The 2013 Daytona 500, the 55th running of the event, was held on February 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5-mile (4 km) asphalt tri-oval. It was the first race of the 2013 Sprint Cup season. Danica Patrick won the pole for the race, becoming the first woman to earn a pole position in NASCAR's highest division. She also achieved the best-ever finish by a woman at the Daytona 500, finishing 8th. Jimmie Johnson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his first win of the season and his second win in the "Great American Race" and his first since the 2006 race. His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 2nd while Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top 5.
The race was the final Daytona 500 starts for Mark Martin, Dave Blaney, Juan Pablo Montoya, Travis Kvapil, David Reutimann, Scott Speed, and Jeff Burton.
Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[5] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[6] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[6] Matt Kenseth was the defending race winner.[7] In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5 miles (4.0 km) high speed tri-oval,[8] a 3.56 miles (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95 miles (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a .25 miles (0.40 km) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.[9] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004,[10] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.[11]
In preparation for the race, NASCAR held several test sessions on January 10–12, 2013, for teams to test the sixth generation of race cars.[12] Every test session began at 9 a.m. EST, paused between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. EST, and concluded at 5 p.m. EST.[12] During the first session on the morning of January 10, 2013, thirty-four drivers participated; Kenseth, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was quickest with a speed of 192.757 mph[13] while Denny Hamlin had the highest speed of 195.712 mph during the second session in the afternoon.[13]
The third test session, held during the morning of January 11, was led by Jeff Burton after having the highest speed of 194.805 mph.[14] The fourth session was the first session in which multiple drivers were on track to draft, which resulted in a large accident following contact between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marcos Ambrose.[14] Following the crash, ten teams left the track because of a shortage of parts for the new car.[14] During that fourth session, held during the afternoon, thirty-two drivers participated with 2011 race winner Trevor Bayne being quickest with a speed of 199.650 mph.[14][15] During the fifth session, held on the morning of January 12, twenty-one drivers participated; Kenseth was quickest with a speed of 194.062 mph.[16] Greg Biffle was quickest with a speed of 194.936 mph in the final session.[16]
Seven practice sessions were held before the race.[17] The first two on February 16 ran 120 minutes and 105 minutes each.[17] The next two on February 20 were 90 minutes each.[17] Two days later, two more 60 minute practice sessions were scheduled.[17] The final practice session was held on February 23.[17] Joey Logano was quickest with a time of 46.057 seconds in the first session, less than one-hundredth of a second faster than Austin Dillon.[18] Danica Patrick was just off Dillon's pace, followed by Paul Menard, Burton and Kasey Kahne.[18] Bayne was seventh, still within two-tenths of Logano's time.[18] In the second practice session, Patrick remained fastest with a time of 45.867 seconds, less than one second quicker than second-placed Tony Stewart.[19] Kyle Busch took third place, ahead of Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray and Bayne.[19]
Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three raced because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[20] Unlike most races during the season, the qualifying session only determined the first two positions, while the rest of the drivers qualified by the 2013 Budweiser Duels.[21] Patrick clinched her first pole during her Sprint Cup career, with a time of 45.817 seconds,[22] and became the first woman to win the pole position in the Sprint Cup Series.[23] She was joined on the front row of the grid by Jeff Gordon.[22]
Once the qualifying session were completed, Patrick commented, "I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl. That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning. Then I feel like thriving in those moments, where the pressure's on, has also been a help for me. I also feel like I've been lucky in my career to be with good teams and have good people around me. I don't think any of it would have been possible without that. For those reasons, I've been lucky enough to make history, be the first woman to do many things. I really just hope that I don't stop doing that. We have a lot more history to make. We are excited to do it."[23]
Michael Waltrip was quickest in the third practice with 45.375 seconds, followed by David Ragan, Stewart, Menard and Kyle Busch.[24] Kahne led fourth practice with 45.515 seconds, only one-tenth of a second faster than Greg Biffle.[25] Gordon was third ahead of Patrick and Carl Edwards.[25] Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were the winners of the Budweiser Duels.[26] The qualifying grid was finalized with Harvick in third and Kyle Busch fourth.[27] Biffle qualified fifth ahead of Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dillon, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer.[27] Drivers who failed to qualify were Mike Bliss and Brian Keselowski.[27]
Aric Almirola was fastest in fifth practice with a 45.699 seconds lap, ahead of Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte and Michael McDowell.[28] Stewart led the sixth session ahead of Gordon and Patrick. Kahne was next with a 45.711 second lap ahead of Kenseth with 45.827 seconds.[29] Earnhardt's 45.319 seconds topped the final practice session, followed by David Gilliland and Bowyer. Ambrose and Almirola rounded out the first five drivers in the fourth and fifth positions.[30]