2026 Daytona 500 Last updated March 03, 2026 68th Running of the Daytona 500, held at Daytona International Speedway
The 2026 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race and the 68th running of the event . It was held on Sunday, February 15, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida . [ 3] It was the first race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The race saw 65 lead changes, with the total of 26 different leaders (out of a 41-car field) being a Daytona 500 record. [ 9] 23XI Racing 's Tyler Reddick avoided multiple accidents on the final lap and passed Chase Elliott just before the start/finish line to claim both his and the team's first Daytona 500 victory, as well as the ninth win of his Cup Series career and his first since the 2024 Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead . Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 2nd, and Joey Logano finished 3rd. Elliott and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five, and Zane Smith , Chris Buescher , Riley Herbst , Josh Berry , and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top ten.
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 . [ 10] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. [ 11] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees , while the front stretch , the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. [ 11]
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 . [ 12]
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). [ 13]
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver.(W) denotes former winner.(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.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) .
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) . [ 14] Noah Gragson had his time disallowed for using his hand to deflect air and attempting to gain an advantage. [ 15]
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 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 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 [ 16] 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 Disallowed after post-race inspection [ 16] Official starting lineup
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) .
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) .
Race Race results Stage Results Stage One Laps: 65
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points 1 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 10 2 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 9 3 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 8 4 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 7 5 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 6 6 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 5 7 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 4 8 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 3 9 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2 10 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 1 Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 65
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points 1 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 10 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 9 3 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 8 4 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7 5 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 6 6 67 Corey Heim (i) 23XI Racing Toyota 0 7 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 4 8 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 3 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 2 10 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Official stage two results
Final Stage Results Stage Three Laps: 70
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 26 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 200 58 2 16 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 200 35 3 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 200 36 4 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 33 5 9 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 200 32 6 30 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 200 41 7 41 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 200 39 8 28 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 200 35 9 14 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 28 10 27 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 200 37 11 25 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 200 27 12 39 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 25 13 15 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 31 14 34 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 200 23 15 1 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 29 16 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 21 17 33 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 200 20 18 6 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 27 19 35 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 200 18 20 37 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 200 17 21 24 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 200 16 22 10 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 19 23 20 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 14 24 23 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 200 13 25 19 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 200 15 26 11 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 199 19 27 5 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 199 27 28 29 67 Corey Heim (i) 23XI Racing Toyota 199 0 29 31 84 Jimmie Johnson Legacy Motor Club Toyota 199 8 30 13 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 199 7 31 22 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 198 6 32 17 66 Casey Mears Garage 66 Ford 195 5 33 32 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 195 4 34 36 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 193 12 35 12 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 191 2 36 2 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 1 37 7 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 137 1 38 40 40 Justin Allgaier (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 123 0 39 18 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 123 1 40 21 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 123 3 41 38 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 4 1 Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 66 among 26 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 5 for 32 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 23 minutes and 56 seconds Average speed: 147.107 miles per hour (236.746 km/h) Radio The race was 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 consisted of Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley , and former championship crew chief Todd Gordon . Longtime turn announcer Dave Moody was 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 worked the backstretch for the race from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track & Tim Catalfamo called 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 was operated by Lead MRN Pit Reporter Steve Post, Chris Wilner, PRN Radio's Brad Gillie and Brienne Pedigo .
Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Manufacturers' Championship standings Note : Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References ↑ "2026 schedule" . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . Retrieved October 25, 2025 . ↑ "Daytona International Speedway" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025 . 1 2 "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover" . NASCAR . August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025 . ↑ "Entry List" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025 . ↑ "Duel 1 at Daytona Results" . Racing-Reference. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026 . ↑ "Duel 2 at Daytona Results" . Racing-Reference. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026 . ↑ "Daytona 500 Results" . Racing-Reference. February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026 . ↑ "Points standings" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026 . ↑ Allen, Zach. "How 2026 Daytona 500, won by Tyler Reddick, set record for lap leaders" . The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved February 15, 2026 . ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks" . NASCAR . NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010 . 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway" . Speedway Guide. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010 . ↑ "Daytona International Speedway Announces 2027 DAYTONA 500 Date" . Daytona International Speedway . October 22, 2025. Retrieved October 26, 2025 . ↑ Srigley, Joseph (January 7, 2026). "Jimmie Johnson Secures Place in 2026 DAYTONA 500 with Open Exemption Provisional" . TobyChristie.com . Retrieved January 7, 2026 . ↑ 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 . ↑ "Drivers can no longer put hands out window during qualifying" . Jayski's Silly Season Site . February 7, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026 . 1 2 "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 . ↑ "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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