2026 Daytona 500

2026 Daytona 500

Race details [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Race 1 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series
2026 Daytona 500 logo
Date	February 15, 2026 (2026-02-15)
Location	Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Pole position
Driver	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing
Time	49.006
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Joey Logano	Team Penske
Duel 2 Winner	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Rusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2), Kyle Rickey (Backstretch), and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4)

The 2026 Daytona 500 is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race and the 68th running of the event. It will be held on Sunday, February 15, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. ^[3] It will be the first race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series.

Report

Background

The layout of the Daytona International Speedway.

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. ^[6] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. ^[7] The track's turns are banked at 31  degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. ^[7]

In 2026, the Daytona 500 will be held on its traditional Presidents' Day weekend. However, Daytona announced on October 22, 2025, that the 2027 Daytona 500 would be a week later, held on February 21, 2027, to avoid a conflict with the Super Bowl. ^[8]

For the second consecutive year, 41 cars will be in the Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson is guaranteed a spot with the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP). ^[9]

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (W) denotes former winner.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
2	Austin Cindric (W)	Team Penske	Ford
3	Austin Dillon (W)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
4	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford
7	Daniel Suárez	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
10	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
11	Denny Hamlin (W)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford
16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford
19	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
21	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford
22	Joey Logano (W)	Team Penske	Ford
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota
24	William Byron (W)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
34	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
35	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	Toyota
36	Chandler Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
38	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
40	Justin Allgaier (i)	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet
41	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	Chevrolet
42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota
43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota
44	J. J. Yeley (i)	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (W)	Hyak Motorsports	Chevrolet
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
60	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	Ford
62	Anthony Alfredo (i)	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet
66	Casey Mears	Garage 66	Ford
67	Corey Heim (i)	23XI Racing	Toyota
71	Michael McDowell (W)	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet
84	Jimmie Johnson (W)	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota
88	Connor Zilisch (R)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
97	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
99	Corey LaJoie	RFK Racing	Ford
Official entry list

First practice

Austin Cindric was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.025 seconds and a speed of 187.402 mph (301.594 km/h).

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time	Speed
1	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	48.025	187.402
2	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	48.146	186.931
3	99	Corey LaJoie	RFK Racing	Ford	48.253	186.517
Official first practice results

Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.006 and a speed of 183.651 mph (295.558 km/h). ^[10] Noah Gragson had his time disallowed for using his hand to deflect air and attempting to gain an advantage.

Qualifying results

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	R1	R2
1	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	48.933	49.006
2	19	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	49.034	49.022
3	60	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	Ford	49.081	49.061
4	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	49.105	49.100
5	67	Corey Heim (i)	23XI Racing	Toyota	49.138	49.147
6	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.117	49.152
7	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.121	49.158
8	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	49.168	49.184
9	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.170	49.220
10	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	49.172	49.275
11	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	49.184	—
12	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	49.185	—
13	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	49.197	—
14	40	Justin Allgaier (i)	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.201	—
15	99	Corey LaJoie	RFK Racing	Ford	49.205	—
16	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	49.214	—
17	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	49.248	—
18	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	49.252	—
19	38	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	49.266	—
20	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	49.269	—
21	71	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.280	—
22	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.282	—
23	88	Connor Zilisch (R)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	49.291	—
24	41	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	Chevrolet	49.322	—
25	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	49.332	—
26	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	49.350	—
27	21	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	49.354	—
28	84	Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	49.366	—
29	77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.427	—
30	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	49.432	—
31	35	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	Toyota	49.452	—
32	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	49.460	—
33	34	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	49.460	—
34	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	49.483	—
35	62	Anthony Alfredo (i)	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.485	—
36	10	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	49.497	—
37	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	49.527	—
38	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Hyak Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.529	—
39	7	Daniel Suárez	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.552	—
40	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	49.609	—
41	36	Chandler Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	49.758	—
42	78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	50.011	—
43	66	Casey Mears	Garage 66	Ford	50.233	—
44	44	J. J. Yeley (i)	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet	50.482	—
45	4	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	0.000	—
Official qualifying results

The Duel at Daytona

See also: 2026 The Duel at Daytona

The Duels at Daytona are a pair of NASCAR Cup Series races held in conjunction with the Daytona 500 annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. They consist of two races 60 laps and 150 miles (240 km) in length, which serve as heat races that set the lineup for the Daytona 500. Both races sets the lineup for positions 3–32. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd–numbered positions on pole qualifying day. The second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even–numbered positions. Positions 33–36 are filled by the four drivers that posted the fastest lap in pole qualifying that didn't lock in a position in the Duel's. Positions 37–40 are set by the four cars highest in the 2019 owner's points that didn't lock in a position in the Duels and weren't among the cars that posted the four fastest timed laps in pole qualifying.

Duel 1

Duel 1 results

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	6	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	63	10
2	11	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	63	9
3	7	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	63	8
4	10	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	63	7
5	9	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	63	6
6	19	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	63	5
7	20	7	Daniel Suárez	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	63	4
8	22	66	Casey Mears	Garage 66	Ford	63	3
9	2	60	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	Ford	63	2
10	4	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	63	1
11	13	41	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	Chevrolet	63	0
12	23	4	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	63	0
13	16	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	63	0
14	3	67	Corey Heim (i)	23XI Racing	Toyota	63	0
15	15	84	Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	63	0
16	21	36	Chandler Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	63	0
17	14	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	63	0
18	1	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	63	0
19	8	99	Corey LaJoie	RFK Racing	Ford	62	0
20	17	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	62	0
21	18	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	62	0
22	12	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	55	0
23	5	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	55	0
Official race results

