The single-car qualifying session for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening at Daytona International Speedway.
Each of the 45 drivers on the entry list is set to make a single-lap qualifying attempt around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval, with the fastest 10 drivers advancing to the second round shootout for the pole position.
The fastest two drivers in the second round are locked into the front row for Sunday's 68th running of the 200-lap "Great American Race". Both drivers are set to start on pole in one of Thursday night's two 60-lap America 250 Florida Duel races, and the remainder of the starting lineups for those two Duel races are set to be determined by the full results of the single-car qualifying session.
The results of those two Duel races are ultimately set to determine the full 41-car starting lineup (from third through 41st place) for the Daytona 500 itself.
Wednesday's qualifying session is also set to lock two of the eight non-chartered (open) cars into the race on speed. Two more are set to lock in via the Duel races, while the other four won't qualify for the race at all.
Legacy Motor Club's Jimmie Johnson is already locked in, thanks to the Open Exemption Provisional, which is why the race is set to consist of 41 cars, rather than the traditional 40.
The qualifying order for Wednesday night is based on two random draws. The entries in the top 20 in the 2025 Cup Series owner standings are featured in a random draw for spots No. 26 through No. 45, while the entries that were not in the top 20 in the 2025 owner standings are featured in a random draw for the first 25 spots.
2026 Daytona 500 qualifying order
1 - Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota
2 - Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
3 - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
4 - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
5 - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
6 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
7 - Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
8 - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
9 - Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
10 - Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
11 - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
12 - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
12 - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
14 - Chandler Smith, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford
15 - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
16 - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
17 - Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
18 - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
19 - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
20 - B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
21 - J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
22 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
23 - Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
24 - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
25 - Corey LaJoie, No. 99 RFK Racing Ford
26 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
27 - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
28 - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
29 - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
30 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
31 - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
32 - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
33 - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
34 - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
35 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
36 - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
37 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
38 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
39 - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
40 - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
41 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
42 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
43 - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
44 - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
45 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
*No. 51 and No. 60 entries have swapped owner points due to NASCAR's rules on leasing charters. RFK Racing run the No. 60 Ford using a Rick Ware Racing charter.
Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET this evening for live Daytona 500 qualifying coverage from Daytona International Speedway, and tune back in tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. ET for live coverage of the two America 250 Florida Duel races. Tune in to Fox at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15 for live coverage of the race itself, weather permitting. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!