The stage is set for the 68th running of the Daytona 500, and the anticipation among NASCAR fans is reaching fever pitch as the 2026 Cup Series season officially kicks off at Daytona International Speedway. The Great American Race, as it’s fondly known, promises drama, history in the making, and a field packed with both seasoned champions and hungry newcomers. With the green flag scheduled to wave at 1:30 p.m. ET—moved up an hour in response to a threatening weather forecast—Sunday’s spectacle will be broadcast live on Fox and streamed on Fox Sports and Max, ensuring fans won’t miss a second of the action.
All eyes are on William Byron, the two-time defending Daytona 500 champion, as he attempts a feat no driver has ever accomplished: winning three consecutive Daytona 500s. Byron, who starts deep in the field at 39th, has made a habit of surviving late-race chaos and capitalizing on restarts, a skill that’s earned him his last two victories. In 2024, Byron managed to avoid a massive 23-car pileup with less than 10 laps remaining, leading only the final four laps to snag the win. The following year, he was seventh on the final lap but navigated through a crash ahead to steal victory. Now, the question on everyone’s mind is—can Byron’s knack for late-race heroics carry him into the history books?
Byron’s quest for a three-peat isn’t the only storyline capturing attention. Denny Hamlin, at 45 years old, is looking to tie Cale Yarborough for second-most Daytona 500 wins with a potential fourth victory. Hamlin’s journey to Daytona has been anything but smooth. After a heartbreaking loss in the 2025 championship finale at Phoenix—where a late caution for Byron’s tire failure shuffled the field and allowed Kyle Larson to claim his second Cup title—Hamlin faced personal tragedy. A December fire claimed his father’s life and left his mother seriously injured. Hamlin himself re-injured his right shoulder while sifting through the aftermath and has postponed surgery until after the 2026 season. Despite these challenges, Hamlin remains the most successful driver never to have won a Cup Series title, with 60 career wins over 721 starts. He’ll also be racing with a new sense of permanence, as his 23XI Racing team, co-owned with Michael Jordan, recently secured permanent charters in a high-profile legal settlement with NASCAR.
The 2026 Daytona 500 marks a return to NASCAR’s roots in more ways than one. The series has reverted to its cumulative 10-race playoff format, reminiscent of the system used from 2004 to 2013. Now, the top 16 drivers in the points standings after 26 races will qualify for the playoffs, and the driver with the most points in the final 10 races will be crowned champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gone is the near-guarantee of a playoff berth with a single regular-season win—consistency and points matter more than ever.
But it’s not just about the established stars. Rookie Connor Zilisch, just 19 years old, is making his full-time Cup Series debut with Trackhouse Racing. After dominating the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025 with 10 wins and 23 top-10 finishes, Zilisch is the only rookie contending for this year’s honor. He may be young, but his prowess on road courses is already drawing comparisons to his Trackhouse teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, who won five of six Cup Series road course events in 2025. Zilisch enters the Daytona 500 at +3300 odds, making him a dark horse to watch as he looks to shake up the established order.
Veteran Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion, returns for another shot at Daytona glory. Johnson, who finished third in last year’s race, is locked into the field thanks to NASCAR’s Open Exemption Provisional, a rule change that allows accomplished part-time drivers to bypass the usual qualifying gauntlet. His presence means 41 cars will start the race—one more than the traditional 40-car field. Johnson is seeking his third Daytona 500 victory and sits as a +5500 longshot according to the latest odds.
Kyle Busch, another headline name, will lead the field to the green from the pole position for the first time in his career. Busch, driving for Richard Childress Racing, is making his 21st Daytona 500 start and is eager to break a winless streak in this event that has stretched longer than Dale Earnhardt’s before his breakthrough in 1998. If Busch can convert his pole into a win, he’ll be the first to do so since Dale Jarrett in 2000. The odds are in his favor, with sportsbooks listing him among the front-runners at +1000.
The field is stacked with talent and intrigue. Other past Daytona 500 winners in the lineup include Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Yet, several high-profile drivers are still chasing their first taste of Daytona 500 glory. Kyle Larson, 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, 2020 champ Chase Elliott, and the aforementioned Busch are all hoping to end their droughts. Notably, Logano, despite being a co-favorite at +1000, is being faded by some expert models due to a string of bad luck in recent years—crashes in both 2024 and 2025 derailed his strong runs.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is always a battle, and this year’s Duel races didn’t disappoint. Casey Mears and BJ McLeod secured their spots through dramatic circumstances—Mears survived a spin and late-race chaos to edge out Chandler Smith, while McLeod benefited from Anthony Alfredo’s post-race disqualification, sneaking into the field despite initially thinking he’d missed out.
The weather looms as a potential wild card, with forecasts calling for a 30% chance of showers after 5 p.m., high temperatures near 79 degrees, and gusty winds up to 30 mph. Should rain delay the proceedings, thunderstorms could push the finish late into the evening. The green flag is expected to wave at approximately 2:13 p.m. ET, but fans and teams alike will be keeping a close eye on the skies.
As engines roar to life and the field of 41 thunders into Turn 1, the 2026 Daytona 500 stands poised to deliver another unforgettable chapter in NASCAR history. With storylines swirling around Byron’s bid for immortality, Hamlin’s quest for redemption, the emergence of new talent, and the ever-present unpredictability of superspeedway racing, Sunday’s race promises to be a must-watch event. Whether history is made or a new hero emerges, the Daytona 500 once again proves why it’s the crown jewel of American motorsport.