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Just over two months after Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing settled a major lawsuit against NASCAR, the sports icon is happy with what came out of the 15-month-long process. He’ll be even happier with the result of Sunday’s Daytona 500. Jordan’s team got its first win at Daytona with the No. 45 car, as Tyler Reddick won the race after an action-packed final lap. In an interview with FOX Sports’ Jamie Little ahead of Sunday’s race, Jordan shared that he thinks the settlement will be a boon for both 23XI Racing and NASCAR moving forward. “Communication — the thing is, both sides have been somewhat at a stalemate and we both needed to have conversations about change, how we can grow this sport,” Jordan said. “Unfortunately, we had to go through what we had to go through last summer. But I think coming out of that, you have a much better appreciation for each other and I think it opens up conversations amongst each other to continue to grow the game. “Don’t forget about the fans. The fans make this game so much enjoyable to watch. As much as we can listen, change, please the fans, please the teams and continue to grow the sport, I think everybody’s going to be OK.” [FULL RACE COVERAGE: Daytona 500 Live Updates, Leaderboard] The settlement awarded 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports charters after both relinquished their charters when they didn’t sign the 2025-31 agreement to pursue the lawsuit. It also included an amendment with an agreement for all teams to have a form of “evergreen charters.” While the two sides were able to reach an agreement, that came after an eight-day trial process in court. The lawsuit also led to a pretty stark change in NASCAR, with charters for all teams becoming permanent and a return of the “Three-Strike Rule.” Teams will also receive revenue from NASCAR’s international media rights deal. With the lawsuit behind 23XI Racing, the focus for Jordan’s team is now getting positive results after a down year in 2025. The team only won one race, with Bubba Wallace capturing a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tyler Reddick took a hit in the standings, and he’s about to become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. As there’s some pressure on 23XI Racing, Jordan is hoping his team can set the tone for the new season at Sunday’s Daytona 500. “We got a couple of young kids that are learning. We’ve got a couple of veterans that are going to be up front. I think we’ve got a good team, good leaders and hopefully one of the four — I’ll take any one of the four — wins,” Jordan said. “I want to see us at the end, all four cars, which is very difficult, especially at a race like this. You just need to avoid the big one. But if we can put ourselves in a good position, that’s all I’ll ever ask for.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Most NASCAR drivers grew up dreaming of winning the Daytona 500. What’s it like for a driver to live out those dreams? Ahead of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, we talked to all the current full-time drivers who have won the Daytona 500 to find out. And we asked several of those who haven’t won the Daytona 500 to see what they would expect it to be like. We’re talking about what makes the Daytona 500 win emotional? Here is what drivers who have won it told me in interviews in the last month: Austin Cindric (2022): “It’s the biggest race of the year, but also so much was going into my rookie season, as far as the car, and working with a new group of people taking over the [No.] 2 car and the [No.] 2 car having never won the race. I feel like there’s a long list of reasons that make that special, but it’s definitely been the best day of my life so far.” Austin Dillon (2018): “I think a lot of things at Daytona, from my family standpoint, probably would be the biggest. It was 20 years between the time that Dale [Earnhardt] won his 500 [and] the night before having dinner with my grandfather. And we came back [to] the track and he said, ‘Hey, if you win tomorrow, you got to slide through the grass.’ And then, lo and behold, it happens. Just being there with my family and Victory Lane was special. Denny Hamlin (2016, 2019, 2020): “The prestige of it. What’s made it special to me is how we won it. Just having the two closest finishes in that race’s history. Also, 10 years ago, when we won it, the racing was so different. You could really make a lot of moves and whatnot. So just the art and the chess of it back then and how you made your moves, and it’s just different now, not better or worse, but just different. And so I really took a lot of pride in what it took to win those races and the moves that we made to make it happen. … The 2016 [win] was more of a shock, and, obviously, the 2019 one certainly was special for the [J.D. Gibbs] family reasons.” Joey Logano (2015): “It’s the Daytona 500. I don’t think you have to put words behind what it means. Everybody knows — if you know, you know. If you’re a NASCAR fan, you grew up watching it, you know that Daytona 500. Even if you’re not a fan, you know that Daytona 500. It’s a race that everybody wants to win so bad that, yeah, it’s an emotional victory. Because it’s The Great American Race. There’s no other race like it. And I don’t think we have to explain that to anyone. I think it’s just known at this point.” William Byron (2024, 2025): “I think it’s just the magnitude of what everyone feels like the race is. It just seems like it has that meaning to it, the magnitude to it. And you just have more of a high from winning it.” Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023): “I think winning the Daytona 500, it’s a feeling like no other win you can have, I guess, except maybe, winning the championship in a single race like Phoenix in the old system. You put a lot of effort into it. There’s a lot of people that have gone their whole career trying to win that race 20-plus times and never got it done. And for us, it was a single-car team. And there’s just a lot of things that go into it. And I definitely want to win it again so that I can enjoy it a little bit more. It was such a blur at the moment. I definitely enjoyed it, but I would like to enjoy it just a little bit more.” Michael McDowell (2021): “I think what made it significant and emotional, besides it being the biggest race of your life, is how long it took me to get there and how much grinding and just up and down and different teams and just trying to stay in the sport. It made it super special to get my first win and have it be the Daytona 500. It was just an amazing feeling.” [NASCAR: Daytona 500 Winners by Year] Now it’s time to hear from some of those who haven’t won the Daytona 500 and why they think it would be emotional. Kyle Busch (0-for-20): I don’t know. I remember winning at Las Vegas, my home track, in 2009, and it just being such a big moment for me, being my home track — wanting to win there so hard, and it felt really, really cool to do that. And so I can’t imagine what a Daytona 500 would feel like. So maybe being older nowadays and having a family, you might see a tear. Who knows? Brad Keselowski (0-for-17): When I think of the Daytona 500, the first thing I think of is it’s the last crown jewel for me. And to win all the jewels is just, to me, it’s the NASCAR accomplishment level. Over the years, the championship format has changed, and you win on — It takes a lot to do that, don’t get me wrong — it’s just different now than what it used to be. Winning all the crown jewels is like, ‘Hey, I won the biggest races with the biggest crowds and the biggest purses. That’s pretty cool.’” Kyle Larson (0-for-12): “Well, I think for me, if I was to win the Daytona 500, it would [be emotional] because I’ve not really had much success on superspeedways until here lately. I feel like we can taste a win. So I always feel like that adds excitement once you finally do win. I believe this is like my 13th attempt at the Daytona 500, so it’d be awesome. It’s the final kind of crown jewel left for us and our team to win. So that would also be great. Hopefully we can do it.” AJ Allmendinger (0-for-12): “The fact that I’d probably retire that night, right there. I’m done. Can’t get any better than that. That would be a drop-mic moment? Yeah, probably it’d have to be. Just peace out.” Ryan Blaney (0-for-11): “Obviously the significance of that race. Everyone knows how important it is. But I think for my if I try to dive deeper into the personal side, I remember going down there a lot as a kid to watch my dad compete in it. That was back when they were there for two weeks. We’d have a lot of family time. And I got to see that atmosphere as a young kid, and got to watch my dad go through the competition side of it, and how emotional that is, the ups and downs of that race. My parents always come to the 500, so if we could do it, and my dad and my mom’s there, and my sisters — we grew up going to that race a lot. I think that’d be a pretty neat full-circle moment for me personally. And obviously the team stuff, that’s amazing too. But from a personal side, that’d be really special.” Chase Elliott (0-for-10): “I think just crossing that off the list. It’s a huge thing, I think, for anybody’s career. And there’s been great drivers that have never won it. So I can’t say that it is going to define your career in totality, but I do think it’s a race that everyone, when you look back on this deal, you’re going to want to look back and be able to hang your hat on that event. There’s that aspect of it. For me, Dad [Bill Elliott] having won a 500 or two and it being one of the crown-jewel races — to join him would also be special for me personally. Great event. Would love to have my name on it one day Daniel Suarez (0-for-8): “Every time that you get to February and you go through the tunnel in Daytona, you know that you are going to have a shot to win probably one of the most important races of your life. And for me, coming from Mexico, it will be extremely special, adding my name to the list of drivers, that very short list that have come from a different country, to win this amazing race, it would be like a dream. And I know that I have as good a shot as anyone else out there.” Bubba Wallace (0-for-8): “I think just winning it, having your family there, having your team there, winning the first points race of the year after trying for so long. This will be my ninth Daytona 500. I’ve come close a couple times. So to finally pull through, I think that’s just enough to make a grown man cry right there.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

It’s mid-February, which means the NASCAR field is back in action and, this year, it means the return of Ram to the Craftsman Truck Series. During Friday night’s broadcast of the 2026 Fresh From Florida 250 on FS1, UFC CEO Dana White joined Jamie Little, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano to discuss how he helped Ram return to the Craftsman Truck Series. “Ram, the CEO, Tim [Kuniskis] reached out to me and came out to Las Vegas and talked to me about helping them bring Ram back to NASCAR,” White said about helping bring Ram back to the Truck Series. “He liked a lot of the stuff that we’ve done in building our business. I love challenges, so I decided to do it and here I am at my first Daytona, and I actually have some skin in the game and care who wins the race.” Ram first appeared in the Truck Series at the sport’s 1995 inception, with Bobby Hamilton later winning the 2004 Truck Series championship, the first title for Ram in the Truck Series. Ram left the Truck Series after the brand closed up shop in 2013 but has