Daytona Beach, Fla. - Every year, the NASCAR Cup Series racing season starts with the biggest event on the stock-car circuit’s annual calendar: The Daytona 500.

This year, the “Great American Race” drew more than 100,000 people to Daytona International Speedway, with millions more watching from home. President Donald Trump showed up to lead some laps in front of a field of 41 competitors in his Cadillac limousine, nicknamed “The Beast.”

After President Trump completed his trip around the track, the Chevrolet Blazer EV SS official pace car lead the field to the green flag and it was off to the races…for 11 laps, before a 3.5 hour weather rain delay.

The race resumed in the evening. On the final lap, a crash at the front of the field vaulted William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, from ninth place to first. It was Byron’s second straight Daytona 500 win. Chevrolet has won 27 Daytona 500 races, more than any other manufacturer, including the past three races, beginning with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s victory in 2023.

Byron once again received the Harley J. Earl trophy, named after General Motors’ first head of design, and the second commissioner of NASCAR. The Firebird I prototype sits atop the trophy, cementing the bond between Earl, GM, Chevrolet, and the speedway.

Motorsports are a test bed for innovation, one that allows our competition engineers to test new technologies in a fast-paced environment against the best competition that other manufacturers can throw at us. Innovations GM creates for race cars eventually lead to improvements in the vehicles in dealer showrooms. GM employes can carry important lessons and behaviors from racing into production programs, and vice-versa, helping the company move quickly and decisively.

Chevrolet also won Saturday’s Xfinity series race, when Jesse Love, driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro SS, held off the field at Daytona. This weekend, Chevrolet will be ready once again as NASCAR teams head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the next race in the series