Late Thursday night, long after the two America 250 Florida Duel races appeared to have solidified the full 41-car starting lineup for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR disallowed the finish of one of the drivers.
Beard Motorsports' Anthony Alfredo was among the drivers of non-chartered (open) cars who needed to race his way in to get into the 68th running of the 200-lap "Great American Race" around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.
He appeared to have done that, finishing 18th in the second 60-lap Duel race ahead of the two drivers he needed to beat. Live Fast Motorsports' B.J. McLeod finished 19th, ahead of NY Racing Team's J.J. Yeley in 22nd.
But NASCAR disallowed Alfredo's finish, as his No. 62 Chevrolet reportedly had a cooling hose loose and a driver cooling hose that was not attached properly.
He was initially set to start Sunday's Daytona 500 in 38th place. But with McLeod moving up from 19th to 18th, it is the driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet who has qualified for the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2023, and he is set to start 38th instead.
Everything else remains unchanged, though how the field actually looks before the green flag flies is set to change due to the fact that several drivers have confirmed moves to backup cars and will thus be forced to drop to the rear.
Here's a look at the updated Daytona 500 starting lineup.
2026 Daytona 500 starting lineup
1 - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
2 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3 - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
4 - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
6 - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
7 - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
8 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
9 - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
10 - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
11 - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
12 - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
14 - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
15 - Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
16 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
17 - Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
18 - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
19 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
20 - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
22 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
23 - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
24 - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
25 - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
26 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
27 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
28 - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
29 - Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota
30 - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
31 - Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
32 - Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
33 - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
34 - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
35 - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
36 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
37 - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
38 - B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
39 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
40 - Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
41 - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Failed to qualify
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
Chandler Smith, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Corey LaJoie, No. 99 RFK Racing Ford
Tune in to Fox this Sunday, February 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the 68th annual Daytona 500 from Daytona International Speedway. Take advantage of FuboTV's free trial offer now if you have yet to do so and be sure to catch all of the action!