Duel 2

Duel 2 results

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	4	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	10
2	14	77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	9
3	3	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	8
4	10	71	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	7
5	6	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	60	6
6	13	21	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	60	5
7	19	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Hyak Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	4
8	16	34	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	60	3
9	5	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	60	2
10	2	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	60	1
11	12	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	60	0
12	20	45	Tyler Reddick	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	60	0
13	15	35	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	Toyota	60	0
14	9	38	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	60	0
15	11	88	Connor Zilisch (R)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	60	0
16	18	10	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	60	0
17	8	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	60	0
18	21	78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	0
19	1	19	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	60	0
20	7	40	Justin Allgaier (i)	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	0
21	22	44	J. J. Yeley (i)	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet	57	0
DSQ	17	62	Anthony Alfredo (i)	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet	60	0
Official race results

Starting lineup

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Notes
1	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Fastest in pole qualifying
2	19	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Second in pole qualifying
3	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	Duel 1 Winner
4	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Duel 2 Winner
5	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	Second in Duel 1
6	77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	Second in Duel 2
7	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Third in Duel 1
8	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Third in Duel 2
9	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	Fourth in Duel 1
10	71	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	Fourth in Duel 2
11	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	Fifth in Duel 1
12	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Fifth in Duel 2
13	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	Sixth in Duel 1
14	21	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	Sixth in Duel 2
15	7	Daniel Suárez	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	Seventh in Duel 1
16	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Hyak Motorsports	Chevrolet	Seventh in Duel 2
17	66	Casey Mears	Garage 66	Ford	Eighth in Duel 1
18	34	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Eighth in Duel 2
19	60	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	Ford	Ninth in Duel 1
20	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Ninth in Duel 2
21	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Tenth in Duel 1
22	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Tenth in Duel 2
23	41	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	Chevrolet	Eleventh in Duel 1
24	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	Eleventh in Duel 2
25	4	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Twelfth in Duel 1
26	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	Twelfth in Duel 2
27	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	Thirteenth in Duel 1
28	35	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	Toyota	Thirteenth in Duel 2
29	67	Corey Heim (i)	23XI Racing	Toyota	Fourteenth in Duel 2
30	38	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Fourteenth in Duel 2
31	84	Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	Fifteenth in Duel 2
32	88	Connor Zilisch (R)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	Fifteenth in Duel 2
33	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	Seventeenth in Duel 1
34	10	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	Sixteenth in Duel 2
35	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	20th in Duel 1
36	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	Seventeenth in Duel 2
37	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	21st in Duel 1
38	78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	Nineteenth in Duel 2 [11]
39	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	22nd in Duel 1
40	40	Justin Allgaier (i)	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	20th in Duel 2
41	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	23rd in Duel 1
Did not qualify
42	36	Chandler Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
43	99	Corey LaJoie	RFK Racing	Ford
44	44	J. J. Yeley (i)	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet
45	62	Anthony Alfredo (i)	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet	Disqualified after post-race inspection [11]
Official starting lineup

Practice (post-Duels)

Second practice

Austin Dillon was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 46.006 seconds and a speed of 195.627 mph (314.831 km/h).

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time	Speed
1	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	46.006	195.627
2	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	46.049	195.452
3	40	Justin Allgaier (i)	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	46.137	195.071
Official second practice results

Final practice

Ryan Preece was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.676 seconds and a speed of 192.819 mph (310.312 km/h).

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time	Speed
1	60	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	Ford	46.676	192.819
2	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	46.684	192.786
3	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	46.733	192.583
Official final practice results

Media

Television

See also: NASCAR on television and radio § Beyond the United States

Since 2001—with the exception of 2002, 2004 and 2006—the Daytona 500 have been carried by Fox in the United States. The booth crew consists of longtime NASCAR lap-by-lap announcer Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, and Josh Sims will handle pit road for the television side. 1992 and 1998 Daytona 500 winning crew chief Larry McReynolds will provide insight on-site during the race. ^[12]

Fox Television
Booth announcers	Pit reporters	In-race analyst
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick	Jamie Little Regan Smith Josh Sims	Larry McReynolds

Radio

The race will be broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network who have covered the Daytona 500 since 1970—and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. The booth crew consists of Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and 1989 Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace. Longtime turn announcer Dave Moody will be the lead turn announcer, calling the race from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field races through turns 1 and 2. Kyle Rickey will work the backstretch for the race from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track & Tim Catalfamo will call the race when the field races through turns 3 and 4 from the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 4. On pit road, MRN will be operated by Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Brienne Pedigo.

MRN Radio
Booth announcers	Turn announcers	Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Rusty Wallace	Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Kyle Rickey Turns 3 & 4: Tim Catalfamo	Steve Post Brienne Pedigo Kim Coon

References

1. "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site . Retrieved October 25, 2025.
2. "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
3. "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR . August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
4. "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
5. "Duel 1 at Daytona Results". Racing-Reference. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
6. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
7. "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway". Speedway Guide. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
8. "Daytona International Speedway Announces 2027 DAYTONA 500 Date". Daytona International Speedway . October 22, 2025. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
9. Srigley, Joseph (January 7, 2026). "Jimmie Johnson Secures Place in 2026 DAYTONA 500 with Open Exemption Provisional". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
10. DeGroot, Nick (February 15, 2026). "Kyle Busch and RCR win pole position for the 2026 Daytona 500". Motorsport.com . Daytona Beach, Florida: Motorsport Network . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
11. "Mears Races In, McLeod Awarded Final Daytona 500 Berth After Inspection". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
12. "FULL THROTTLE TO HISTORY: FOX SPORTS RACES INTO RECORD BOOKS WITH UNPARALLELED 23RD DAYTONA 500 BROADCAST ON FOX". Fox Sports. February 2, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.

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