2058 In The Future...

JOE LOGANO (he quit being called Joey back in '37) becomes the oldest driver to win the Daytona 500, at 67. What has been the key to the success of Logano, who made his Cup debut way back in '09 when he piloted a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and then went on to win a record nine Cup titles? Simple: his freakish hand-eye coordination, which he first flashed in the Busch East Series at age 17 in '07. A longtime health nut, Logano has maintained his racing fitness thanks to a strict diet rich in saturated fats and sugars (which, ironically, were thought to be harmful back when he broke into racing).

FOR THE FIRST time since '13...when Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired at age 39 (after four straight Cup titles) to pursue a career in commercials, an Earnhardt is back behind the wheel at Daytona. Dale IV, Junior's 19-year-old grandson, seeking to restore the family to its rightful place in racing (his father, Dale III, son of Junior and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson , is a professor of astrophysics at MIT ), brings his number 88 Chevy home in third place.

WATCHING LOGANO gingerly lift himself out of his race car in Victory Lane is NASCAR chairman... Tony Stewart . At age 86 Stewart has slowed some, but he's the sport's longest-serving chairman, having replaced Brian France back in '15. Though still temperamental, Stewart (a lifelong adherent to the Logano diet) has proved to be a superb leader, using his experience as a driver (and one often involved in disciplinary matters), a track owner and a team owner to deftly guide the sport deep into the 21st century.

THE STOCK CARS speeding around the high banking at speeds of less than 300 mph are powered by...hydrogen. Remember when NASCAR was contemplating using ethanol as its fuel? Well, that was sooo 2008. Because in '20, to the delight of environmentalists, chairman Stewart mandated that all of the cars in the top series be powered by hydrogen, which doesn't emit harmful greenhouse gases.

THE TELEVISION ratings for the race are...nonexistent. But chairman Stewart doesn't mind, because more than 250 million fans around the globe watch the event on their iPod 3000s. Coverage will include the Virtual Vision option, providing a view of the race as seen through a favorite driver's eyes, and online voting on pit-stop decisions. Spectators at the speedway will be treated to Tread View seating in grandstands under the racing surface.

THE TWO QUALIFYING races, for the first time, are...split between U.S.-born drivers and non-U.S.-born drivers. In the first qualifier—known around the garage as the Uncle Sam Slam—the top 22 finishers (all Americans) make the show. In the second race (dubbed the United Nations of Racin'), the first 21 foreigners across the finish line qualify for the 500. Who won the pole, you ask? Well, chairman Stewart did away with that charade back in 2025 because, as he bluntly said, "There is no bigger waste of time in our sport than qualifying at Daytona. It has zero bearing on who will win and who will even run well. Zippo."

THOUGH IT RAINS during the race, the weather...isn't an issue because of the retractable dome that was put over the speedway in '53. The dome features an intricate ventilation system, a see-through roof for prerace flyovers and a special noise-absorbing fiber, which was developed at NASCAR 's research center in '50.

THE HIGHEST finishing female is... Ella Sofia Gordon . Born in '07, Gordon came to racing late, after a career as a fashion model, but was quickly identified as a racing natural and was tagged with a nickname that she still goes by today: Wonder Girl. The 50-year-old Gordon , the daughter of Jeff Gordon , has three Cup titles—one fewer than her old man—and winds up second in the 100th running of the 500 behind Logano, her longtime rival.

THE RACE FEATURES...a record 21 foreign drivers. Reflecting a trend that began in '06 when Juan Pablo Montoya defected from Formula One to the Nextel Cup , NASCAR has become the most prestigious racing series in the world. Racers from as far as China and India—as well as Montoya 's grandson Little Juan—attempt to make the 100th 500.

TO FURTHER REDUCE the sport's impact on the environment, the haulers that transport the cars all feature...large solar panels on their roofs. These panels provide the energy source to produce the hydrogen (and, incidentally, heat the crews' hot tubs), making NASCAR the greenest racing series in the world.