Clash at Daytona 2020 start time, TV schedule, live stream, format for Daytona 500 exhibition race

Yes, the NASCAR Cup Series has a preseason just like other major American sports leagues, but the stock car racing exhibition is a quickie that features just 75 laps around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

The annual Clash at Daytona, this year titled the Busch Clash, is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9 with a start time of 3 p.m. ET, almost exactly a week before the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. As always, only an exclusive group of drivers are eligible to race in the Clash.

MORE: Complete TV schedule for Daytona Speedweeks

Jimmie Johnson, who won last year's rain-shortened Clash at Daytona, is one of those drivers. The 2020 Clash represents the beginning of Daytona Speedweeks for all teams, but for Johnson, it marks the beginning of his last season as a driver before his retirement.

"My hope for him is that he is able to enjoy a full season as much as Jeff Gordon did," Mike Joy, Fox's lead play-by-play broadcaster, told Sporting News of Johnson. The Clash will mark the first race broadcast in which Joy and Gordon will operate in a two-man booth in the wake of analyst Darrell Waltrip's retirement. The duo will call all Cup Series practices and qualifying sessions this week, including Thursday's Duels, leading up to Fox's Daytona 500 broadcast.

First on the schedule, though, is the Clash. Below is all you need to know about this year's exhibition race at Daytona, including the TV/live stream info, the format for the event and the drivers included on the entry list.

Clash at Daytona start time 2020

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 9
• Start time: 3 p.m. ET
• TV channel: FS1
• Live stream: Fox Sports Go
• Radio: MRN

Sunday's Clash marks the first race broadcast for Fox's NASCAR Cup Series broadcast team in 2020, which now features the aforementioned two-man booth of Joy and Gordon. Fox's broadcast for the Clash (and all Cup races moving forward) will include more injections of analysis from Larry McReynolds and Jamie McMurray from the network's studio in Charlotte.

Vince Welch, Matt Yocum, Jamie Little and Regan Smith are returning in 2020 as pit road reporters for Fox.

Clash at Daytona schedule 2020

The 18 drivers in this year's Clash (more on them below) get just one practice session to test their cars before Sunday's Clash. That session was scheduled for Saturday at 11:35 a.m. ET.

Two Daytona 500 practice sessions also were scheduled for Saturday, but teams in the Clash will run different cars than those they brought for the 500.

Below is the TV schedule for all Cup Series sessions at Daytona this week.

• Saturday, Feb. 8

• Sunday, Feb. 9

• Thursday, Feb. 13

• Friday, Feb. 14

• Saturday, Feb. 15

• Sunday, Feb. 16

Clash at Daytona 2020: Format, lineup, entry list

The 75-lap exhibition race will begin with a 25-lap segment and end with the final 50 laps after a scheduled caution.

There is no qualifying for the Clash; just Saturday's practice session. Instead, the starting lineup will be set by a random draw, which is scheduled to take place Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

In order to be eligible to race in the Clash, a driver must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Pole winner from any race last season
• Former Clash winner who raced full time last season
• Former Daytona 500 winner who raced full time last season
• Former Daytona 500 pole winner who raced full time last season
• Qualified for last season's Cup Series playoffs

A total of 20 drivers met the above criteria and were eligible for the 2020 Clash at Daytona, but only 18 will compete. Daniel Hemric (pole winner from last year) is back in the Xfinity Series this season, and Daniel Suarez (pole winner from last year), now with a new team, opted not to race in the Clash as the No. 95 crew prepares for the Daytona 500.

Below is the complete entry list for the 2020 Clash at Daytona and how each driver became eligible.