The 2014 Daytona 500, the 56th running of the event, was held on February 23, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the first race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his second Daytona 500 victory breaking a 55-race winless streak. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, while Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top 5. This race had seven cautions and 42 lead changes among 18 different drivers. The top rookies of this race were polesitter Austin Dillon (9th), Alex Bowman (23rd), and Brian Scott (25th).

The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual fall showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series.