DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The roar of racing engines is back at Daytona International Speedway, starting with qualifying Wednesday night and culminating Sunday with the 67th Daytona 500. 

Forty-two drivers hit the track for qualifying starting at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, pushing their cars to the fastest speeds they can get — one car at a time — on the 2.5-mile, banked tri-oval.

The race teams with the two fastest speeds of the night will start the Daytona 500 on Sunday at the front of the 40-car field for the 200-lap, 500-mile marathon.

Last year, Joey Logano captured the pole position, the inside spot on the front row, with a qualifying lap of 181.947 mph in his Ford. He was joined on the front row by Michael McDowell in another Ford.

Wednesday's qualifying only decides the first two positions of the race.

The other spots in the lineup are decided Thursday with The Duels, two 60-lap, 150-mile qualifying races that start at 7 p.m. The finishing order of the first race will determine the inside positions for each row, except the pole position, and the second race will set the order for the outside-row positions.  

Some general admission tickets remain available for qualifying and for The Duels, but if you want tickets for Sunday's race, you are out of luck because the grandstand and camping tickets sold out by January. In fact, tickets for next year's 500 already are on sale.

But before Wednesday night's qualifying, the drivers got in some practice laps and met with the media, talking about the pressure and excitement involved when kicking off the NASCAR Cup Series.

Logano said wearing the right shoe is very important.

“It’s about heat is the biggest thing," Logano said. "What’s comfortable in a race usually isn’t comfortable to walk around in. So, it’s not something you would want to run in or those kinds of things.”

Martin Truex Jr., who finished 15th last year, agreed.

"Shoes, they have to be comfortable," Truex said. "They also have to hold the heat out because you’re holding your foot on the floor all day, and the gas pedal is pretty hot.”

Speedweek offers a taste of every series in the NASCAR family, too, with their own types of excitement.

The Truck Series starts its season Friday, with the 100-lap, 250-mile Fresh from Florida 250 at 7:30 p.m. Practice laps will be run starting at 5:05 p.m. Thursday, and qualifying begins at 3 p.m. Friday. Last year, Nick Sanchez earned his first career win, barely escaping a chaotic 12-truck wreck in overtime.

On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series takes center stage with the 120-lap, 300-mile United Rentals 250 at 5 p.m. Drivers will get in some practice laps beginning at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, and qualifying for that race starts at 10 a.m. Saturday,. With a second-position start last year, Austin Hill secured his third consecutive title after a race that had been postponed twice due to rain.

Racing begins Saturday as part of a doubleheader. The Automobile Racing Club of America's Menard Series season opener will be run starting at noon. Fans who buy tickets to the Xfinity race can stay around to watch the ARCA race. A variety of entertainment will keep the excitement going between Saturday's races.

But the big event is Sunday, the Daytona 500, because it starts the new year of Cup Series racing. The marathon race can feature three-car-wide racing and some harrowing wrecks at high speeds. The Daytona 500 starts at 2:30 p.m.

Logano, who started in the top spot last year, did not win the race. That honor went to William Byron, who narrowly avoided a two-car collision on the last lap in a race that ended under caution. But Logano did go on to win the season finale in Phoenix and capture his third championship title. He was the 10th driver in Cup Series history to claim three or more championships.

Byron said winning last year makes this year's 500 a little less stressful for him.

“It’s really a chess match all week and trying to make sure your week goes according to plan," Byron said. "The comfort comes from having success here and to be in those situations and know what to do.”

Spectrum Sports' Brandon Green and The Associated Press contributed to this report.