The Daytona 500, NASCAR’s crown jewel and the traditional kickoff to the Cup Series season, will shift one week later on the calendar in 2027. Daytona International Speedway announced Wednesday that The Great American Race will run on Sunday, February 21, 2027, moving away from its usual Presidents’ Day weekend slot.
The track revealed the date change in a video posted to its official social media channels, marking a notable adjustment to one of motorsports’ most iconic traditions.
Catch the tradition. 02.21.27.#DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/9nUlY2CYQT
— Daytona International Speedway (@DAYTONA) October 22, 2025
“We have fans from all 50 states and dozens of countries who look forward to kicking off the NASCAR season with us at The World Center of Racing, and we know many of them make their travel and lodging plans well in advance for the trip,” said Frank Kelleher, President of Daytona International Speedway. “As the 2027 date shifts to Feb. 21, we wanted to give our amazing and loyal fans plenty of opportunity to prepare to be in Daytona Beach for the excitement The Great American Race provides each year.”
While not specifically mentioned by NASCAR or Daytona International Speedway, the move helps NASCAR avoid a direct clash with the NFL’s Super Bowl, which is scheduled for February 14, 2027.
This isn’t the first time the Daytona 500 has drifted from its familiar holiday weekend. NASCAR previously pushed the event back a week in 2011, anticipating an extended NFL season that would shift the Super Bowl. After six years on that schedule, the race eventually returned to its original mid-February placement.
Since 1982, the Daytona 500 has stood as the season opener for the NASCAR Cup Series, its prestige rivaling the Super Bowl itself in cultural stature and fan anticipation. Yet unlike most major sports, NASCAR begins its year with its biggest event, setting the tone for the months ahead.
While the full 2027 NASCAR Cup Series schedule won’t arrive until mid-to-late 2026, this early announcement gives fans the first glimpse of what’s to come. In recent seasons, NASCAR’s schedules have evolved rapidly, with the sanctioning body taking bold steps to revisit historic venues like North Wilkesboro Speedway and Rockingham Speedway, and even bringing Chicagoland Speedway back to the calendar in 2026 after a six-year absence.
The 2026 Daytona 500 will remain on its traditional date, Sunday, February 15, before the move to February 21 the following year. Reigning two-time winner William Byron, who stormed from ninth to first on the final lap in 2025, will look to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive Daytona 500s. Only four others, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, and Denny Hamlin, have ever captured back-to-back victories in the sport’s most storied race.
As the schedule takes shape, NASCAR’s decision to shift its biggest event could also ripple into other hallmark weekends in 2027, such as the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day and the Southern 500 on Labor Day, making the coming year another intriguing one for fans of the sport’s evolving landscape.