Daytona 500 Event Info:
Date: Sunday, Feb. 15
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Format: 200 Laps, Stages: 65-130-200
TV: FOX
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Wednesday: 10 a.m. ET, Practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Wednesday: 8:15 p.m. ET, D500 Qualifying (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Thursday: 7 p.m. ET, Duels (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 5:35 p.m. ET, Practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 3 p.m. ET, Practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2:30 p.m. ET, Daytona 500 (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- The 2026 NASCAR season officially kicks off this week at ‘The World Center of Racing’ for the 68th running of ‘The Great American Race.’
- Jack Roush has 12 wins all-time at Daytona across NASCAR, including eight in the Cup Series.
- Coverage from Daytona kicks off Wednesday with practice and single-car qualifying to determine the front row for the Daytona 500. The Duels Thursday night will determine the remaining starting lineup for Sunday’s 500-mile race.
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: Castrol
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Body Guard
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Kroger / Viva Towels
99 Team Info:
Driver: Corey LaJoie
Crew Chief: Mike Skarbowski
Partner: Trimble
RFK Historically in The Duels
Overall Wins: 3 (Matt Kenseth, 2012; Brad Keselowski, 2022; Chris Buescher, 2022)
- Three years ago, in 2022, RFK went into Daytona and swept both duel races as Keselowski won the opening duel race, and Buescher followed up with a win in the second qualifying race.
- Prior to 2022, Matt Kenseth had Jack Roush’s lone win in the Duels as he went on to win the 2012 Great American Race.
- Keselowski earned an eighth-place finish in last year’s qualifying event, while Buescher took home ninth place. Preece, in his first start for RFK Racing, finished 13th.
- Keselowski historically has 17 starts in the Duels with the one win and eight top-10s.
- Buescher will be making his 11th start in the Duels on Thursday. He’s finished top-10 in the Duels in eight-straight outings and has finished inside the top-10 in all but one Duels race that he’s been in since 2016.
- Preece has run in six Duels and has three top-10s, with a best finish of fifth back in 2021.
Keselowski at Daytona
Starts: 33 (Superspeedway Stats. Does not include Daytona road course)
Wins: 1 (July 2016)
Top-10s: 8
Poles: —
- Keselowski returns after a grueling off-season, recovering from a broken femur.
- Keselowski makes his 34th overall start at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway this weekend, and 17th start in the Daytona 500. In 16 D500 starts, Keselowski has two top-10s and a best finish of third (2014).
- Most recently, Keselowski finished 26th in the 2025 rendition of the ‘Great American Race’. Last summer, Keselowski started inside the top 10, but settled for an 18th-place result.
- Overall, Keselowski has eight top-10s at DIS, four of which were inside the top five.
- Overall Keselowski has 12 starts inside the top-10 at Daytona with four starts in third.
- Keselowski’s crew chief, Jeremy Bullins, has two career wins at Daytona, including the most recent race in August 2024 as Harrison Burton’s crew chief. He also won the Daytona 500 in 2022 with Austin Cindric.
- In Xfinity Series action, Keselowski made 15 starts at Daytona with seven top-10s and a best finish of second (twice – 2012, 2014). He also made three Truck Series starts with a seventh-place run in 2005.
Buescher at Daytona International Speedway
Starts: 20 (Superspeedway Stats. Does not include Daytona road course)
Wins: 1 (August 2023)
Top-10s: 10
Poles: —
- Buescher makes his 21st start at Daytona this weekend, and 11th in the ‘Great American Race.’
- In 20 starts he has 10 top-10s, including in three straight races, and five top fives. He won the 2023 race at Daytona as Keselowski pushed him to the win.
- His best Daytona 500 finish came four years ago when he finished third. Last season, Buescher ran 10th in the 500.
- Buescher has an 17.8 average qualifying effort, and started top-10 in three-straight races from 2022-23. He started sixth in last season’s 500.
- He also made three Xfinity Series starts at DIS with a best finish of second in the 2015 season-opening event.
Preece at Daytona International Speedway
Starts: 12 (Superspeedway Stats. Does not include Daytona road course)
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —
- Preece enters the 2026 season coming off a breakthrough 2025 campaign when he scored career highs in top-10 finishes (14) and top-5 finishes (3).
- Carries momentum after winning the Cook Out Clash 2/3/26. (non-points race).
- Preece makes his 13th overall start at DIS, and seventh in the Daytona 500. In 12 starts overall he has three top-10 finishes.
- His best Daytona 500 finish came in 2021 when he ran sixth in the No. 37 car for JTG-Daughtery Racing. In his last start in the 500, Preece finished 32nd as a result of a late-race incident.
- In 2021, Preece finished in the top-10 in both Daytona races, one of two drivers that season to do so.
- Best career finish (points race): 3rd – Talladega 4/19 & Las Vegas 3/25
Lajoie at Daytona International Speedway
Starts: 17 (Superspeedway Stats. Does not include Daytona road course)
Wins: —
Top-10s: 5
Poles: —
- LaJoie makes his 14th overall start at DIS, and tenth in the Daytona 500. In 13 starts overall he has five top-10, and one top-5 finish.
- His best Daytona 500 finish came in 2024 when he finished 4th in the No. 7 car for Spire Motorsports. Matched a career best finish
- In his last start in the 500 (2025), LaJoie finished 22nd.
- The Daytona 500 will be his 277th career Cup Series race
- His best career Cup Series finish: 4th – Atlanta 3/23, Talladega 10/23, Daytona 2/24
RFK Historically in the Daytona 500
Wins: 2 (Matt Kenseth, 2009 & 2012)
- NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth was the first to drive a Jack Roush owned Ford into victory lane for the Daytona 500, earning the victory in 2009. He led just seven laps – the final seven – after starting from the 39th position en route to his first of two Daytona 500 victories over a span of four seasons.
- Jack Roush has won two poles in the Daytona 500, one coming from Greg Biffle in 2004 and the other in 2012 with Carl Edwards. Biffle earned the 2004 pole after a speed of 188.387 and went on to finish 12th. Edwards had a pole speed of 194.738 and finished eighth in the 2012 Daytona 500.
