The 2026 NASCAR season gets underway in style on Sunday as the prestigious Daytona 500 is staged at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
Two-time defending Daytona 500 champion William Byron will be eager to start the NASCAR season schedule with another victory in the iconic race.
NASCAR champion Kyle Larson is another top driver worth monitoring in an event that always generates plenty of excitement amongst motorsports fans.
Daytona 500 – Drivers
The 2026 Daytona 500 line-up will comprise 41 drivers. The following 37 drivers have already confirmed their places in the race:
- AJ Allmendinger
- Christopher Bell
- Josh Berry
- Ryan Blaney
- Alex Bowman
- Chase Briscoe
- Chris Buescher
- Kyle Busch
- William Byron
- Ross Chastain
- Austin Cindric
- Cole Custer
- Austin Dillon
- Ty Dillon
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Gibbs
- Todd Gilliland
- Noah Gragson
- Denny Hamlin
- Riley Herbst
- Carson Hocevar
- Jimmie Johnson
- Erik Jones
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Joey Logan
- Michael McDowell
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Ryan Preece
- Tyler Reddick
- Zane Smith
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Daniel Suarez
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Bubba Wallace
- Cody Ware
- Connor Zilisch
Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Corey Heim, Corey LaJoie, BJ McLeod, Casey Mears, Chandler Smith, and JJ Yeley will battle to secure the remaining four spots.
Daytona 500 – Preview
Five drivers have gone back-to-back in the Daytona 500 – Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, Denny Hamlin, and Byron.
None of the previous four consecutive winners have made it three-in-row, which does not bode well for Byron’s chances of victory this weekend.
Kyle Busch leaps off the page as a driver who deserves the chance to emerge victorious this weekend, despite his failure to achieve the feat during his career.
He has won the NASCAR title twice, recorded 63 career victories, and won three of the four possible Crown Jewels. The Daytona 500 is a glaring hole in his CV.
His heartbreak in the 2023 edition of the iconic race, when a spin from Daniel Suarez cost him the chance of victory, is still fresh in the memory.
Ryan Blaney should also be competitive. He has earned four top-10 finishes in the last six Daytona 500s and recorded four victories last season.
Hamlin is worth watching as he strives to win the Daytona 500 for the fourth time. He heads into the race on the back of a turbulent close season.
He narrowly missed out on the NASCAR title in November, before his father died in a house fire the following month. A court case with NASCAR added to his headaches.
No one would have been surprised if Hamlin had walked away from the series, but he will be part of the line-up when the race gets underway on Sunday.
Rookie Connor Zilisch will be eager to impress after winning ten races in the Xfinity Series last season. Several respected pundits have tipped him to win the Daytona 500.
However, the 19-year-old will have to defy history to add his name to the roll of honour as no teenager has ever previously won The Great American Race.
