Daytona 500 primer: Schedule, betting odds, story lines for NASCAR’s biggest race
It’s officially the week of the Daytona 500.
And there’s a lot to parse through.
Here’s your one-stop shop for all things NASCAR at Daytona International Speedway from now until the main event: the 68th edition of the Great American Race.
That includes the racing schedule throughout the week, some preliminary betting lines to keep tabs on and five story lines to know.
Racing schedule at Daytona International Speedway this week
All times are Eastern. Broadcasting information is in parentheses.
Wednesday
- 10 a.m.: Cup practice session (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
- 8:15 p.m.: Cup single-car qualifying (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
Thursday
- 4 p.m.: ARCA practice
- 5 p.m.: Truck Series practice (FS1)
- 7 p.m.: Cup Duel 1 (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
- 8:45 p.m.: Cup Duel 2 (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
Friday
- 1:30 p.m.: ARCA qualifying
- 3 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying (FS1)
- 4:30 p.m.: O’Reilly Series practice (CW)
- 5:35 p.m.: Cup practice session (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
- 7:30 p.m.: Truck Series race — Fresh from Florida 250 (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
Saturday
- 10 a.m.: O’Reilly Series qualifying (CW)
- 12 p.m.: ARCA race — Daytona ARCA 200 (FOX, MRN, Sirius XM)
- 3 p.m.: Cup practice session (FS1, MRN, Sirius XM)
- 5 p.m.: O’Reilly Series race — United Rentals 300 (CW, MRN, Sirius XM)
Sunday
- 2:30 p.m.: Cup race — Daytona 500 (FOX, Stream on MAX, MRN, Sirius XM)
3 early bets to make ahead of Daytona week
Here are some betting odds that could pique your interest. All are as of Monday morning:
- Bet that Christopher Bell wins the NASCAR Cup Series championship now, and benefit from +800 odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The quiet but talented Joe Gibbs Racing star has had back-to-back wonderful years and could win it all when all is said and done in November. And, somehow, he’s still flying under the radar.
- Will Denny Hamlin finish in the Top 3 at this year’s Daytona 500? Almost certainly, right? The three-time winner of NASCAR’s biggest race is one of the best superspeedway racers — if not THE best superspeedway racer — in NASCAR. And yet his odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, are finishing in the Top 3 are +850. That’s a fun one to think over. Some sportsbooks might be spooked by the fact that he admitted to tearing his shoulder this offseason and not being able to get it surgically repaired before the start of the year. But still!
- Another season-long line for you: Joey Logano over/under 2.5 season race wins in 2026. Seems fair to assume that the three-time Cup champion will crest that and then some. If you log your bet now, you’ll benefit from +135 odds, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Four storylines heading into Daytona 500
This race marks 25 years since NASCAR lost Dale Earnhardt, who died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt was the sport’s villain and titan all in one, and his death still echoes on today. One guy who is regularly compared to Earnhardt is Kyle Busch. Earnhardt, after all, took a long time to win his first Daytona 500; Busch, one of NASCAR’s all-time greats, is still looking for his first Daytona 500 win. Could this be the year that the stars align, and Busch ends up in Victory Lane?
Can the kid from Charlotte do it again? William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports has won back-to-back Daytona 500s. If he does so again, the 28-year-old star will be the only driver to win such a race three consecutive times. He’s already in an elite crowd. After all, only 13 drivers have won the crown-jewel race more than once, and only five have done so in back-to-back years. And with Hendrick’s speed at superspeedways? Anything is possible.
The Daytona 500 often is the site of some pretty remarkable upsets. Will that happen again in 2026? The Cinderella stories — think of Michael McDowell winning in 2021, or Ricky Stenhouse in 2023 — come up more often here than elsewhere because of the draft racing that occurs on a massive superspeedway like this. It also, at least recently, has often seen some wrecks happen along the lead late in the race. Why? Some argue it’s because some of those “Cinderellas” not only see a chance for Daytona 500 glory within their grasp late in the race ... they also see an opportunity to snag an early playoff spot. With this year’s new points-based postseason system, however, does that change things?
If the Clash last week was any indication, Connor Zilisch might just be able to hold his own this season. The 19-year-old rookie is running his first full-time season in the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing, and that all begins Sunday in the Great American Race. If he somehow pulls off a win in NASCAR’s regular-season opener, he’ll join a pretty short list of those who won the Daytona 500 on their first try. One recent example that comes to mind? Austin Cindric, who did so as a rookie in 2022.
This story was originally published February 9, 2026 at 4:58 AM.
