2010 Daytona 500

The 2010 Daytona 500 was the 52nd running of "The Great American Race", and it kicked off the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season on February 14 at the 2.5 mile (4.0 km) Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Fox telecast the race while radio coverage was handled by Sirius XM Radio via satellite radio and over-the-air on MRN Radio in the USA. One change in this year's schedule found pole qualifying being held one day earlier, on February 6 because Super Bowl XLIV was held the following day.

The race started at 1 PM to comply with the new 1 / 3 / 7:30 rule for race starts during the new season. However, due to two long delays because of potholes in Turns 1 and 2, the race finished in prime time under the lights on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) track, the winner being Jamie McMurray in the #1 Bass Pro Shops Impala.

There were no NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies in the race for the first time since the Raybestos Rookie of the Year program started, as Terry Cook, the only rookie candidate approved to run at Daytona, failed to qualify. The other rookie entering 2010, Kevin Conway, was not eligible due to the lack of superspeedway experience. Instead, Travis Kvapil took over the #37 Front Row Motorsports entry. Three veteran drivers – Max Papis (second year), Michael McDowell (third year), and Brad Keselowski (second year) – were the only Daytona 500 rookies, all of whom had raced in a previous Coke Zero 400.