With the threat of rain later in the day on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR has made the proactive decision to move up the start time of the 2026 Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.
Weather reports have been calling for Sunday storms at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval all week, but the forecast has improved over the past few days to the point where there is now just a slight chance of showers throughout the afternoon.
With the primary threat of storms now expected later in the evening, NASCAR has moved up the start time from 2:30 p.m. ET to 1:30 p.m. ET, in an attempt to run the full 200-lap, 500-mile distance uninterrupted. Fox is still set to provide live coverage.
2026 Daytona 500 schedule changed
It marks the fifth time in the past seven seasons that weather has forced a Daytona 500 schedule change in some form, and it marks the third such occurrence in a row.
The 2024 race was postponed from Sunday to Monday entirely, and the 2025 race was started on Sunday and then stopped due to rain. It was still able to be resumed and completed on Sunday.
The 2020 race was started on Sunday and stopped due to rain, before it was resumed and completed on Monday. The 2021 race was started on Sunday and stopped due to rain, and while it was resumed on Sunday night, it did not wrap up until the early hours of Monday morning.
Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch is set to lead the field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon, alongside Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe, after taking pole in Wednesday night's qualifying session.
Team Penske's Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott are set to occupy the second row after winning Thursday night's two America 250 Florida Duel races.
A full Daytona 500 starting lineup can be found here.
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