Daytona 500 5 things to know: From Jimmie Johnson to Kevin Harvick to ... Travis Pastrana?

DAYTONA BEACH — With NASCAR’s 75th anniversary starting with the 65th Daytona 500, and more storylines than all those years combined, wrapping your mind around Sunday can be a little overwhelming.

At the heart of it, there’s a set of basics that must be understood. But beyond that?

There’s plenty of intrigue surrounding this year’s Cup Series season opener, whether it’s potential longshots or fan favorites, young guns or veterans singing a swan song. It’s all part of what makes the Great American Race one of the world’s premier auto racing events.

Here are five things to watch.

Live updates:The latest from the 2023 Daytona 500

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Can Travis Pastrana or Conor Daly really make noise?

Two cars with the most attention on them this week are the one-off rides driven by IndyCar veteran Conor Daly and action-sports star Travis Pastrana.

The first challenge for the two was to get into the race and they did that via different methods. Pastrana, driving for the Denny Hamlin/Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing, earned entry via fast qualifying time on Wednesday.

Daly, driving for The Money Team and co-owner Floyd Mayweather, had a much more trying week, missing qualifying due to mechanical issues and immediately falling a lap down as suspension problems struck before the green flag dropped on his Thursday Duel race. But fellow open-car competitor Austin Hill was taken out in a crash in that second duel to put Daly in.

“We changed everything but the color of the car in the race, it was pretty wild to start,” Daly said after his Duel had ended. “I thought it was broken immediately but we just kind of kept going.

“It was very lucky but I will take luck all the time because we got better and better as we raced and I learned a lot at a high rate of speed.”

Pastrana was collected in the same crash that ended Hill’s hopes but had already clinched a spot.

PASTRANA IN: Motocross, rally racing legend Travis Pastrana qualifies for NASCAR's Daytona 500

MONEY TIME:Conor Daly attempting to qualify for first Daytona 500 in car owned by Floyd Mayweather

Now, the question is can either of them make it to the end? Or, even more improbable, contend?

Sunday will tell. But Pastrana said he’s harboring realistic expectations.

“I just want to make sure NASCAR fans, when they leave here, they’re not like, ‘Oh, what an idiot’,” Pastrana said. “They say, ‘That guy, he drove very considerate, very smart and he was able to get it to the finish line at the end.’

"If I can get this car on the lead lap to the finish line, I’ve never said that before on anything other than winning, but that will be a win.”

Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson lead group of grand marshals

Kurt Busch, the 2017 Daytona 500 winner, won’t be in the field as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered at Pocono last year.

But he was in the media room on Friday and is serving as an advisor in the 23XI Racing team camp where full-time drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, as well as Pastrana, will be competing this week.

Busch will also serve as one of nine current or former drivers who will serve as grand marshals for Sunday’s main event. That group, which also includes Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott and Dale Jarrett, is made up entirely of drivers who have won both a Daytona 500 and a Cup Series title.

“It’s a very special honor, I’ve been choked up about it since I got notified about it this week,” Busch said. “To reflect back on some of the accomplishments and race teams I’ve been with and then, woah, this is Richard Petty. This is Bobby Allison. This is a group of legends and true racers and to be part of it, honestly, I’m very humbled. I’m blown away by it.”

Kevin Harvick's swan song, Jimmie Johnson's return, and slumps for Martin Truex, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch

While the race promises plenty of underdogs to root for, there are several sentimental favorites as well.

See: Kevin Harvick, who will run in his final Daytona 500.

Or how about Jimmie Johnson? The seven-time Cup Series champion will make his first Daytona 500 start since 2020 after a two-year stint in the IndyCar Series.

Johnson, now co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, has looked feisty all week, easily making the field on speed with the fastest qualifying time among the six open cars on Wednesday and then topping the charts during a Daytona 500 practice session Friday evening.

“Per plate racing, I think we’ve got a really good-driving race car,” Johnson said. “I’m happy to be here and I’m glad to be on the top and not on the bottom. I’m sure headlines would read a little bit differently if it was the other way around.”

If you’re rooting for a slump to be busted, look no further than Martin Truex, who is 0 for 71 in superspeedway starts. Or how about Brad Keselowski, who has seven superspeedway wins and a laundry list of close calls but has never quite gotten the job done in the Daytona 500?

Then there’s Kyle Busch, who has the most career starts (642) of anyone in the field without a win in the Great American Race.

Zane Smith completes champion trifecta for the first time

For the first time in history, the reigning champions in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series will all run in the Daytona 500.

Joey Logano won his Duel race Thursday and will start third as he begins a defense of his second premier-series championship. Ty Gibbs just held off Noah Gragson for the Xfinity title last year and both have now moved to full-time Cup rides with Gibbs driving the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and Gragson taking over the No. 42 Chevrolet for Legacy Motor Club.

Then there’s Zane Smith, who had to race his way into the 500 via Duel race Thursday in the No. 38 Ford, a third Front Row Motor Sports entry. Smith coasted to an eighth-place finish and Sunday will mark the 23-year-old’s second career Cup start after he finished 17^th at Gateway last year.

David Gilliland, Travis Pastrana and other long-shot predictions!

Smith is considered a longshot at +10,000 and while that might seem unlikely, Michael McDowell was +6,600 when he won in 2021. Even Austin Cindric was far from a favorite last year at +3,000.

So, who could possibly pay off big when it comes to this year’s 500? Smith is intriguing, as is Harrison Burton at +5,000 and Corey LaJoie at +10,000.

Daly (+50,000) and Pastrana (+10,000) are also toward the end of the field as well but perhaps most tempting, especially after Thursday’s Duels, is Todd Gilliland.

The driver of the Front Row Motor Sports No. 38 car, and a teammate of Smith and McDowell, led the second Duel at the white flag before making a save in Turn 1 after contact from Kyle Larson. Despite that strong showing, Gilliland is on the same betting line as Pastrana, Smith and LaJoie at +10,000.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DAYTONA 500: 5 things to know for NASCAR's 65th Great American Race