CONCORD, N.C. – After months of anticipation, the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season is finally here.
This Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, the Daytona 500 will kick off the campaign, and Hendrick Motorsports will lead the field to green after sweeping the first through third starting positions.
The race will be broadcast on FOX, and before you tune in to catch all the action from the 2015 Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway, take a look at a few key notes to keep an eye on.
THIS WEEK'S PAINT SCHEMES: Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS in the 57th Annual Daytona 500. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson will compete in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS and No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS, respectively, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the wheel of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS.
QUALIFYING: For his final Daytona 500, Gordon clinched the pole position. Johnson won the outside pole position, giving Hendrick Motorsports a front row sweep. Earnhardt won the first of the two Duel at Daytona races, securing a third-place starting position, and Kahne will roll off the grid 13th.
HENDRICK AT DAYTONA: Hendrick Motorsports has earned eight Daytona 500 wins with five different drivers. The front row for the 2015 Great American Race represents five of the victories, with pole-winner Gordon having three and outside pole-sitter Johnson owning two. Car owner Rick Hendrick's first Daytona 500 win came with driver Geoffrey Bodine in 1986. Darrell Waltrip (1989) and defending race winner Earnhardt (2014) also have posted Daytona 500 wins for Hendrick Motorsports. The organization has a total of 13 points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories at Daytona International Speedway.
KAHNE AT DAYTONA: While Kahne still is looking for his first Daytona 500 win, he has reached Victory Lane previously at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. In 2010, he won the second Duel 150 race. In 22 Sprint Cup starts at Daytona, Kahne has two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes, including a runner-up result in the July 2010 race.
GORDON AT DAYTONA: In 44 Sprint Cup starts at Daytona International Speedway, Gordon has recorded six wins, 13 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes and has led 623 laps. Three of those wins occurred at the Daytona 500 (1997, 1999, and 2005). Most recently, he garnered a fourth-place finish in the Great American Race in 2014.
JOHNSON AT DAYTONA: In 26 Sprint Cup starts at Daytona International Speedway, Johnson has recorded three wins, nine top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes and has led 186 laps. Included in that success is a sweep of both 2013 races at the superspeedway.
BACK-TO-BACK: Most recently, Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career (2004, 2014). This year, Earnhardt returns with the goal of defending his Daytona 500 championship and also joining the short list of back-to-back Daytona 500 winners, including Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. With a win, Earnhardt would be the first driver in 20 years to win back-to-back Daytona 500s following 1994- and 1995-winning driver, Sterling Marlin.
EARNHARDT AT DAYTONA: In 30 Sprint Cup starts at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt has recorded three wins, 11 top-five finishes, 17 top-10 finishes and has led 450 laps. Earnhardt notched his first pole position at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 2011. Earnhardt, who averages a starting position of 11.1 and an average finish of 13.4 in 14 Cup seasons at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, has finished all but three points-paying events there during that time.