returned for the 2026 season with five trucks in the series after partnering with Kaulig Racing. White was also the executive producer and provided commentary — along with the aforementioned Kuniskis and Kaulig Racing Team principals Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice — for the show “Race for the Seat,” which was an eight-part show that aired on FOX networks, among other outlets. The series was based on racers battling to be a full-time driver for Kaulig-Ram in the 2026 Truck Series season. That driver turned out to be Timothy “Mini” Tyrrell, who finished the Fresh From Florida 250 in 19th place. Brenden Queen, Justin Haley and Daniel Dye are the other drivers racing for Kaulig-Ram this season, with rotating drivers taking up a fifth car. Friday night was a sensational start to the 2026 Craftsman Truck Series season, as the lead changed hands multiple times on the final lap, highlighted by Chandler Smith rocketing his way to first place and a win in the final seconds after an inside lane opened up. Giovanni Ruggiero finished in second place, followed by Christian Eckes in third. On Saturday, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season commences with the United Rentals 300. On Sunday, it’s the Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) with “NASCAR RaceDay” going live at 11:30 a.m. ET.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson says his last Cup race will be the 2027 Daytona 500. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has 83 career Cup wins in 700 starts. After retiring from full-time Cup racing following the 2020 season and embarking on a two-year INDYCAR career, 50-year-old Johnson has competed in the Daytona 500 every year since 2023 and is a two-time winner (2006, 2013). Johnson became the majority owner of Legacy Motor Club a couple of years ago, and he said his focus continues to be on the business side of the sport. “I’ve been very fortunate to accomplish more than I ever imagined in this sport,” Johnson said in a news release. “The last six years have given me the freedom to choose where I compete and more importantly, the clarity to understand where I’m needed most. It’s time to focus my energy on building a world class and unrivaled organization.” Johnson has only two Cup starts scheduled for this year — the Daytona 500 and the Cup street race on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego in June, a race near his hometown of El Cajon, California. Last year, Johnson finished third in the Daytona 500. “As a driver that moonlights, the restrictor-plate style of tracks is where you can be the most competitive,” Johnson said in a news conference Saturday morning. “This car is so different than any generation of car I’ve driven before. To show up at Kansas [Speedway] and think that you’re going to have a shot to win, even when I ran a nine-race schedule, it’s just not a truth that can really be seen or realized. … I want to show up and be competitive. To have my last race in an event where I can truly win could be that cool walk-off home run.” Johnson left open competing in other NASCAR divisions and other motorsports events. But he won’t compete in the Cup Series after the 2027 Daytona 500. He also said his INDYCAR career is over, so there is no chance of another Indianapolis 500 run. [JIMMIE JOHNSON: California Racer on Living Abroad] “The commitment it takes to be where I want to be in the field, I just I don’t have that in me anymore, and my focus and interest is truly building this race team,” Johnson said during his news conference. “And when I reflect on who I was as a 25-year-old kid jumping in that [No.] 48 [Hendrick] car, I was up to go to 0-hour 30 with this passion and energy to chase the day and do the best that I could. “I don’t have that passion for that part of life anymore, and that’s been a tough thing to kind of accept. And if I’m honest with myself, maybe the last year or two of driving, I was in that phase, but I had the best seat in the house driving for the best team. I was almost in denial of maybe what was going on. And it’s taken time. It took the two years in INDYCAR and the journey that I’ve been on now to really reflect on that and see it.” [DAYTONA 500: Starting lineup for NASCAR opener] Just how much has Johnson’s life changed? “I had four hours of sleep last night because we were at a sponsor event, and I was up all night doing e-mails. And then I was over at Home Depot this morning buying plants and furniture for our hospitality area in the driver-owner lot,” Johnson said. Legacy will expand from fielding two chartered cars to three next year. Johnson said he would run a fourth car, and the team indicated he will request the Daytona 500 open exemption provisional, which guarantees him a spot in the field as it did for the race Sunday. “As a team owner, I need to be on the sidelines on race day supporting our drivers and crews on the competition side and cultivating relationships that are crucial to the long-term growth of [Legacy],” Johnson said in the news release. “I also want to take the time to celebrate with fans throughout the season to show how grateful I am for their support throughout my career.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Tony Stewart signed up to compete in one NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race in 2026: The season-opening Fresh From Florida 250 on Friday. Could he sign up for more? Hey, who would have thought six months ago that 54-year-old Stewart would ever race in NASCAR again? Well, on little practice, Stewart jumped behind the wheel of the No. 25 Kaulig Racing Ram this week to give it a go. