Unofficially speaking, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season got under way two weeks ago at Bowman Gray Stadium with the traditional season-opening exhibition race, The Clash.

Helio Castroneves is out of his NASCAR Daytona duel, but he will have a spot in the Daytona 500. Castroneves, making his first NASCAR appearance and driving for Trackhouse Racing, was running seventh in Thursday's qualifying race when he got caught up in another driver's wreck.

A handful of laps later, however, was a different story. Chandler Smith attempted a late block on Lap 15 over Justin Haley, sending his car for a spin into the outside wall. That collected others further back, including other open cars needing to race their way into Sunday’s main event.