Kyle Busch earned his first Daytona 500 pole in his 21st attempt and will look to make that translate into his first-ever Daytona 500 victory when the green flag drops Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
The Richard Childress Racing driver earned the top spot in qualifying by just 0.016 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe.
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The field will start their engines a little earlier than originally scheduled after NASCAR officials moved the race up by an hour in an effort to avoid rain showers expected to hit northern Florida during the afternoon.
Busch had the fastest time of qualifying overall in his first run with a 48.933. He was the only driver to break 49 seconds during qualifying; his eventual pole lap came in at a 49.006. Behind Busch and Briscoe, the rest of the 41-car lineup was set by the results of the Daytona Duels on Thursday, Feb. 12.
As we get set for the 68th running of The Great American Race, here’s how the starting grid looks:
Daytona 500 lineup 2026
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (8) and Chase Briscoe (19) celebrate after securing the front row during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb 11, 2026.
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Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing
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Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
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Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske
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Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports
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Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske
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Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports
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Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing
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Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports
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Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing
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Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports
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John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club
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Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
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Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing
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Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing
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Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports
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Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66
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Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports
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Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing
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Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing
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Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports
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Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
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Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team
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Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club
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Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports
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Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing
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Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing
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Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing
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Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing
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Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports
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Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club
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Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing
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Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing
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Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing
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AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing
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Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske
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Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing
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*BJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports
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William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports
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Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports
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Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing
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* The No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet of Anthony Alfredo originally qualified for the Daytona 500 in Duel 2, but his position in the race was disallowed due to a failure in post-Duel inspection.
When is the 2026 Daytona 500?
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Location: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida)
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Defending champion: William Byron
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daytona 500 starting lineup: Full order for 2026 NASCAR season opener