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion — whose last NASCAR race was in 2016 and last truck race was in 2005 — and current NHRA racer had his NASCAR return end with a wreck 39 laps into the 100-lap truck season opener on Daytona’s iconic 2.5-mile track. “I didn’t think I was going to be here 10 years after I retired, so I think we have to learn to never say never,” Stewart told FOX Sports broadcaster Amanda Busick after being released from the infield care center. “It’s a great opportunity. … Just finally getting in a spot where I felt like I could start hustling and being in the mix there a little bit. “Early on, it was just like kind of hang on. [I] knew we needed to take care of it until we got a shot to make pit stops. So probably needed one more good swing at it to really get to where we could go, but we’re gaining on it. So at least they’re building a notebook now. The rest of the guys are out there still digging, so they’ll build a good notebook for when we come back next time.” [DAYTONA 500: Ranking the 41-Driver Field, From Casey Mears to Chase Elliott] We come back next time? He told me and other reporters that he signed up for one race and that’s currently the plan. But he also sounded like a guy who enjoyed his race until Jake Garcia got loose and slid into him. “I don’t get a chance to mix it up wheel to wheel with anybody anymore on the drag race side,” Stewart said. “You don’t want to be around anybody running 300 miles an hour. “But it was fun to come back here. It’s fun to watch the style these kids run. You could tell the guys that their trucks felt good right out of the gate, and they were aggressive. And I was like, ‘Man, I wish I had the confidence to do that.’” [NASCAR: 2026 Daytona 500 Paint Schemes] Stewart said he never got comfortable being in any spot on the track. “I knew [the truck] wasn’t going to be able to do the middle of the three-wide deal,” Stewart said. “I wasn’t comfortable enough with that, and we weren’t tight enough to do that. But the swings we were making — that was getting the balance a lot closer to where we could do that.” It almost sounded like Stewart has unfinished business. The day before the race, he indicated he will have to do some convincing — he has a 15-month-old son with wife and fellow drag racer Leah Pruett — if he wanted to do more races in the gaps of his full-time NHRA schedule. “I have a wife and a son who also like those gaps as well and would prefer I not keep booking those gaps,” Stewart said.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

A familiar face isn’t included in Alexi Lalas’ current top-five power rankings of U.S. men’s national team players. But there is a good reason for that. Christian Pulisic, who is expected to be a key player for the USA at this summer’s World Cup, has recently been hobbled by injuries after a strong first half of the club campaign with AC Milan. So for the moment, Pulisic doesn’t make the cut. But as Lalas clarifies in the latest episode of “Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union,” the criteria for this latest ranking is that the player needs to be seeing action on the pitch. “If you’re hurt, it doesn’t mean you’re not a great player. It doesn’t mean you possibly couldn’t be at the top of my power rankings, but you got to be playing and doing well.” So, who makes Lalas’ list right now of the best (in-form) USA players at the moment? The 21-year-old defender recently made his LaLiga debut for Villarreal following a move from MLS club Orlando City in January. The son of former NFL star Antonio Freeman, he has earned 11 caps with the USA and was part of the squad that reached the Gold Cup final in 2025. One of the biggest transfers to the German club last summer, Tillman is rounding back into form following a quiet few months with Bayer Leverkusen. He’s impressed enough for the USA during last summer’s World Cup that he should be in the mix to make the USA team in the summer. Leeds are floating right above the relegation zone in the Premier League, sitting at 16th place. But Aaronson has done his part to keep the side afloat this season. He has four goals and has vastly improved this season, and that could bode well for his chances of making the USA’s World Cup squad. “I think he’s just been consistent now for weeks and months,” Lalas said. “I don’t think that there’s anybody that’s maybe changed the perception of him relative to making the World Cup team, or even being on the field, and doing well more so than Brenden Aaronson.” Tessmann’s career season continues in France and has gone this distance in Lyon’s last three Ligue 1 games. The Alabama native has logged almost 2,000 minutes across all competitions for the French side. “It’s a wonderful moment right now playing consistently and being on the field when they are doing well. I don’t know if it’s enough yet to get him on the World Cup team this summer, but he’s doing everything in his power right now. There’s a lot of people whose heads he’s turning,” Lalas said. McKennie’s resurgence has been one of Juventus’ key storylines this season. He has scored seven goals and provided four assists across all competitions, showcasing his versatility and influence in midfield. A no-brainer to once again make the World Cup squad. “It should come as no surprise given everything that we have said about Weston McKinnie and where he is and the level that he is playing right now, his consistency, his value, he’s at No. 1,” Lalas said. As for Pulisic? What can he do to get back into the next edition of Alexi Lalas’ power rankings? “Certainly the second half of his season right now has been anything but what the first half was. He’s hurt. So who knows, he could come back with flying colors and do wonderful things. And because of who Christian Pulisic is, I think it’s easy for him to skyrocket back into my power rankings.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

