Ricky Stenhouse Jr. covered the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 46.126 seconds (195.118 mph) for the fifth-best qualifying time in Sunday’s Daytona 500 pole day. The session sets the front row for next Sunday’s Daytona 500, as well as the starting lineup for Thursday’s Twin Duel qualifying races. Stenhouse will start the qualifying duel in the third position, inside of the second row.
For the fourth consecutive year, a Chevrolet SS will lead the field to the green flag for the season-opening Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. This year, Rookie of the Year contender, Chase Elliott, put the Bowtie Brand in the top spot for the Great American Race with a lap of 45.845 seconds/ 196.314 mph in his No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet SS.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – DAYTONA 500 POLE WINNER “This is a very, very cool day. I don’t know that this opportunity has sunk in yet, much less sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500. So this is very cool."
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – DAYTONA 500 POLE WINNER “This is a very, very cool day. I don’t know that this opportunity has sunk in yet, much less sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500. So this is very cool."
RYAN BLANEY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion - Qualified 7th - “It is nice to be locked into the race. The biggest relief for us is to know you are locked in and are good to be able to race in the 500. That kind of lets us go race on Thursday a little bit more than we would have instead of playing it conservative if we weren’t locked in."
After blowing a right rear tire on lap 13 in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. overcame the damage to his Fastenal Ford to take the checkered flag in the sixth position earning his best finish in three starts.
Greg Biffle rebounded from being involved in multiple cautions in the Sprint Unlimited to cross the finish line 10th in the No. 16 KFC Nashville Hot Ford Fusion.
On the final lap in Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited overtime race, Martin Truex Jr. got wrecked while running close to the leaders in the non-points event at Daytona International Speedway. The incident shoved Truex back to an unlucky 13th place finish in the opening race of Speedweeks.
Richard Childress Racing drivers Paul Menard, Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman finished third, eighth and 19th, respectively, in the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway.
The two-time Daytona 500 champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, led a race-high 362 of 500 laps and snapped a yearlong winless drought with his second consecutive Cup Series victory at Martinsville in the fall.
William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team showcased a near dominate afternoon at “The Paperclip” to earn their first trip to victory lane of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
