Many fans are wondering, What time does the 2012 Daytona 500 start?

Coverage on Fox TV begins February 26, at noon. Green flag time is 1 pm Eastern.

Last year’s race: 2011 Daytona 500 Information

The 2011 Daytona 500 marked the 10th year since Dale Earnhardt, Sr. died in a last-lap crash in the 2001 race. NASCAR organizers held a special silent third lap as a tribute to Dale Sr., a seven-time Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) champion and one-time Daytona 500 winner in 1998. He has come to be associated with the #3 car he drove, hence the 3rd lap tribute.

His son, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., started in the pole position in the 2011 race. Dale Jr. placed 2nd in the 2010 Daytona 500, just behind Jamie McMurray. He is followed by Jeff Gordon, Trevor Bayne, and Paul Menard, who will round out the top four starting spots when the Green Flag drops on February 20, 2011.

Fox TV network broadcast the 2011 event starting at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time, with Green Flag time at 1 pm. Historically, the Daytona 500 is one of the most-watched race events of the year.

Michael Waltrip, who won the 2001 Daytona 500 in which Earnhardt Sr. died, drove in his 25th consecutive Daytona 500 in 2011. Waltrip recently authored a book called In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything.

Past Daytona 500 winners in recent years include:

Jamie McMurray (2010)
Matt Kenseth (2009)
Ryan Newman (2008)
Kevin Harvick (2007)
Jimmie Johnson (2006)
Jeff Gordon (2005)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2004)
Michael Waltrip (2003)
Ward Burton (2002)

For more information, check the NASAR Schedule.