As Kansas climbs to a projected No. 2 seed in Mike DeCourcy’s latest NCAA Tournament projections, the loudest conversation around the program has centered on freshman guard Darryn Peterson’s availability, a narrative coach Bill Self called “not remotely true.” The noise followed Peterson’s absence Monday night, when he missed his 11th game of the season, this one due to illness. In the days since, criticism from the national media and fans has grown around Peterson. Lost in that discussion is the bigger picture: the Jayhawks have won eight in a row and just notched arguably the best victory in the country without their freshman star — an 82-78 win over No. 1 Arizona. Peterson’s availability remains a storyline, but Kansas’ move up the seed line says far more about where this team stands entering the final stretch of conference play. As the 2025-26 regular season quickly winds down, DeCourcy shares his latest NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament projections. EAST REGION SOUTH REGION MIDWEST REGION WEST REGION And it’s never too early to check in on the bubble. According to DeCourcy’s projections, Texas, Santa Clara, Virginia Tech and Missouri are the last four teams in the tournament, while San Diego State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State and New Mexico are the first four out. As for conference representation, the SEC leads the way with 11 teams, while the Big Ten has ten teams in DeCourcy’s latest tournament projections. The ACC has nine teams represented, the Big 12 has seven teams in the mix and the Big East and West Coast have three teams each. Selection Sunday is just over one month away, and these projections will inevitably evolve. For now, DeCourcy’s latest bracket forecast offers a clear snapshot of who’s rising, who’s falling and which programs are already building the résumés they’ll need when March arrives.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Noah Gragson was caught red-handed by NASCAR. Gragson was the first driver busted during Daytona 500 qualifying for violating the new rule that specifies drivers are banned for sticking their hands out the opening of the window during the qualifying run. Gragson’s time in the No. 4 Ford for Front Row Motorsports was thrown out Wednesday because he used his left hand in an attempt to deflect air and gain an advantage on the track. “I completely forgot about that rule so that one’s on me,” Gragson said. “Yeah, I feel like an idiot for that.” The 27-year-old Gragson did not advance to the second round of qualifying and lost his chance to race for the pole. The starting order for Sunday’s Daytona 500 will be determined by a pair of Thursday night qualifying races. “I feel like the Daytona 500 is such a long race, you can kind of start wherever,” Gragson said. “It is what it is. I feel like an idiot for that. I’m dumb for that.” On the other hand, most in NASCAR found it hilarious. “This is the most Noah thing ever,” NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote on social media. “Don’t touch that stove, it’s hot. Touches stove. Gets burnt. Says yes, it is hot.” Kyle Busch won the pole for the Daytona 500. Chase Briscoe, last year’s pole-sitter, qualified second and got a good chuckle out of Gragson getting busted. “He’s my buddy, but I’m not surprised it was the guy that had it happen to him,” Briscoe said. “I told my guys as soon as it happened, of all the people, I bet he didn’t even remember it was a rule.” Good call. Teams believed that drivers could earn an aerodynamic advantage on superspeedways with the gesture before NASCAR made the call in the offseason to ban it. “Sometimes you have a car that drives very easily, and you can do it easily and other times you have got your hands full and you can’t do it,” Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman said. “You always have an engineer telling you that you need to do it, exactly what position to put your hand in and all that. But I am glad that I can just keep two hands on the steering wheel for this one.” NASCAR suspended Gragson in 2023 and he parted ways with Legacy Motor Club liking an insensitive meme with a photo of George Floyd’s face. Gragson is winless in 111 career Cup races and will make his fifth Daytona 500 start. “I don’t care if I start last for this race,” Gragson said. “I know that’s probably not what people want to hear, but my best finish in Cup is third at Talladega and we qualified second-to-last. It’s kind of crazy, but it is what it is here.” Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

You probably didn’t think that Bart Simpson would be involved in the 68th running of the Daytona 500. But he is! NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway announced Friday that Bart Simpson, star of “The Simpsons,” will be the honorary starter for the Daytona 500 this Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). It’s not Nancy Cartwright, the genius voice behind Bart Simpson but the mascot of the beloved troublemaker. The Bart Simpson mascot will wave the green flag while perched above the iconic 2.5-mile track to start The Great American Race on FOX, which will air the 800th episode of “The Simpsons” on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. The show has aired on FOX since 1989. “It’s an honor to have Bart Simpson, an American icon of pop culture, serve as our honorary starter for the 68th running of the DAYTONA 500,” Frank Kelleher, President of Daytona International Speedway, said in a release. “Bart’s historic run of pranks and mischief on FOX for over 30 years has provided laughs for all ages. There’s no doubt that he’s going to have an absolute blast waving the green flag for The Great American Race.” [4 TAKEAWAYS: Chase Elliott, Joey Logano Won Daytona Duels] The Wood Brothers Racing team served as the honorary starter for last year’s Daytona 500, with Eddie Wood, Len Wood, Jon Wood, Keven Wood and Jordan Wood Hicks all partaking in the starting duties. It was a race that saw William Byron take the checkered flag