Don’t miss a key moment of the exciting Daytona 500 race, with our guide on how to live stream the USA’s most watched Motorsport race.
Today we’ll show you how to stream the Daytona 500 for free in New Zealand.
Click for instructions or scroll down.
What is the Daytona 500?
The Daytona 500 is an annual motor race held at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 500-mile (805 km) race that is part of the NASCAR Cup Series and is regarded as its most prestigious and important event.
The prize pool is the highest of any NASCAR Cup event, and unlike most championship/major events for sports, which typically mark the end of a sports season, it is the first race on the NASCAR calendar, taking place in February each year.
The Daytona 500 is the most watched racing event in the United States, and has been so since 1995, eclipsing the domestic viewership of the Indianapolis 500, which in turn receives comparatively more attendees and international viewers.
For reference, the 2006 Daytona Championship peaked at 20,000,000 live viewers, which was the sixth highest for any sporting event in the world for that year. The event is so reputable that it is often referred to as the “Great American Race” and the “Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing”.
How Daytona 500 Works?
Qualification for the event is known as the Gander RV Duel and takes place a week before the Daytona 500. It consists of two races, each 150 miles in length and totalling 60 laps, the finishing orders of which determine the starting positions for racers in the Daytona 500 race.
As for the race itself, it is split into three stages, the first two 60 laps each and the last with 80.
Competitors who finish in the top 10 after Stage 1 and Stage 2 are awarded points, and the final finishing order of all 40 drivers will be awarded points, with bonus points carrying through to the 10-race playoff.
Daytona 500 History
As of the time of writing, the most recent Daytona 500 was the 2019 event on February 17. The race exceeded the 200 lap mark due to an overtime finish, ultimately ending at the 207 lap point with a victory for Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing.
The race was noted for a series car crashes in the final twenty laps, in particular a spectacular crash on lap number 191 involving 21 cars (crashes of this nature, involving 5 or more cars, are typically referred to as “The Big One” in Nascar), only 19 of the 40 entered cars were running by the end of the race.
Further crashes in the final few laps pushed the race out to overtime, but Denny Hamlin was able to maneuver the chaos of the crashes and take it home for the win. By the conclusion of the race, only 14 drivers had managed to complete every lap.
The most successful drivers in the competition’s history are Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough, with 7 and four wins respectively, although in the modern era of the competition Denny Hamlin stands out for having managed to win the race twice during the 2010’s.
As far as teams go, the two must successful are Petty Enterprises with 9 total victories and Hendrick Motorsports with 8.
Watch Daytona 500 NZ
The 62nd event will be held on Sunday 16th February USA Time.
The best platforms to watch the race include; Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, FuboTV, Youtube TV, Playstation Vue. All these platforms can be unlocked by using a VPN in NZ.
All platforms offer a free trial.
You can not signup from Australia or New Zealand due to rights issues. Without a VPN you must use a local broadcaster.
To solve this problem you should use a VPN and change the country to overseas, i.e. USA.
- Choose a VPN – PureVPN.com is our #1 choice!
- Connect to an overseas based server
- Create an account at chosen platform
- Start watching Daytona 500.
Why We Recommend PureVPN?
After testing dozens of providers, PureVPN was one of the few that worked with this platform flawlessly. They offer 2500+ servers in 140+ countries and you can download their apps for every device including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS, Chrome, Firefox, Roku, Fire TV and even at a router level. Prices are very affordable.
Aside from geo unblocking, PureVPN offers secure browsing, ISP throttle bypass, no logs, a money back guarantee and 24×7 customer support. You have nothing to lose except great entertainment.
Aelwyn is based in the UK and has a masters in security. He’s studied further in the United States while working for companies such as Google and Cisco. He loves rugby and has played professionally too.