Daytona 500 on FOX: Jamie Little talks about what makes it special

AUSTIN, Texas - NASCAR will kick off its season with the Daytona 500. The race will air on FOX and longtime FOX pit reporter Jamie Little says there's a reason why the race is considered by many to be NASCAR's Super Bowl.

"Well, this is where NASCAR was born, basically, they used to race cars right down on Daytona Beach, that's about 10 miles or not even 10 miles from the race track.  It's where the document was signed, calling it NASCAR, it's absolutely gorgeous.  This is where everybody wants to be, every racer in the country wants to go racing at Daytona," Little says. 

Little adds, "So for it to be the first race of the year, everybody gets to show off their new toys, this year it's certainly a big toy, with the NextGen car. Everybody wants to be known as a Daytona 500 champion, it's something that's right up there with being a NASCAR champion itself, so it is a big deal and everybody has had a little bit of an off-season and they're ready to go racing just like the fans are excited and ready for an event."

There's a lot of interest in the NextGen car with many casual fans wondering what exactly is it going to look like and how it will impact the sport.

"Well we got to see a little glimpse of it a couple of weeks ago in the clash and I'll tell you, one thing that I felt like these cars missed before is that they were a little antiquated, they're a little bit older and I think new fans coming in couldn't really relate, it doesn't look like a car on the street or a car I could go buy off the showroom floor," Little says. 

"NASCAR has changed that, these cars are sports cars now, they look like race cars, they sound like race cars, they're incredible.  When one fired up in L.A. for the first time, it gave me goosebumps, it was something so different, it's a new era of NASCAR," Little adds.

FOX"s Daytona 500 coverage begins at noon on February 20.

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