2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto United Rentals 300 Starting Order as Austin Hill Takes Pole Position at Daytona International Speedway

Richard Childress Racing standout Austin Hill captured the pole position for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto United Rentals 300 night race during two-round superspeedway qualifying on Saturday, February 14. He posted the fastest lap of 49.390 seconds and narrowly beat defending series champion Jesse Love, who will start beside him in the No. 2 car.

Love was a hair back in Round 2 with a 49.391 and a 182.219 mph run. Sam Mayer, William Sawalich and Sheldon Creed filled out the top five after the second round.

Rookie driver Patrick Staropoli got a solid starting spot in eighth in the 42-car field. Failing to advance into the final round of qualifying were drivers such as Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier, each settling for mid-pack positions. With the lineup set, teams now focus on drafting and strategy for tonight’s race that starts at 5 p.m. Eastern on The CW.

Here is the full starting order for the 2026 United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway:

1. Austin Hill (No. 21)
2. Jesse Love (No. 2)
3. Sam Mayer (No. 41)
4. William Sawalich (No. 18)
5. Sheldon Creed (No. 00)
6. Corey Day (No. 17)
7. Rajah Caruth (No. 88)
8. Patrick Staropoli (No. 48)
9. Taylor Gray (No. 54)
10. Ryan Sieg (No. 39)
11. Carson Kvapil (No. 1)
12. Sammy Smith (No. 8)
13. Justin Allgaier (No. 7)
14. Blaine Perkins (No. 31)
15. Brandon Jones (No. 20)
16. Giovanni Ruggiero (No. 19)
17. Jordan Anderson (No. 3)
18. Dean Thompson (No. 26)
19. Patrick Emerling (No. 5)
20. Carson Hocevar (No. 42)
21. Mason Maggio (No. 91)
22. Jeb Burton (No. 27)
23. Luke Fenhaus (No. 6)
24. Harrison Burton (No. 24)
25. Brennan Poole (No. 44)
26. Caesar Bacarella (No. 4)
27. Parker Retzlaff (No. 36)
28. Nick Sanchez (No. 25)
29. Jeremy Clements (No. 51)
30. Austin Green (No. 96)
31. Josh Williams (No. 92)
32. Ryan Ellis (No. 02)
33. Daniel Dye (No. 52)
34. Josh Bilicki (No. 07)
35. Natalie Decker (No. 33)
36. Kyle Sieg (No. 28)
37. Lavar Scott (No. 45)
38. Carson Ware (No. 30)

Drivers Who Failed to Qualify for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto United Rentals 300

Drivers Garrett Smithley, David Starr, Anthony Alfredo and Joey Gase did not qualify for the NASCAR O’Reilly season opener.

Alfredo finished in the Duel, which was also disallowed, and he lost his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. With his Daytona 500 hopes dashed, Alfredo and teams Viking Motorsports and Alpha Prime Racing reached an agreement to put him in the No. 4 Chevrolet for the race. Alfredo will take the seat that had been slated for Caesar Bacarella.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, February 14.

The race will air live on The CW and will be available on MRN for full race audio, and SiriusXM will carry the feed for subscribers. FUBO is one streaming option for the 300-mile race.

Also Read:

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Kyle Larson makes HMS “lifetime contract” wish

BJ McLeod and Anthony Alfredo face Daytona 500 scare after the duel, #78 Chevrolet passes the inspection

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