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. It was the first race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was Kyle Busch's final Daytona 500 as well as his final cup series pole before his death on May 21, 2026.
The race saw 65 lead changes, with a total of 26 different leaders (out of a 41-car field) being a Daytona 500 record. 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
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
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.
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).
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (W) denotes former winner. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
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 FordOfficial 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 .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 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 48.253 186.517Official first practice results
Qualifying Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.006 and a speed of . Noah Gragson had his time disallowed for using his hand to deflect air and attempting to gain an advantage.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 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
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 Points1 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 63 102 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 63 93 7 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 63 84 10 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 63 75 9 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 63 66 19 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 63 57 20 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 63 48 22 66 Casey Mears Garage 66 Ford 63 39 2 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 63 210 4 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 63 111 13 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 63 012 23 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 63 013 16 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 63 014 3 67 Corey Heim (i) 23XI Racing Toyota 63 015 15 84 Jimmie Johnson Legacy Motor Club Toyota 63 016 21 36 Chandler Smith (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 63 017 14 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 63 018 1 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 63 019 8 99 Corey LaJoie RFK Racing Ford 62 020 17 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 62 021 18 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 62 022 12 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 55 023 5 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 55 0Official race results
Duel 2
Duel 2 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 102 14 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 93 3 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 84 10 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 75 6 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 66 13 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 57 19 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 60 48 16 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 39 5 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 210 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 111 12 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 60 012 20 45 Tyler Reddick Legacy Motor Club Toyota 60 013 15 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 60 014 9 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 015 11 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 60 016 18 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 60 017 8 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 60 018 21 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 60 019 1 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 020 7 40 Justin Allgaier (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 60 021 22 44 J. J. Yeley (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 57 0DSQ 17 62 Anthony Alfredo (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 60 0Official race results
Starting lineup