for a second consecutive year in the Daytona 500 as he now chases a three-peat. As for this year, Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe will start the 2026 Daytona 500 on the front row — Busch is on the pole — with Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top five of the field. [NASCAR: All 41 Daytona 500 Paint Schemes] Catch the 2026 Daytona 500 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app. Pre-race show “NASCAR RaceDay” will be live at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — From 14 drivers with no career wins to a driver with 83 career wins, from drivers ages 19 to 50, from a driver with three career starts to a driver with 750 — the field for the Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX) is officially set and features much variety. Here’s a look at how I rank the 41 drivers as far as chances of winning the Daytona 500. I based this on how well they run in the 500, at Daytona in general, at the similar-style drafting tracks (Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta) as well as some gut feeling: 41. Casey Mears (Starting: 17th)Garage 66 No. 66 Ford This will be the 495th Cup start for Mears, who is looking to get to 500 starts in Cup. Driving for team owner Carl Long, Mears is making his 14th Daytona 500 start but his first since 2019. The team had to fix a significant amount of damage from the qualifying race Thursday night. 40. B.J. McLeod (Starting: 38th)Live Fast Motorsports No. 78 Chevrolet Getting in after the Anthony Alfredo disqualification for failing tech after the qualifying race, McLeod will relish the second chance. McLeod, who owns his car, is making his 150th career start. Both of his two career top 10s came at Daytona. 39. Cody Ware (Starting: 33rd)Rick Ware Racing No. 51 Chevrolet Ware is trying to rebound after a year when he finished 36th in the standings (by far the worst among the charter teams). He’s also trying to get adjusted as the team has switched from Ford to Chevrolet. But what does the Rick Ware Racing driver look forward to? Both of his two top-10 career Cup finishes have come at Daytona. 38. Riley Herbst (Starting: 28th)23XI Racing No. 35 Toyota Herbst was 35th in the standings last year as a Cup rookie at 23XI Racing. So he needs to forget about last year, and what better place than Daytona? In his Cup debut in 2023, he placed 10th in the Daytona 500. [MUST SEE: All 41 Daytona 500 Paint Schemes] 37. Noah Gragson (Starting: 25th)Front Row Motorsports No. 4 Ford Gragson has one top-20 finish (ninth in 2024) in his four Daytona 500 starts and all three of his Cup top-5 finishes have come on the drafting tracks. But he needs to get in sync with new crew chief Grant Hutchens, and a mistake forgetting a new rule that resulted in his qualifying time being disallowed shows there’s more work to do in a pivotal year for Front Row Motorsports. 36. Josh Berry (Starting: 14th)Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford Berry isn’t known as a stout superspeedway racer but did finish ninth in his last trip to Daytona last August. The good thing for Berry is that as a Team Penske affiliate, he has plenty (and typically courteous) teammates if he gets up front. 35. Ty Dillon (Starting: 34th)Kaulig Racing No. 10 Chevrolet Dillon was sixth in the 2019 Daytona 500, and he has a tendency to finish the Daytona 500, which is saying something. But Dillon is likely looking beyond today as he looks to improve on a season where he finished 33rd in the standings driving for Kaulig Racing. 34. Cole Custer (Starting: 23rd)Haas Factory Team No. 41 Chevrolet Custer was fourth in his last trip to Daytona but still seeks his first top 10 in the Daytona 500. He’s making his fifth start, and his first in a Chevrolet as Haas Factory Team has moved from Ford to Chevy. 33. AJ Allmendinger (Starting: 35th)Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet Allmendinger isn’t the biggest fan of superspeedway racing, but he does have five top-10s, including two thirds in 12 Daytona 500 starts. That makes him a good sleeper pick. Maybe more significant, he has four top-10s in his last five Daytona 500 starts. What’s to be seen is, because Kaulig Racing has no manufacturer support as it has moved to Dodge and Ram for trucks, will no one help Allmendinger or will anyone help him because there are no allegiances? 32. Connor Zilisch (Starting: 32nd)Trackhouse Racing No. 88 Chevrolet Zilisch is one of the most heralded rookies to burst on the scene, but not much is expected from him in his Daytona 500 debut (only Zilisch and Corey Heim are making their Daytona 500 debuts). Zilisch technically won the O’Reilly race at Daytona last summer, but it was Parker Kligerman who crossed the finish line first in a relief role where he replaced Zilisch early in the race. This will be the fourth career start for the Trackhouse driver. [DRIVERS SOUND OFF: 4 Burning Questions for 2026 Cup Season] 31. Shane van Gisbergen (Starting: 13th)Trackhouse Racing No. 97 Chevrolet SVG placed 33rd in his first Daytona 500 and still seeks his first top-10 on a drafting track. The road-course ace, SVG still might find it hard to find a drafting partner to get his Trackhouse car out front. While SVG’s number changed from 88 to 97, his team is relatively the same for 2026. 