Excluding Jimmie Johnson, after he and Legacy Motor Club were granted the Open Exemption Provisional, eight drivers entered Wednesday night's single-car qualifying session for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 driving non-chartered (open) cars.
Those eight drivers were vying to be the fastest two among the open entries to lock themselves into Sunday's 68th running of the 200-lap "Great American Race" around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval.
The other six would be split into groups of three drivers for Thursday night's two 60-lap America 250 Florida Duel races, with the highest finisher (among the open cars) of each race joining the other two that already locked in. Four drivers will ultimately fail to qualify for the race.
Follow along with our live qualifying tracker pertaining specifically to the open cars.
Rank | Name | Team | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
1* | Corey Heim | 23XI Racing | 183.158 |
2* | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | 182.923 |
3 | Corey LaJoie | RFK Racing | 182.908 |
4 | Anthony Alfredo | Beard Motorsports | 181.873 |
5 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | 180.875 |
6 | B.J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | 179.96 |
7 | Casey Mears | Garage 66 | 179.165 |
8 | J.J. Yeley | NY Racing Team | 178.281 |
NOTE: * = locked in on speed
6 drivers fail to qualify for the Daytona 500
Corey LaJoie, Anthony Alfredo, Chandler Smith, B.J McLeod, Casey Mears, and J.J. Yeley must race their way into the Daytona 500, after Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier locked themselves in on speed.
LaJoie, Smith, and Mears are set to start the first Duel race in eighth, 21st, and 22nd place, respectively, with the highest finisher locking himself into the Daytona 500.
Alfredo, McLeod, and Yeley are set to start the second Duel race in 18th, 21st, and 22nd place, respectively, with the highest finisher locking himself in as well.
Despite being locked into the main event, Heim and Allgaier are still set to compete in the Duel races for the purposes of locking in their starting positions.
Following a much-needed offseason rule change, these two drivers are not necessarily locked into the 39th and 40th starting spots. Heim is set to be in the first Duel race and start third, while Allgaier is set to be in the second Duel race and start seventh.
The full results of both Duel races are set to determine the remainder of the Daytona 500 starting lineup, behind the front row of Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe. They are also set to determine which four drivers ultimately fail to qualify for the race.
Full qualifying results from Wednesday night can be found here.
Fox Sports 1's live coverage of the two America 250 Florida Duel races is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday evening. Fox's live coverage of the 68th annual Daytona 500 itself is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon, weather permitting. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from Daytona International Speedway!