for the second time in history, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 served as the last-chance, cutoff race for the playoffs and delivered in dramatic fashion as Tyler Reddick, through grit and determination, brought home his beaten and battered Chevrolet fifth, good enough to take the final spot in the Cup Series Playoffs. A year ago, in a “must win” situation in 2020, William Byron battled his way to his first career Cup Series win and a guaranteed spot in the Playoffs.
“The energy, excitement and sheer anticipation for the 2022 DAYTONA 500 is on a level that we haven’t seen in a long time,” said Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher. “Our fans are ready to get back to the race track to experience the pageantry of The Great American Race, as well as Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth. On the track, fans will get to witness NASCAR’s Next Gen cars battling two-and three-wide at 200 mph.
“The excitement for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is also at an all-time high. The pressure to get into the playoffs is immense, and provides incredible, nail-biting racing on the high banks of our historic venue as has been proven the last two years. We’re looking forward to having the same level of excitement in 2022.”
The Next Gen car, a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing and the automotive industry, is designed to give the drivers greater control. It will put an emphasis back on race strategies, team personnel and vehicle setups while returning the ‘stock car’ look to NASCAR. The cars are set to put on great racing for fans, incorporate relevant technology and look more like street version vehicles. Could we see a new DAYTONA 500 Champion in 2022? Earlier this year, Michael McDowell stunned the racing world by claiming his first career triumph, in the DAYTONA 500.
Fans will get to see the Next Gen cars in competition on the 31-degree banking during Thursday’s (Feb. 17) Bluegreen Vacations Duel races as part of Speedweeks Presented By AdventhHealth. The Duel qualifying events will set the starting field for the DAYTONA 500.
Guests at Daytona can experience the edge-of-your-seat excitement in a state-of-the-art motorsports facility with amenities that include more than 101,500 seats, thousands of premium club seats, 40 escalators and 17 elevators, 60 luxury suites, social “neighborhoods” and three concourse levels that span the nearly mile-long frontstretch.
Race fans travel from all over the globe to attend the DAYTONA 500, and have since its inception in 1959. Tickets for the 2022 DAYTONA 500 classic can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting www.DAYTONA500.com.
Fans wishing to attend the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 can take advantage of an early access pre-sale. Available online or by phone, tickets for the general public start at $49 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and younger. Fans who attended the 2021 event can take advantage of even lower pricing when renewing by the deadline of Dec. 3. For ticket information on the Coke Zero Sugar 400, fans can log onto www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
The full ’22 schedule can be found at www.nascar.com. Complete schedules for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2022 seasons will be announced soon. Start times and television networks for Cup Series races will be also announced at a later date.
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest speedway news.
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. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.
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 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro 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 eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