30. Justin Allgaier (Starting: 40th)JR Motorsports No. 40 Chevrolet Allgaier will make his fourth Daytona 500 start and his second consecutive for JR Motorsports, an O’Reilly Series team that made its Cup debut a year ago. Allgaier will have plenty of fans as the 2024 O’Reilly champion will have team boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. rooting him on to what he hopes is even a better finish than an exhilarating ninth in the race a year ago. 29. Corey Heim (Starting: 29th)23XI Racing No. 67 Toyota Heim is making his Daytona 500 debut thanks to a great qualifying run that put him fifth overall in single-car qualifying Wednesday. The 2025 truck champion won 12 races last year, he is making his eighth Cup start. The 23XI Racing driver was sixth at Bristol last September and will make 12 Cup starts this year. 28. Erik Jones (Starting: 24th)Legacy Motor Club No. 43 Toyota Jones has won at Daytona — his first career Cup victory came in the July 2018 races. But he has only two top-10 finishes in the Daytona 500 and has five of these races where he’s wrecked out. But if he gets to the finish, the Legacy driver could be a threat. This will be the first race for Jones and new crew chief Justin Alexander, who came from Richard Childress Racing. 27. Todd Gilliland (Starting: 18th)Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford Gilliland has failed to finish three of his four Daytona 500 starts because of accidents, but he is another one of those drivers that if he is around at the finish, you can’t rule him out. The Front Row Motorsports driver needs to rebound from a little bit of a disappointing year in which he finished 27th in the standings. 26. John Hunter Nemechek (Starting: 11th)Legacy Motor Club No. 42 Toyota Nemechek finished fifth last year in the Daytona 500 and his 7.67 average finish in three Daytona 500 starts ranks second all-time among drivers with more than two starts. But is he a threat to win? The Legacy driver still seeks his first Cup victory. 25. Daniel Suarez (Starting: 15th)Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet Suarez was the only Cup driver to move from one Cup team to another Cup team in the offseason as he and Trackhouse parted ways before he landed at Spire, replacing Justin Haley (who is racing trucks this year). He has made eight Daytona 500 starts with one top-10 and five races where he wrecked out. Suarez won’t take the green in 15th — he’ll drop to the rear of the field for the race because of a backup car needed following a crash in his qualifying race Thursday night. [DAYTONA 500 LINEUP: See the Starting Positions for Every Driver] 24. Jimmie Johnson (Starting: 31st)Legacy Motor Club No. 84 Toyota The seven-time Cup champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner is back for a fourth consecutive Daytona 500 after retiring from full-time Cup racing in 2020. Can he win? Johnson, who has 83 wins, wouldn’t have 84 as his number if the Legacy driver/owner didn’t think he could reach it. Johnson, by the way, is racing just for the result. Because he took the open exemption provisional that guaranteed him a spot in the race, he won’t get any purse money for competing. 23. Zane Smith (Starting: 30th)Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Ford Smith is making his fourth start in the Daytona 500 and still seeks his first top-10 finish. But he has some stability for the next two years, having had his Front Row Motorsports option picked up for two more years after last season. 22. Carson Hocevar (Starting: 6th)Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet Hocevar and the Daytona 500 haven’t been friends as he’s finished 40th and 30th in his two starts. But he led all drivers with four top-10s in the six drafting races (Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta) last year and finished second in his qualifying race Thursday night. Probably a go big or go home day for Hocevar, who recently signed a contract extension with Spire that will keep him there into the next decade. Hocevar will be ready to race — he is running each of the three national series events this weekend at Daytona. 21. Ty Gibbs (Starting: 20th)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota Gibbs enters his fourth full-time Cup season, and he needs to win a Cup race. The Daytona 500 would be a great place to start. He has finished twice in the summer Daytona race but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver still seeks his first top-10 in the 500. 20. Alex Bowman (Starting: 21st)Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet Bowman has three Daytona 500 poles, and he is now looking for the finishes. He was second in the 2024 Daytona 500 and his “streak” of three consecutive Daytona 500 top-10s is the longest in the series. Most of Byron’s crew that works on the car during the race weekend is new to his team this year. 19. Ryan Preece (Starting:19th)RFK Racing No. 60 Ford The winner of the 2026 season-opening exhibition Clash, Preece seeks his first Cup win in his 224th career Cup start. The RFK Racing driver also has already won this week in a modified race at New Smyrna Speedway. But to win at Daytona — where Preece has flipped twice in recent years — could be a tall order. 18. Austin Dillon (Starting: 7th)Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet Dillon won the 2018 Daytona 500 but he hasn’t finished better than 23rd in the last four Daytona 500s. He loves this place and has full confidence that if he is up front, he can put the iconic Richard Childress Racing No. 3 into Victory Lane. 17. Ross Chastain (Starting: 37th)Trackhouse Racing No. 1 Chevrolet Chastain seeks his first top-five at Daytona in any Cup race and has only one top-10 finish in the last 10 drafting track races. The Trackhouse driver is also working with new crew chief Brandon McSwain, a former engineer for William Byron. Chastain will be in a backup car after a crash in his qualifying race. [MORE FROM DAYTONA: 20 Most Memorable Moments in 500 History] 16. Tyler Reddick (Starting: 26th)23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota Reddick finished second in the Daytona 500 last year — so close and yet so far in what ended up as a winless season. It was his first winless season since 2021 — for the 23XI Racing star. He has failed to finish five of his seven Daytona 500s because of an accident. 