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The 2026 NASCAR season kicks off in earnest on Sunday afternoon. Its opening fixture is a high-profile as it gets, with the Daytona 500 set to take hold of television screens across the country on President's Day weekend.
The spectacle is a historic one, dancing in the collective memory of onlookers. Fireworks always tend to take hold of the Daytona International Speedway thoroughfare this time of year, with daring passes only matched by depth-defying wrecks.
The stars tend to come out when the rubber meets the road at Daytona. Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson have all hoisted the crown jewel in their careers. All four will feature in Sunday's festivities, hoping to leave their mark on American stock car racing's grandest venue.
With that, here's what you need to know about the Daytona 500 field in 2026.
MORE: Printable NASCAR 2026 schedule PDF
Daytona 500 field 2026
| Starting pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1. | Kyle Busch | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2. | Chase Briscoe | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3. | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 4. | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 5. | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 6. | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 7. | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 8. | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9. | Brad Keselowski | 6 | RFK Racing |
| 10. | Michael McDowell | 71 | Spire Motorsports |
| 11. | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Legacy Motor Club |
| 12. | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 13. | Shane van Gisbergen | 97 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 14. | Josh Berry | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 15. | Daniel Suarez | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 16. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Hyak Motorsports |
| 17. | Casey Mears | 66 | Garage 66 |
| 18. | Tod Gilliland | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 19. | Ryan Preece | 60 | RFK Racing |
| 20. | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 21. | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 22. | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 23. | Cole Custer | 41 | Haas Factory Team |
| 24. | Erik Jones | 43 | Legacy Motor Club |
| 25. | Noah Gragson | 4 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 26. | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing |
| 27. | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 28. | Riley Herbst | 35 | 23XI Racing |
| 29. | Corey Heim | 67 | 23XI Racing |
| 30. | Zane Smith | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 31. | Jimmie Johnson | 84 | Legacy Motor Club |
| 32. | Connor Zilisch | 88 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 33. | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 34. | Ty Dillon | 10 | Kaulig Racing |
| 35. | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 36. | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske |
| 37. | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 38. | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 39. | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 40. | Justin Allgaier | 40 | JR Motorsports |
| 41. | Chris Buescher | 17 | RFK Racing |
Where is the Daytona 500 raced?
The Daytona 500 takes place at Daytona International Speedway, a 102,000-seat behemoth that features one of NASCAR's largest tracks.
Drivers traverse around a 2 1/2-mile gauntlet at speeds upwards of 140 miles per hour.
Opened in 1959, Daytona International Speedway has played host to 67 Daytona 500s. The venue also hosts the Rolex 24 as well as various ARCA, AMA Superbike, SCCA and AMA Supercross races.
MORE: How 'Malcolm in the Middle' star Frankie Muniz became full-time NASCAR driver
Who won the Daytona 500 in 2025?
William Byron hoisted the Daytona 500 title in 2025, holding off 23XI Racing star Tyler Reddick in overtime to pick up his second-straight Daytona 500 crown.
Byron was the beneficiary of a last-lap wreck that saw multiple cars go tumbling. Byron, sitting in seventh at the time of the crash, slalomed through the carnage to secure a memorable -- if unlikely -- win in the Great American Race.
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