United Rentals 300 Dashboard

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series • Season Opener
SAT, FEB 14, 2026
GREEN FLAG: 5:00 PM ET
TV: THE CW
POLE SPEED: 182.223 MPH
DISTANCE: 120 Laps / 300 Miles
STAGES: 30 / 60 / 120

🏁 Starting Lineup (Highlights)

Richard Childress Racing swept the front row, with three-time race winner Austin Hill taking the pole [1].

PosCarDriverTeamSpeed
121Austin HillRCR182.223
22Jesse LoveRCR182.219
341Sam MayerJR Motorsports182.190
418William SawalichJoe Gibbs Racing182.079
500Sheldon CreedJoe Gibbs Racing182.076
617Corey DayHendrick182.076
1619Giovanni RuggieroJoe Gibbs Racing180.945
2042Carson HocevarSpire/Kaulig180.607

❌ FAILED TO QUALIFY: Garrett Smithley (#0), David Starr (#53), Anthony Alfredo (#96), and Joey Gase (#55) [2, 3].

👤 Key Driver Intelligence

Anthony Alfredo (#4 Swap): Despite failing to qualify in his No. 96 entry, Alfredo will compete in today's race. Viking Motorsports brokered a deal with Alpha Prime Racing for Alfredo to take over the No. 4 car seat, originally intended for Caesar Bacarella [2].
Austin Hill: Earned his third pole in ten Daytona starts and his first of the 2026 season [1, 4].
Patrick Staropoli: Starting 8th as the fastest qualifying rookie in the field [4].

⚙️ Technical Fact Sheet

  • Tire Specs: Goodyear Eagle D-6102 (Left) and D-6104 (Right) [5].
  • Familiarity: Using the same setup for the fifth consecutive year at Daytona [6].
  • Inner Liners: Mandatory for all tracks 1-mile and longer [6].
  • PSI Requirements: LF 26 / RF 50 / LR 26 / RR 48 [5].
  • Limits: Teams are strictly limited to 4 total sets of tires for the weekend [5].
  • Practice Leader: Jeb Burton topped practice speeds at 184.672 mph [7].

🏆 2026 "The Chase" Rules

The series returns to The Chase format with 12 drivers qualifying strictly on points [8, 9].

  • Wins = 55 Points: A massive incentive increase from the previous 40-point reward [10].
  • No "Win & In": Qualification is purely point-based [9].
  • No Eliminations: Reseeding occurs once after the regular season; the driver with the most points after 9 Chase races wins the title [11, 12].