15. Brad Keselowski (Starting: 9th)RFK Racing No. 6 Ford Keselowski wasn’t sure he would be able to run this race after shearing his right femur two months ago while on a ski trip. He did a 50-lap test earlier this week at Charlotte to make sure he’s ready, to try to earn his first Daytona 500 win in his 17th Daytona 500 start. Hopefully, he doesn’t remember that he has failed to finish six of the last nine Daytona 500s because of an accident. 14. Kyle Larson (Starting: 8th)Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet Larson won his second Cup title in November but don’t think of him as someone bringing momentum. Daytona is the only track where he has more than two starts without a top-five finish (he’s 0-for-23). He’s also on the longest winless streak of his Hendrick career at 24 races. But Larson has no reason to worry. He just signed a five-year contract extension through 2031. 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Starting: 16th)Hyak Motorsports No. 47 Chevrolet Stenhouse won the 2023 Daytona 500 — the only 500 he has finished in the last five. All four of his Cup wins have come on drafting tracks, so he’s one who could be a factor. 12. Chris Buescher (Starting: 41st)RFK Racing No. 17 Ford Buescher won the summer race at Daytona in 2023 and has finished top-10 in four of his 10 Daytona 500 starts. He went winless in 2025 for the first time since 2021, and the RFK Racing driver is seen to be primed for a comeback season. But it didn’t start well. He wrecked Thursday and will take the green at the rear of the field in a backup car. 11. Austin Cindric (Starting: 36th)Team Penske No. 2 Ford Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500 as a full-time rookie, one of his two top-10 finishes in five Daytona 500 starts. He won at Talladega last year, solidifying himself as a threat on superspeedway, drafting tracks. 10. Christopher Bell (Starting: 12th)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota Bell makes his seventh Daytona 500 start, and he hopes he can be near/at the front as he finished third in 2023 and 2024. He has a love-hate relationship with Daytona (as do many others), as he crashed out of this race a year ago and then went to the next drafting track, Atlanta, and won the following week. 9. Ryan Blaney (Starting: 5th)Team Penske No. 12 Ford Blaney has led in eight of the last nine Daytona 500s, has two runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 and has five drafting-track victories — but is winless in 11 Daytona 500 starts. So he’s one of those drivers, along with Keselowski and Busch and Elliott and Larson, where winning the Daytona 500 would pretty much round out his NASCAR resume. 8. Michael McDowell (Starting: 10th)Spire Motorsports No. 71 Chevrolet McDowell won the 2021 Daytona 500 and has five top-10 finishes in 14 Daytona 500 starts. He knows how to be fast on a drafting track as he has won the pole for six of the last 11 races on those tracks. But he has just one top-10 finish in his last 14 drafting-track races. 7. Bubba Wallace (Starting: 27th)23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota Wallace has finished second in two Daytona 500s (he lost in 2022 by 0.036 seconds in overtime), so he just needs that one final spot. His six top-10 finishes at Daytona are his most at any track. He also knows how to win a crown jewel as he won the 2025 Brickyard 400. 6. Joey Logano (Starting: 3rd)Team Penske No. 22 Ford The three-time Cup champion won the 2015 Daytona 500, so you can look at him as a former winner or a driver with a Daytona 500 winless streak of 10 races. Of course, he’ll look at his most recent streak — he won his qualifying race Thursday night. So maybe he can forget that he failed to finish four of the last six Daytona 500s. He’s still a great superspeedway racer and not afraid to throw a critical block. 5. Denny Hamlin (Starting: 22nd)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota Hamlin has won three of the last 10 Daytona 500s and nearly won a fourth last year as he was battling for the lead before a crash on the final lap. But he has no top-10s in his last nine Daytona starts and has a best finish of 17th in the Next Gen era in the Daytona 500. His 496 laps led in the Daytona 500 ranks fifth all-time. 4. William Byron (Starting: 39th)Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Byron is going for a historic third consecutive Daytona 500 victory as no driver has won back-to-back-to-back. The 28-year-old is the youngest driver with multiple Daytona 500 victories. So he has the pedigree but probably not the odds. [SHOT AT HISTORY: Can William Byron 3-Peat at Daytona 500?] 3. Kyle Busch (Starting: 1st)Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet Busch is on the pole for the Daytona 500 as he seeks his first Daytona 500 victory. No driver has won his first Daytona 500 after his 20th start — and this will be Busch’s 21st Daytona 500 start. And no driver since Dale Jarrett in 2000 has won from the pole. His 342 laps led in the Daytona 500 are the most for any driver who has never won the race. 2. Chase Briscoe (Starting: 2nd)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota Briscoe is making his second consecutive front row start for the Daytona 500. He was third in the Daytona in 2022 and fourth last year. He also won the previous drafting-track race at Talladega in October. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be a favorite. 1. Chase Elliott (Starting: 4th)Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet Elliott has come close to winning the Daytona 500. He ran out of gas while leading in 2017 with two laps to go. He finished second in the 2021 Daytona 500. He also has finished top-10 in three of the last four drafting-track races, including a win at Atlanta in June. But he brings good mojo into the Daytona 500 as he won his qualifying race Thursday.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports