2026 Daytona 500: Everything To Know About The Great American Race

The biggest spectacle of the NASCAR season has arrived — welcome to the Daytona 500! How long is the race? What time does it start? Can William Byron make it three straight victories? We’ve got you covered with a guide of everything to know about the 2026 Daytona 500 (Sunday, 1:30 PT on FOX). The race was originally scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET but was bumped up in anticipation of inclement weather. I assume this race is in Daytona Beach, Florida? Yes! Daytona International Speedway sits about five miles west of the ocean. It is a 2.5-mile tri-oval — mostly an oval shape but with a couple of doglegs with a slight turn between Turn 4 and Turn 1. The trioval is banked 18 degrees, while the turns are banked 31 degrees and the backstretch is banked 3 degrees. Daytona International Speedway, which opened in 1959 and was last repaved in 2010, seats 101,500. How many cars will compete? The field will be 41 cars. [DAYTONA 500 COUNTDOWN: 20 Most Memorable Moments in Race History] How do drivers get in? There are 37 drivers who are locked in, and eight drivers are expected to vie for the final four sports. Two will get in through single-car qualifying Wednesday, which also sets the Daytona 500 front row. Two drivers not locked in also will get in through the duels Thursday, which set the lineup for the Daytona 500. For a more detailed description of how a driver gets in, this story has all the info: How The Daytona 500 Lineup Is Set. What time does the Daytona 500 start? The start time is 1:30 p.m. ET. Coverage on FOX begins at 11:30 a.m. ET.  The green flag is scheduled to drop at 2:13 p.m. ET. What is the forecast? FOX Weather predicts (as of Sunday morning) temperatures mostly in the high-70s with a 12 percent chance of rain on the day. How long is the race? The race is 200 laps (500 miles). NASCAR races are split into stages. The first stage will be 65 laps. The second stage will be 65 laps. The final stage will be 70 laps. Which drivers are the favorites? Well, William Byron has won the last two Daytona 500s, so he is a favorite, but the odds of winning three consecutive Daytona 500s are remote — no driver has ever won three in a row. In fact, eight of the last 11 winners won the Daytona 500 for the first time. Typically, you look at drivers who are good at the high-banked drafting tracks — Daytona, Talladega and now Atlanta that provides a shorter version (1.5-mile track) of the style of racing where drivers are packed up because of the need to limit horsepower in order to keep the cars on the ground. The last 11 drafting-track races since Byron’s 2024 Daytona 500 win have had 11 different winners: Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, Harrison Burton (no longer in Cup), Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., William Byron, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe. Most of those would be considered somewhat favorites, in addition to three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. Who are the dark horses? Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace all have wins at Daytona or Talladega in the last five years and shouldn’t be counted out. Who are the sentimental favorites? Former Cup champions Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch have never won the Daytona 500. Busch is making his 21st start and has led 342 laps in the race during his career. Keselowski is making his 17th start. Three other active Cup champions don’t have a Daytona 500 win — reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson (13th start), 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney (12th) and 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott (11th). Also, while Denny Hamlin has won three Daytona 500s, after coming up gut-wrenchingly short on another championship run and a tragic offseason with the death of his father, many fans would feel the emotion of his win. Is Jimmie Johnson still racing? Yes. Johnson stopped racing full-time in the Cup Series following the 2020 season but has run the Daytona 500 the last three seasons. The seven-time Cup champion will race again this year and also plans to race the Cup event at Naval Base Coronado, near his hometown of El Cajon near San Diego. Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. still racing? No. But he will own a car attempting to make the Daytona 500. JR Motorsports, an organization that fields several cars in what is now the O’Reilly Series (formerly Xfinity), made the race last year with Justin Allgaier and is attempting to make it again this year. Is there anything new for 2026? There isn’t much new about the Daytona 500. But the big change is how NASCAR determines its champion. Instead of win-and-in eligibility to make the postseason this season, NASCAR will just take the top-16 drivers in the point standings after the 26th race. And then, instead of elimination rounds with four drivers eligible for the title in the final race, the championship round is the full 10-race postseason, and whichever driver finishes with the most points is the champion. Wins are worth 55 points instead of 40 under the new format (second place remains 35). The 16 drivers who make the “Chase” will have their points reset to 2100 for the regular-season champion, 2075 for second, 2065 for third, 2060 for fourth, 2055 for fifth and decreasing in five-point increments through 2000 for 16th. [MORE NASCAR: With Lawsuit in Rearview, What Does it Mean for Drivers?] Who is doing the prerace concert? Country star Miranda Lambert will perform on the stage prior to the race. Who is giving the command to start engines? Comedian Nate Bargatze will give the command to start engines. Who is waving the green flag? The honorary starter will be Bart Simpson in celebration of the 800th episode of “The Simpsons.” Who is singing the national anthem? The national anthem will be performed by the United States Air Force Band. Who is driving the pace car? The celebrity pace-car driver prior to the race is legendary actor Kurt Russell.