The 2026 America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona were a pair of NASCAR Cup Series stock car races that was held on February 12, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Both scheduled to be contested over 60 laps, they were the qualifying races for the 2026 Daytona 500. The first duel went beyond the scheduled distance, as it was extended to 63 laps due to overtime.
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 December 2025, the track revealed in their brochure for the Daytona 500 race weekend that the Duel races would have a new name in 2026, the America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona. America 250 Florida is the campaign of the Florida Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial, a committee established by an executive order from Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis to plan events in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the United States in the state of Florida.
Qualifying Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.006 and a speed of .
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 Trackhouse Racing 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
Duels Duel 1 In Duel 1, Corey LaJoie was in position to make the race until he was caught up in a last-lap crash. Casey Mears would escape the worst of the wreck to finish 7th and race his way into the field. Corey Heim advanced as the fastest open car in time trial qualifying, while Jimmie Johnson advanced as an Open Excemption Provisional (OEP) competitor. 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 9 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 63 75 10 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 63 66 19 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 63 57 22 66 Casey Mears Garage 66 Ford 63 48 20 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 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 Ford 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 Anthony Alfredo initially raced his way in as the highest finishing open car, but failed post-race inspection and was disqualified. As a result, B.J. McLeod would make the race instead, with Justin Allgaier also advancing as the second-fastest open car during time trial qualifying. 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 23XI Racing 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
Media Television FS1Booth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Kevin Harvick Jamie LittleRegan Smith Larry McReynolds
Radio MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Mike BagleyAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Kyle RickeyTurns 3 & 4: Tim Catalfamo Steve PostChris WilnerBrad Gillie
References