The NASCARCup Series took to Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday night, and we now have a set field for the Duels post-qualifying. Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing own the 1-2 honors on the front row. The manufacturers find themselves very spread out with four Chevrolets, three Fords, and three Toyotas in the top 10.
Underneath, the open cars battled it out, and some anticipated names earned their way in. Here is how qualifying played out across the 45-car field.
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Kevin Harvick noted this is “the most mixed up he’s ever seen it.” We should be in for a fantastic set of Duels on Thursday.
The Front Row
The final round appeared to be a formality. The front row repeated itself exactly as it went 1-2 in round one, with Kyle Busch in pole position for the first time at Daytona in his 20-year career.
Next to Busch will be Chase Briscoe, as he looks to mount a Championship season. It will be Ford and Toyota, with Chevrolet bearing down.
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Open Cars
NASCAR Cup Series driver Cory Heim during qualifying for the 2026 Daytona 500.©Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
(©Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images)
The open cars battled it out to earn themselves a spot in the big race. The top two of the eight entries gain a spot after Wednesday’s qualifying. The next two will be determined in the Duels on Thursday night.
The earning open entries included Corey Heim, who entered the final round and earned himself 5th place on the Duel grid. The next car was driven by Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports, who finished 14th, one spot behind Corey LaJoie of RFK Racing.
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This is how they all shaped up:
Surprise Risers
3rd: Ryan Preece — Preece followed up his win at the Cook Out Clash by qualifying 3rd for the Daytona Duels. He is the No. 1 RFK car in the field, with Buescher to follow in 8th. LaJoie is finished 15th, and an injured Keselowski in 18th.
5th: Corey Heim — The newbie made a statement in his 2026 debut. He was the only open car to make the final round of qualifying and earned a Duel starting position of 5th. We will keep a close eye on Heim-time in the Daytona Duels, as he hopes to retain a great starting position for Sunday.
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Notable Fallers
45th (DQ): Noah Gragson — In a pit road interview, Gragson admitted that he “totally forgot” about the new hand rule. In this rule, you cannot use your hand to redirect air in any way. He was disqualified and finished 45th on Thursday night.
22nd: William Byron — The back-to-back champion had a bad qualifying session. Byron finished 22-of-45.
30th: Bubba Wallace — 23XI Racing had a poor debut outside of Heim. Wallace finished 30th, and he has much work to do.
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40th: Tyler Reddick — It is not too clear what happened to Reddick, but his car was not geared up. He failed, finishing in the bottom 12% of cars.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
