Fooch's Note: Check out our full coverage in our Daytona 500 stream.
FOX is close to wrapping up its pre-race show and the 2011 Daytona 500 will be starting soon. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 10:19am pacific time. Brad Paisley conducted a pre-race concert and now they’re doing a remembrance of Dale Earnhardt who died ten years ago during the Daytona 500.
This year’s pre-race festivities include Martina McBride singing the National Anthem and actors from the upcoming Transformers movie operating as Grand Marshals. They include Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and director Michael Bay.
Some of the basics on the race: Jamie McMurray is the defending champion and the race will run 200 laps barring weather issues. It’s currently 76 degrees and sunny in Daytona and is supposed to remain sunny all day. I think it’s safe to say this race will not be shortened by the weather.
This year’s odds-on favorite is Bakersfield native Kevin Harvick, who is an 8 to 1 favorite. Vallejo-native Jeff Gordon is coming in at 11 to 1, and Los Gatos-native A.J. Allmendinger is at 50 to 1.
We’ll be providing updates during the race, but for even more in-depth coverage, head over to the SB Nation NASCAR hub stream, where they’re picking Kevin Harvick to win today.
Starting lineup for the 2011 Daytona 500:
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Kurt Busch
4. Jeff Burton
5. Regan Smith
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Michael Waltrip
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Kyle Busch
11. Kasey Kahne
12. Brian Keselowski
13. Juan Pablo Montoya
14. Jamie McMurray
15. AJ Allmendinger
16. Brad Keselowski
17. Mark Martin
18. Denny Hamlin
19. Paul Menard
20. Martin Truex Jr.
21. Ryan Newman
22. Carl Edwards
23. Jimmie Johnson
24. David Reutimann
25. Tony Stewart
26. Greg Biffle
27. Brian Vickers
28. Robert Richardson Jr.
29. Bill Elliott
30. Robby Gordon
31. Bobby Labonte
32. Trevor Bayne
33. JJ Yeley
34. David Ragan
35. Marcos Ambrose
36. Steve Wallace
37. Andy Lally
38. Joey Logano
39. David Gilliland
40. Travis Kvapil
41. Joe Nemechek
42. Dave Blaney
43. Terry Labonte