The starting grid for the 2026 Daytona 500 has been finalized

Joey Logano and Chase Elliott won the two 150-mile Duels at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, completing the 41-car grid for Sunday's race. Logano secured the third starting position by winning the first race under caution with a decisive push from his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, extending his streak of consecutive Duels finishes inside the top nine to 12. Elliott led the final eight laps of the second race and held off Carson Hocevar's attack by a mere 0.065 seconds to start fourth on Sunday.

The most significant event of the night occurred on lap 56 of the first Duel when contact in Turn 3 triggered a five-car accident that eliminated William Byron, winner of the last two editions of the Daytona 500. His No. 24 Chevrolet suffered irreparable damage, and Hendrick Motorsports will have to prepare a backup car for Byron to start from the last position on Sunday, seriously compromising his historic opportunity to become the first driver to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.

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Unique qualifying system at Daytona

The Daytona 500 uses a format that doesn't exist in any other NASCAR Cup Series race, which explains why the Duel winners don't necessarily start third and fourth. On Wednesday, Kyle Busch secured his first pole in 21 attempts at 183.651 mph, and Chase Briscoe qualified second at 183.587 mph, locking in only those two starting positions. Thursday's Duels built the rest of the grid under an alternating position system: the first qualifying race assigns odd-numbered spots from third to the end, and the second Duel determines even-numbered positions from fourth onward. Busch will maintain his pole position despite finishing 18th in his Duel because he strategically chose to drop to the back of the pack to preserve his Richard Childress Racing car.

Chartered teams have guaranteed spots regardless of their qualifying performance, but open teams must qualify through speed on Wednesday or earn their place through the Duels results. Four open cars made the race: Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier did so through speed on Wednesday, while Casey Mears and BJ McLeod qualified in Thursday's Duels.

Logano controls the chaos of the first Duel

Ryan Preece controlled the majority of the first race, leading 38 laps, but his pit stop took longer due to needing fuel, causing him to lose the lead he had held almost uninterrupted since lap 10. Cole Custer briefly took command before Logano assumed control on lap 51, a position he maintained until NASCAR threw the third yellow flag on lap 63 when Corey LaJoie hit the outside wall, collecting several cars. Logano was running first with Blaney glued to his bumper when the caution froze the field, sealing a victory that rewarded Penske's teamwork.

"Nick Hensley, our gas man, put us in the perfect position coming off pit road," Logano explained, analyzing the determining factors. "Coleman Pressley gave us precise information from the spotter's stand about how the lines were developing, and Ryan fully committed to working as a team, which isn't always easy when you have your own interests at stake." Austin Dillon finished third to start fifth on Sunday, Brad Keselowski was fourth (P7), and John Hunter Nemechek fifth (P9).

Chris Buescher was also eliminated in the same accident that took out Byron and finished in last place, forcing his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team to evaluate whether they can repair the car or will need to use a backup. Alex Bowman dodged the chaos by millimeters and salvaged a tenth-place finish in a maneuver that combined equal parts reflexes and luck.

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Second Duel runs caution-free, favoring Elliott

The second race completed its 60 laps without a caution flag, allowing a sustained speed of 183.237 mph — nearly 30 mph faster than the first Duel where three cautions interrupted the flow. Chase Briscoe led 38 laps, but his pit stop under green destroyed his momentum when he lost the draft of the main pack, finishing 20th, though he will start second on Sunday thanks to his Wednesday qualifying effort.

Elliott took command on lap 53 and built a five-car Chevrolet train that dominated the final eight laps, with Hocevar applying constant pressure from second place but unable to mount a decisive attack because the cars behind couldn't organize into a competitive second line. In the final meters, Hocevar made his move to the inside but fell short by 0.065 seconds — half a meter at speeds exceeding 190 mph.

"Carson did an excellent job pushing me without getting me out of control," Elliott acknowledged. "It's easy to destabilize the car ahead with a bad push, especially at those speeds where any asymmetrical contact sends you toward the wall." Kyle Larson finished third (P6 Sunday), Michael McDowell fourth (P8), and Christopher Bell fifth (P10). Denny Hamlin, a four-time Daytona 500 winner, completed the top 10 but will start 20th on Sunday.

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Casey Mears qualifies in dramatic final sequence

Casey Mears secured one of the two available spots for open teams in the first Duel, executing one of the most dramatic qualifications in recent years. His path included a spin entering pit road on lap 46 that sent him onto the infield grass, losing a lap — a deficit he recovered as a beneficiary under the second caution, which proved crucial when he navigated through wrecked cars on the final restart to take exactly the eighth position he needed when NASCAR froze the field.

Mears, 47, nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, qualified for his first Daytona 500 since 2019, driving for Garage 66, a team operating with just 10 mechanics and a limited budget. "My career ended in 2017-2018 when I lost my full-time ride," he admitted with visible emotion. "This is a complete bonus, a second chance I never thought I'd get."

BJ McLeod claimed the final spot when Anthony Alfredo was disqualified in post-race inspection for a completely disconnected transaxle cooling system hose on his No. 62 Chevrolet. Brad Moran, NASCAR Cup Series director, explained that any disconnected component results in automatic disqualification without appeal because it occurred in a qualifying race, not a regular points event. McLeod, 42, owner of the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports, qualified for his sixth Daytona 500 and first since 2023.

Warnings about Sunday's conditions

Logano and Elliott issued explicit warnings about Sunday's race that go beyond typical generic statements. "It's going to be almost a crash festival," Logano said, analyzing the instability the cars showed during the Duels, particularly when the lines compressed at high speed.

Elliott detailed the problem further: "Carson was pushing me hard and getting me out of balance in places I didn't expect to be on edge, and this was at night with maximum grip — air temperature at 65°F and track surface around 70°F. On Sunday, we'll race in full daylight with projected ambient temperature at 78°F and asphalt exceeding 100°F, which dramatically reduces available grip and makes the cars much harder to control."

The temperature difference directly impacts tire behavior, as they operate within specific windows for maximum grip. When the asphalt is hotter, the rubber compounds degrade faster, and the friction coefficient decreases, making cars that felt stable on Thursday become twitchy on Sunday. The weather forecast includes sustained southerly winds and gusts exceeding 20 mph, which will push cars up the track exiting Turn 4, a critical zone where the banking flattens slightly compared to the oval's other three turns.

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Full starting grid for Sunday

Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe will form the front row for the second consecutive year. Busch secured his first Daytona 500 pole on his 21st attempt at age 40, breaking a personal barrier that had frustrated him for two decades of racing in the Cup Series. Corey Heim, the 2025 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion, will debut with the No. 67 for 23XI Racing as the only open car that advanced to the final round of qualifying on Wednesday. Justin Allgaier, the 2024 Xfinity Series champion, returns to the No. 40 for JR Motorsports where he finished ninth in his 2025 debut.

The 68th running of the Daytona 500 will start on Sunday, February 15, at 2:30 p.m. ET.