“As a kid, I grew up a fan of NASCAR. The Daytona 500 was my most anticipated race to watch. The close racing, the bump drafting, and this and that, but also just the timing,” Daniel Ricciardo said back in February. Sure, he left the world of motorsports back in 2024 once the Formula 1 season ended, but has racing left him? Well, if his recent words are anything to go by, then maybe not.
“I’ve seen videos of you when you get the lead, get to the front in the 500, like the crowd goes nuts. I’m obviously, hopefully, I will get to experience that,” Ricciardo said, speaking of his Daytona 500 experience as a spectator.
For the longest time, Ricciardo has been an enthusiast of stock car racing and American culture overall. Even during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at COTA, he would pull up in a cowboy hat and a horseshoe beard, blending in with the Texas culture. And now that he has stepped away from F1, he has the opportunity to step into other series. While he hasn’t given a solid hint of anything in particular, his passion for the Daytona 500 seems unreal.
“I watched that race my whole life, and I knew the banking would be cool […] I’ve been around racing my whole life, but there will still be things that are just going to blow me away. Maybe people have a perception that, well, he’s raced F1, so what does he care about Indy, or why is that going to be cool to him? It’s like, there are so many kinds of levels and variants of cool and wow,” he added.
Stock car racing is understandably different from open-wheel racing. But it is not uncommon for drivers from both disciplines to try the other out, and that is exactly the case with Daniel Ricciardo.
Daniel Ricciardo: Officially in awe of Daytona.
Maybe we could see him running the DAYTONA 500 one day?
pic.twitter.com/xuRcxJvhGx
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) May 7, 2026
In fact, he was even present on the track in 2021, ahead of the F1 US GP. He had the chance to drive Dale Earnhardt’s 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, shining bright under the Texas sun with iconic blue and yellow Wrangler colors. It was the same livery that Carson Hocevar attempted to recreate this season.
“I’m happy for Daniel. I’m also appreciative of how he celebrates my father. That makes a lot of dad’s family members, and fans smile,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote at the time.
But wait, the 36-year-old’s affinity for the Daytona 500 runs deeper.
Before this year’s event in February, Ricciardo’s new business, Enchante, prepared a NASCAR-themed drop ahead of the 68th running of the race. The brand planned a special Daytona 500 release called Daytona Thunder, featuring race-themed shirts and caps. On Enchante’s Instagram, the former Red Bull Racing driver also wrote about how fascinating he finds the event.
“The strategy and how early in the race to show your cards, so to speak, and the cat and mouse, and when to go and when to be patient. The whole flow of the race that really fascinated me. What a way to start a year, with a race like Daytona,” he wrote.
It was a special moment for Ricciardo, but now that he’s done that, understandably, he wants more, which is to run the Daytona 500. But frankly, it wouldn’t be too odd. There have been Formula 1 drivers throughout the years who have had the chance to run in NASCAR.
F1 drivers who gave NASCAR a shot
Formula 1 is not always the ultimate resting place for many careers. There have been some of the most notable drivers who stepped outside of open-wheel racing and gave NASCAR a huge chance.
Of these, Juan Pablo Montoya is the most successful example. He ran full-time seasons between 2007 and 2013, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing (later Earnhardt Ganassi Racing). He regularly made top 10 finishes and even won a few races. This was an iconic example of an F1 driver moving to stock cars and still managing to win.
But the examples don’t stop there.
While he did not run any of the ovals, Ricciardo seems to be targeting the same. His passion for the Daytona 500 is quite understandable. It is one of the biggest motorsports events throughout the year and marks the NASCAR season’s start. To be fair, considering the number of drivers who run the Great American Race, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ricciardo give it a try, too.
