NASCAR schedule for 2026 Speedweeks at Daytona

Touting a new championship format for the first time in 12 years, NASCAR officially kicks off its 2026 schedule for the top national series with Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

The marquee race is the 68th Daytona 500, which will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 15. William Byron is the two-time defending winner of the season opener at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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On Feb. 4, Ryan Preece scored his first major victory in the premier Cup Series by winning The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The exhibition race was delayed three days by winter weather.

Three other series also will start their seasons this week at Daytona. The Truck Series opener is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 13. ARCA will begin its season at noon ET on Saturday, Feb. 14, followed by the opener of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (which has a new title sponsor for 2026) at 5 p.m..

Here are the daily schedules and outlook for Speedweeks (all times are Eastern):

Daytona Speedweeks weather

Wednesday, Feb. 11: Clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies in the afternoon and mostly clear in the evening. High of 73 degrees with winds from the west-southwest at 10 to 15 mph. It’s expected to be 63 degrees with a 3% chance of rain at the start of Cup qualifying.

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Thursday, Feb. 12: Partly cloudy, high of 66 degrees with winds from the north-northwest at 10 to 15 mph. High of 59 degrees with a 5% chance of rain at the start of the Duel qualifying races.

Friday, Feb. 13: Intervals of clouds and sunshine with a high near 70 degrees and winds from the north to northeast at 10 to 15 mph. High of 60 degrees with a 4% chance of rain at the start of the Truck race.

Saturday, Feb. 14: Mix of sunshine and clouds with a high of 72 degrees and winds from the east to southeast at 10 to 15 mph. High of 68 degrees with a 4% chance of rain at the start of the O’Reilly Auto Parts race.

Sunday, Feb. 15: Cloudy with intermittent afternoon showers. High of 77 degrees with winds from the south at 15 to 25 mph and a 50% chance of rain. It’s expected to be 76 degrees with a 43% chance of rain at the starts of the Cup race.

Daytona Speedweeks schedule

(All times Eastern)

Wednesday, Feb. 11

Garage open

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• Cup Series — 6 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Track activity

• 10 – 10:50 a.m. — Cup practice (FS1)

• 4 p.m. — ARCA haulers enter

• 8:15 – 10 p.m. — Cup qualifying (FS1)

Thursday, Feb. 12

Garage open

• Cup Series — 4 p.m. – 11 p.m.

• Truck Series — 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Track activity

• 8 a.m. — Truck haulers enter

• 2 p.m. — ARCA driver-spotter meeting

• 4 – 4:55 p.m. — ARCA practice

• 5 – 5:50 p.m. — Truck practice (FS1)

• 6:35 — Cup driver introductions

• 7 p.m. — Cup qualifying race #1 (60 laps, 150 miles; FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

• 8:45 p.m. — Cup qualifying race #2 (60 laps, 150 miles; FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Friday, Feb. 13

Garage open

• Cup Series — 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

• Truck Series — 11:30 a.m. – 11:55 p.m.

• O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Track activity

• 1:30 – 2:15 p.m. — ARCA qualifying

• 3 – 4:30 p.m. — Truck qualifying (FS1)

• 4:30 – 5:20 p.m. — OAP practice (CW Network app)

• 5:35 – 6:25 p.m. — Cup practice (FS1)

• 7:10 p.m.: Truck driver introductions

• 7:30 p.m. — Truck race (100 laps, 250 miles, Stages 20/40/100; FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Saturday, Feb. 14

Garage open

• Cup Series — 12:30 – 7 p.m.

• ARCA — 8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.

• O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Track activity

• 10 – 11:30 a.m. — OAP qualifying (CW Network app)

• 11:40 a.m. — ARCA driver introductions

• 12 p.m. — ARCA race (80 laps, 200 miles; Fox, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

• 3 – 3:50 p.m. — Cup practice (FS1)

• 4:30 p.m. — OAP driver introductions

• 5 p.m. — OAP race (120 laps, 300 miles, Stages 30/60/120; CW Network, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, Feb. 15

Garage open

• Cup Series — 7 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Track activity

• 1:40 p.m. — Cup drivers meeting

• 2:15 p.m. — Cup driver introductions

• 2:30 p.m. — Daytona 500 (200 laps, 500 miles, Stages 65/130/200; Fox, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)