Daytona 500 Beginning Lineup: See the Beginning Positions for Each Driver in 2026

The top 10 is stacked with veterans with NASCAR Cup Series champions and four previous Daytona 500 winners leading the 2026 edition of The Great American Race on Sunday.

The 2026 Daytona 500 field is officially set following pole qualifying Wednesday and the Duels at Daytona on Thursday. Ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series season opener, Kyle Busch won his first Daytona 500 pole and will be joined by Chase Briscoe on the front row leading the field to green Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX. 

And Thursday’s two duels — won by Joey Logano and Chase Elliott — determined the remainder of the starting lineup with a 41-car field, which includes seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. 

[NASCAR: All 41 Daytona 500 Paint Schemes]

This is the beginning lineup for the 2026 Daytona 500 with Busch on the pole. 

1. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 
2. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 
3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford 
4. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 
5. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford 
6. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 
7. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 
8. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 
9. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
10. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 
11. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota 
12. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 
13. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 
14. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford 
15. Daniel Suárez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet*
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet 
17. Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
18. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
19. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
20. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 
22. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
23. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 
24. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota 
25. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
26. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota 
27. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota 
28. Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota 
29. Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota
30. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
31. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota 
32. Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 
33. Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 
34. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 
35. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 
36. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford 
37. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet*
38. BJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
39. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet*
40. Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
41. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford*

*Driver will begin from the rear for switching to a backup automotive.