68th Annual Daytona 500

Field of 41 Set; Record-High Purse on the Line
PURSE: $31,045,575
FRONT ROW: Busch / Briscoe
START: SUN, FEB 15 @ 2:30 PM ET
TV: FOX | RADIO: MRN / SiriusXM
NEW FOR 2026: The Chase Returns

🏁 The "Open" Class (5 Drivers Locked)

Eight drivers entered for four spots. One additional spot granted via Provisional. The final field includes:

DriverCarHow They Made It
Corey Heim67Qualifying Speed (183.158 mph) [24]
Justin Allgaier40Qualifying Speed (182.923 mph) [24]
Casey Mears66Top Open Finisher - Duel 1 [9]
Anthony Alfredo62Top Open Finisher - Duel 2 [15]
Jimmie Johnson84Open Exemption Provisional [25, 26]

🏆 2026 Championship: The Chase 101

Wins Matter: Race winners now receive 55 points (up from 40) to encourage aggressive strategy [5].

Win and In Abolished: Qualification for the 16-driver Chase is now strictly points-based [27].

No Eliminations: Reseeding occurs once after the regular season; the driver with the most points after 10 Chase races wins the title [28, 29].

💸 Top Favorites & Odds

  • Denny Hamlin (+900): Master of strategy and 3-time winner [30, 31].
  • Joey Logano (+1000): 2025 Champ; strong drafting alliances [13].
  • William Byron (+1300): Chasing the first-ever 500 three-peat [31, 32].
  • Kyle Busch (+1400): Pole-sitter chasing first career 500 win [19, 33].

⚙️ Next Gen Specs

Restricted to 510 HP with 14 sets of Goodyear Eagles (D-5142/D-5218) for the weekend [6, 34].