How to watch the Daytona 500 online or on TV: stream the race and its practices

One of the biggest events in the US motorsport calendar is almost here, as the Daytona 500 is set for Sunday, February 18, a must-watch for motorheads.

Helping to jump start the NASCAR season, the Daytona 500 sees at least 40 racers drive 500 miles over successive laps of the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. It's a tough endurance event, but is the biggest entry in the NASCAR calendar each year, so expect some competitive racing.

But the four-plus-hour race isn't the only reason to tune into the Daytona proceedings, as four days of qualifiers and practice races keep the heat on the Speedway — and give fans something to tune in to.

Want to see the race or its mid-week starters? Here's how to watch the 2024 Daytona 500 online or on TV.

How to watch the 2024 Daytona 500 in the US

The Daytona 500 race airs at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT on Sunday, February 18, and all you need to tune in for the race is a way to watch Fox. All of the pre-race match-ups air on FS1 though, so if you want to catch all the racing, you need a way to see this cable channel too.

If you don't have a cable plan, both Fox and FS1 are available via a few live TV streaming services. DirecTV Stream, Hulu with Live TV, Fubo and YouTube TV are all options for juggling both channels, and you can see prices below. We've also got the full pre-race calendar so you know what FS1 gets you.

• Daytona 500 qualifying race: Wednesday, February 14, 8:15 am ET/5:15 am PT
• Daytona 500 Duel Race 1: Thursday, February 15, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT
• Daytona 500 Duel Race 2: Thursday, February 15, 8:15 pm ET/5:15 pm PT
• Daytona 500 practice 1: Friday, February 16, 5:35 pm ET/2:35 pm PT
• Daytona 500 practice 2: Saturday, February 17, at 10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT

How to watch 2024 Daytona 500 in the UK

You can stream the Daytona 500 in the UK, but there unfortunately doesn't seem to be a way to watch the practice and qualifying races. Sorry! The race itself is on Sunday, February 18 at 7:30 pm.

The Daytona 500 live stream is hosted on Viaplay, a streaming service for Nordic movies and TV shows that also airs a few sporting events too.

Viaplay's sports tier costs £14.99 per month, but that goes down to £9.99 monthly if you commit to an annual subscription. It's even cheaper if you commit to an annual plan and pay upfront, at £99 for the full year. Just make sure to avoid the £3.99 tier, as that doesn't have sports.

• Sign up for Viaplay here

How to watch the 2024 Daytona 500 everywhere else

If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the Daytona 500, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). 

A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite sports, shows or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

ExpressVPN is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to watch what you want from anywhere you want to watch it. 

It's straightforward and easy to use, has great security, is available on loads of streaming devices and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out 100% risk-free.