The Daytona 500 will open the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season with a new qualifying format next weekend. The sanctioning body plans to cut confusion and tighten competition across Speedweek with tweaks on how drivers will make the Daytona 500 field this year.
The 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway has hosted the race since 1959, and it has become one of the most watched race on the NASCAR calendar. The Great American Race has used single-car time sessions and two 150-mile qualifying races, long called the Duels, to set the starting order beyond the front row.
This season, single-vehicle qualifying will set the front row and decide starting slots for the Duels. And the changes will affect open teams, the non-chartered entries. The two fastest open cars in single-car qualifying are now locked into the Daytona 500 on speed only. Those two cars will not race for transfer spots in the Duels.
The rest of the open cars will race for one available transfer position in each Duel. This has reduced the opportunity for smaller teams that rely on Duel finishing position to make the race. Qualifying order will be set by a random draw, and qualifying runs use two timed laps, one per round.
This year, Jimmie Johnson will use the open exemption provisional, as Helio Castroneves did in 2025, to automatically qualify for the Daytona 500.
What is NASCAR’s New Ban Ahead of The Daytona 500?
NASCAR also recently closed a strange loophole that teams had exploited in superspeedway qualifying sessions.
The latest rule book update now bans drivers from using their hands to redirect airflow during a qualifying attempt. That includes touching or pushing against the window net or otherwise blocking air near the cockpit. NASCAR will strip a run for violations.
The change aims to keep qualifying dependent on car setup and speed, not the driver’s body position inside the cockpit.
Meanwhile, Daytona International Speedway has named comedian Nate Bargatze as grand marshal for the 2026 Daytona 500. Bargatze will give the famous command to start engines on race day, and actor Kurt Russell will be the honorary pace car driver for the opening laps.
The Daytona 500 is scheduled to start at 2:30 pm ET on Sunday, February 15. The ARCA Menards Series will open Speedweeks at Daytona with the General Tire 200 on Saturday, February 14, at noon, the day before the Daytona 500.
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