| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 12, 2026 (2026-02-12) |
| Location | Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) |
| Distance | Race 1: 63 laps, 157.5 mi (252 km) Race 2: 60 laps, 150 mi (240 km) |
| Avg Speed | Race 1: 153.867 miles per hour (247.625 km/h) Race 2: 183.237 miles per hour (294.891 km/h) |
| Race 1 | |
| Pole position | Kyle Busch |
| Most laps led | Ryan Preece (38) |
| Winner | Joey Logano |
| Race 2 | |
| Pole position | Chase Briscoe |
| Most laps led | Chase Briscoe (39) |
| Winner | Chase Elliott |
| Television | |
| Network | FS1 & MRN |
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick (Television) Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Rusty Wallace (Booth) Dave Moody (1 & 2), Kyle Rickey (Backstretch), and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio) |
The 2026 America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona were a pair of NASCAR Cup Series stock car races that was held on February 12, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Both were contested over 60 laps, they were the qualifying races for the 2026 Daytona 500.
Report
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[7] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[8] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[8]
In December 2025, the track revealed in their brochure for the Daytona 500 race weekend that the Duel races would have a new name in 2026, the America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona.[9] America 250 Florida is the campaign of the Florida Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial, a committee established by an executive order from Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis to plan events in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the United States in the state of Florida.[10]
Qualifying
Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.006 and a speed of 183.651 mph (295.558 km/h).[11]
Qualifying results
Duels
Duel 1
In Duel 1, Corey LaJoie was in position to make the race until he was caught up in a last-lap crash. Casey Mears would escape the worst of the wreck to finish 7th and race his way into the field. Corey Heim advanced as the fastest open car in time trial qualifying, while Jimmie Johnson advanced as an Open Excemption Provisional (OEP) competitor.
Duel 1 results
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 63 | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 63 | 9 |
| 3 | 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 63 | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 63 | 7 |
| 5 | 10 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 63 | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 63 | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | 66 | Casey Mears | Garage 66 | Ford | 63 | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 63 | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 63 | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 63 | 1 |
| 11 | 13 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 63 | 0 |
| 12 | 23 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 63 | 0 |
| 13 | 16 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 63 | 0 |
| 14 | 3 | 67 | Corey Heim (i) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 63 | 0 |
| 15 | 15 | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 63 | 0 |
| 16 | 21 | 36 | Chandler Smith (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 63 | 0 |
| 17 | 14 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 63 | 0 |
| 18 | 1 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 63 | 0 |
| 19 | 8 | 99 | Corey LaJoie | RFK Racing | Ford | 62 | 0 |
| 20 | 17 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | 0 |
| 21 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | 0 |
| 22 | 12 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55 | 0 |
| 23 | 5 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 55 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Duel 2
Anthony Alfredo initially raced his way in as the highest finishing open car, but failed post-race inspection and was disqualified. As a result, B.J. McLeod would make the race instead, with Justin Allgaier also advancing as the second-fastest open car during time trial qualifying.
Duel 2 results
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 10 |
| 2 | 14 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 8 |
| 4 | 10 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 7 |
| 5 | 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | 6 |
| 6 | 13 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 60 | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 4 |
| 8 | 16 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 60 | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | 1 |
| 11 | 12 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 60 | 0 |
| 12 | 20 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 60 | 0 |
| 13 | 15 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 60 | 0 |
| 14 | 9 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 60 | 0 |
| 15 | 11 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 60 | 0 |
| 16 | 18 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 60 | 0 |
| 17 | 8 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 60 | 0 |
| 18 | 21 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 0 |
| 19 | 1 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | 0 |
| 20 | 7 | 40 | Justin Allgaier (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 0 |
| 21 | 22 | 44 | J. J. Yeley (i) | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet | 57 | 0 |
| DSQ | 17 | 62 | Anthony Alfredo (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Media
Television
| FS1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick | Jamie Little Regan Smith | Larry McReynolds |
Radio
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Kyle Rickey Turns 3 & 4: Tim Catalfamo | Steve Post Chris Wilner Brad Gillie |
References
- "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
- "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 9, 2026. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
- "Duel 1 at Daytona Results". Racing-Reference. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
- "Duel 2 at Daytona Results". Racing-Reference. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
- "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway". Speedway Guide. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- "2026 Speedweeks Brochure" (PDF). Daytona International Speedway. December 26, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- "About America250FL". America250FL.com. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- DeGroot, Nick (February 15, 2026). "Kyle Busch and RCR win pole position for the 2026 Daytona 500". Motorsport.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 11, 2026.