5 Days to Go

5: Only five days before the 2024 season opens with NASCAR’s crown jewel, the DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Of all the great drivers who have driven the No. 5 in their NASCAR Cup Series careers, the car number has only one win in The Great American Race. Geoffrey Bodine won that race driving a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in 1986 starting from the outside pole position and leading a dominating 101 of the 200 laps. He finished more than 11 seconds ahead of runner-up NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte who would ironically go on to win the 1996 championship in that No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet. Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, now drives the No. 5 and he is a perpetual favorite to put that back in any track’s Victory Lane – perhaps capturing his first DAYTONA 500 victory in five days. – Holly Cain

Tune in to the 2024 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

9 days to go

9: The No. 9 car holds significant historical value in the DAYTONA 500 as the first single-digit numeral to win the Great American Race. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott won the 1985 DAYTONA 500 driving the Melling Racing No. 9 Ford – the first of a season-best 11 victories. Elliott’s son Chase, 28, now drives the famed No. 9 – for Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet team and on Feb. 18 the two-time DAYTONA 500 pole-winner will race again for his first Harley J. Earl trophy. His best DAYTONA 500 finish in the No. 9 is runner-up in 2021. If Chase Elliott were to win the DAYTONA 500 this season, the Elliotts would become the fourth father-son duo to win the DAYTONA 500 (all-time), joining the Pettys (Lee and Richard), the Allisons (Bobby and Davey) and the Earnhardts (Dale and Dale Jr.). – Holly Cain

Tune in to the 2024 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Just 10 Days To Go

Only once has a car bearing the No. 10 won the DAYTONA 500. The year was 1990, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt was powering into the third turn with the lead on the final lap at the World Center of Racing when he ran over a piece of the bell housing from Rick Wilson’s car, which had blown its engine with seven laps left. Earnhardt slowed, with his right rear tire punctured, and Derrike Cope flashed past in the No. 10 Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet to take the checkered flag and claim NASCAR’s most coveted trophy. Earnhardt wouldn’t break his DAYTONA 500 jinx until 1998 when he won the Great American Race for the first and only time. – Reid Spencer

Tune in to the 2024 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.