2026 Daytona 500

2026 Daytona 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
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)
Weather	Partly Cloudy with a temperature around 81 °F (27 °C); wind out of the west at 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).
Average speed	147.107 miles per hour (236.746 km/h)
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
Most laps led
Driver	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing
Laps	39
Fastest lap
Driver	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports
Time	45.584
Winner
No. 45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing
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 Todd Gordon
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2), Kyle Rickey (Backstretch), and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4)

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 with only a few hundred feet to go 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.

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]

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

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).

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 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.

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).

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).

Stage One Laps: 65

Stage Two Laps: 65

Stage Three Laps: 70

• 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)

Since 2001—with the exception of 2002, 2004 and 2006—the Daytona 500 has been carried by Fox in the United States. The booth crew consisted 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 handled pit road for the television side. 1992 and 1998 Daytona 500 winning crew chief Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.^[17]

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.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tyler Reddick 58 2 Joey Logano 46 (–12) 3 Chase Elliott 43 (–15) 4 Zane Smith 41 (–17) 5 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 39 (–19) 6 Brad Keselowski 39 (–19) 7 Chris Buescher 39 (–19) 8 Bubba Wallace 37 (–21) 9 Ryan Blaney 36 (–22) 10 Riley Herbst 35 (–23) 11 Daniel Suárez 35 (–23) 12 Carson Hocevar 35 (–23) 13 Josh Berry 33 (–25) 14 Kyle Busch 29 (–29) 15 Kyle Larson 29 (–29) 16 Noah Gragson 27 (–31) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 55 2 Chevrolet 35 (–20) 3 Ford 34 (–21) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.