Daytona 500
Daytona International Speedway — February 15, 2026
| Pos | Start | +/- | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | +25 | Tyler Reddick |
| 2 | 16 | +14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 3 | 3 | — | Joey Logano |
| 4 | 4 | — | Chase Elliott |
| 5 | 9 | +4 | Brad Keselowski |
| 6 | 30 | +24 | Zane Smith |
| 7 | 41 | +34 | Chris Buescher |
| 8 | 28 | +20 | Riley Herbst |
| 9 | 14 | +5 | Josh Berry |
| 10 | 27 | +17 | Bubba Wallace |
| 11 | 25 | +14 | Noah Gragson |
| 12 | 39 | +27 | William Byron |
| 13 | 15 | +2 | Daniel Suarez |
| 14 | 34 | +20 | Ty Dillon |
| 15 | 1 | -14 | Kyle Busch |
| 16 | 8 | -8 | Kyle Larson |
| 17 | 33 | +16 | Cody Ware |
| 18 | 35 | +17 | A.J. Allmendinger |
| 19 | 6 | -13 | Carson Hocevar |
| 20 | 37 | +17 | Ross Chastain |
| 21 | 24 | +3 | Erik Jones |
| 22 | 10 | -12 | Michael McDowell |
| 23 | 20 | -3 | Ty Gibbs |
| 24 | 23 | -1 | Cole Custer |
| 25 | 19 | -6 | Ryan Preece |
| 26 | 11 | -15 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 27 | 5 | -22 | Ryan Blaney |
| 28 | 29 | +1 | Corey Heim |
| 29 | 31 | +2 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 30 | 13 | -17 | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 31 | 22 | -9 | Denny Hamlin |
| 32 | 17 | -15 | Casey Mears |
| 33 | 32 | -1 | Connor Zilisch |
| 34 | 36 | +2 | Austin Cindric |
| 35 | 12 | -23 | Christopher Bell |
| 36 | 2 | -34 | Chase Briscoe |
| 37 | 7 | -30 | Austin Dillon |
| 38 | 40 | +2 | Justin Allgaier |
| 39 | 18 | -21 | Todd Gilliland |
| 40 | 21 | -19 | Alex Bowman |
| 41 | 38 | -3 | B.J. McLeod |
Stage Results
| Driver | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Blaney | 3 | 2 | — | 17 |
| Zane Smith | 1 | — | — | 10 |
| Bubba Wallace | — | 1 | — | 10 |
| Chris Buescher | 6 | 7 | — | 9 |
| Austin Cindric | 2 | — | — | 9 |
| John Hunter Nemechek | — | 3 | — | 8 |
| Daniel Suarez | 5 | 10 | — | 7 |
| Kyle Busch | — | 4 | — | 7 |
| Carson Hocevar | 4 | — | — | 7 |
| Riley Herbst | — | 5 | — | 6 |
| Michael McDowell | 7 | — | — | 4 |
| Tyler Reddick | — | 8 | — | 3 |
| Ryan Preece | 8 | — | — | 3 |
| Joey Logano | — | 9 | — | 2 |
| Alex Bowman | 9 | — | — | 2 |
| Noah Gragson | 10 | — | — | 1 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| Chase Elliott | — | — | — | — |
| Brad Keselowski | — | — | — | — |
| Josh Berry | — | — | — | — |
| William Byron | — | — | — | — |
| Ty Dillon | — | — | — | — |
| Kyle Larson | — | — | — | — |
| Cody Ware | — | — | — | — |
| A.J. Allmendinger | — | — | — | — |
| Ross Chastain | — | — | — | — |
| Erik Jones | — | — | — | — |
| Ty Gibbs | — | — | — | — |
| Cole Custer | — | — | — | — |
| Corey Heim | — | 6 | — | — |
| Jimmie Johnson | — | — | — | — |
| Shane van Gisbergen | — | — | — | — |
| Denny Hamlin | — | — | — | — |
| Casey Mears | — | — | — | — |
| Connor Zilisch | — | — | — | — |
| Christopher Bell | — | — | — | — |
| Chase Briscoe | — | — | — | — |
| Austin Dillon | — | — | — | — |
| Justin Allgaier | — | — | — | — |
| Todd Gilliland | — | — | — | — |
| B.J. McLeod | — | — | — | — |
How well did the NR-Rating model predict this race? Across 41 matched drivers, the model averaged 9.4 positions off — worse than the season average of 8.5. Below Average
| Pos | Driver | Predicted | Actual | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | 13.6 | 1 | +12.6 |
| 2 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 18.5 | 2 | +16.5 |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 20.5 | 3 | +17.5 |
| 4 | Chase Elliott | 10.4 | 4 | +6.4 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 16.0 | 5 | +11.0 |
| 6 | Zane Smith | 22.9 | 6 | +16.9 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher | 13.6 | 7 | +6.6 |
| 8 | Riley Herbst | 23.7 | 8 | +15.7 |
| 9 | Josh Berry | 24.0 | 9 | +15.0 |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace | 16.0 | 10 | +6.0 |
| 11 | Noah Gragson | 24.0 | 11 | +13.0 |
| 12 | William Byron | 13.9 | 12 | +1.9 |
| 13 | Daniel Suarez | 15.1 | 13 | +2.1 |
| 14 | Ty Dillon | 21.1 | 14 | +7.1 |
| 15 | Kyle Busch | 15.1 | 15 | +0.1 |
| 16 | Kyle Larson | 18.5 | 16 | +2.5 |
| 17 | Cody Ware | 27.9 | 17 | +10.9 |
| 18 | A.J. Allmendinger | 20.1 | 18 | +2.1 |
| 19 | Carson Hocevar | 19.4 | 19 | +0.4 |
| 20 | Ross Chastain | 17.4 | 20 | -2.6 |
(showing top 20 finishers)
Predicted finish from NR-Rating model. Delta = predicted − actual (positive = driver beat prediction). Confidence: High Confidence = low variance (stdDev ≤ 9), Moderate = medium variance, Coinflip = high variance.
Historical Context
- Tyler Reddick: has 17 career starts at Daytona International Speedway with a 13.9 avg finish (3 wins) — the model may have underweighted this track history.
- Chase Elliott: was the model’s top pick based on 30 career starts at Daytona International Speedway with a 15.9 avg finish (2 wins), finishing P4 on the day.
- Joey Logano: was the biggest surprise, finishing P3 vs predicted P21. Track history: 44 starts, 15.5 avg finish.
Tyler Reddick won the 68th Daytona 500, charging from 26th on the starting grid to take the Harley J. Earl Trophy for 23XI Racing. The race was a classic Daytona thriller — 66 lead changes among 26 different leaders made it one of the most competitive 500s in history. Reddick led just one lap, the only one that mattered, threading through a chaotic final stretch to beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.308 seconds. Bubba Wallace led a race-high 40 laps and gave 23XI a dominant day with both cars in the top 10. Kyle Busch started from the pole and led 20 laps but faded to 15th, while several contenders including Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, and Alex Bowman saw their days end early in multi-car incidents. Five cautions for 32 laps kept the field bunched, and the final restart set up the frantic finish that Reddick navigated perfectly.
Key Highlights
- • 66 lead changes among 26 different leaders — one of the highest totals in Daytona 500 history
- • Tyler Reddick started 26th and won leading just 1 lap, the final lap
- • 23XI Racing placed two cars in the top 10 (Reddick P1, Bubba Wallace P10)
- • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished runner-up by 0.308 seconds for HYAK Motorsports
- • Joey Logano completed the podium (P3) after winning Duel 1 earlier in the week