Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Kyle Busch — who entered the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season desperate for a win in any race and seeking his first Daytona 500 in his 21st start — will lead the field to green Sunday from the pole thanks to posting the fastest lap in single-car qualifying Wednesday. It’s the first Daytona 500 pole for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver.
Busch will be joined on the front row by last year’s pole-sitter, Chase Briscoe. Also happy following qualifying: Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier locked themselves into the 2026 Daytona 500 field; the final two spots and the full Daytona 500 starting order will be set in the “duels” qualifying races Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Kyle Busch Has Historic Shot
Busch, a two-time Cup champion riding a 93-race winless streak, has led 342 laps over his career in the Daytona 500, the most laps led by a driver who has never won the sport’s biggest race.
No driver has ever earned his first Daytona 500 win later than his 20th start — Dale Earnhardt did it in 1998 — so Busch has a chance at history.
“It’s a box we’ve got to check,” Busch said in his post-qualifying news conference. “So here we are. This is an opportunity to be able to do that. I’ve come down here a lot of years, and I think I finished in about every position possible.
“It’d be nice to close out [that streak] with a victory here in the Daytona 500.
2. Good start for a new couple
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: NASCAR Hall of Famer and RCR team owner Richard Childress congratulates Kyle Busch after winning the pole for the 2026 Daytona 500 on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
For Busch, this will be a boost for him and new crew chief Jim Pohlman, who spent the last few years as Justin Allgaier’s crew chief in the O’Reilly Series, where they won the 2024 series title.
Busch has said the key for Pohlman is holding people accountable. Getting fast cars to the track can also help.
“Just a valiant effort by everyone here,” Busch said in his post-qualifying interview with FOX Sports’ Jamie Little. “It would be really cool to do an interview like this about being number one on Sunday night.”
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3. Great relief and emotion for Heim and Allgaier
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: Justin Allgaier, driver of the #40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, before practice for the Daytona 500. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier were the two fastest cars not yet locked in the Daytona 500 field, earning spots in Sunday’s race. For both of them, it was an emotional moment.
Heim couldn’t make the Cup race last year at the Chicago Street Course, and here he was trying to make the Daytona 500, where there were more cars entered than spots, in his first race since. He left no doubt and qualified fifth overall.
“After that race in Chicago, everyone really supported me and understood that I’m a developing race driver and I’m going to make those mistakes,” Heim, who won 12 truck races last year on his way to the series title, said in his post-qualifying news conference. “They worked hard to bring me a great car for the Daytona 500. It’s a great feeling to have that support.”
Allgaier drives for JR Motorsports, and having an owner (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) who is arguably the most popular person in the sport brings its own pressure. Last year, Allgaier had to fight his way through duels so JRM could contest his first Cup race. This year’s Daytona 500 is the organization’s second.
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4. Second great opportunity of the duel
(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Six drivers will compete for the final two spots in the Daytona 500, and the best driver not already in the race who finishes highest in each of the two qualifying races (“the duels”) will earn a spot. Cars attempting to make the Daytona 500 field are divided into the two duels based on qualifying time, putting Corey LaJoie and Chandler Smith, from two established organizations (RFK Racing and Front Row Motorsports), in the first duel, along with Casey Mears.
The second matchup features three part-time single-car team drivers: Anthony Alfredo of Beard Motorsports, BJ McLeod of Live Fast Motorsports and JJ Yeley of NY Racing. If LaJoie and Smith were split between the two matchups, they would be the favorites to earn a spot in the Daytona 500.
“The problem is that when you’re competing in these duels, what you worry about is the uncontrollable, the unforeseen circumstances, whether it’s strategy or an accident or any of those things,” Alfredo told me.
“As a team, we know what we have to do to execute and ultimately control, but there are a lot of things you can’t do in sprint racing or any other race.”
4 ½: What’s next?
The two 60-lap qualifying duels on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, FS1). Drivers will learn more about their cars for the Daytona 500 and hope they don’t crash, relegating them to the back.
The other key is the duel payout points on a scale of 10 to 1 for those who finish first through tenth. With this year’s new points system, a 10-race postseason and bonus points based strictly on regular-season standings, those matchup points could mean more.
