Tyler Reddick Nets’ Michael Jordon his First Daytona 500 Crown Jewel Trophy
DAYTONA – February 15, 2026 – Anthony Holbrook – BSN NASCAR Columnist
Three hours after High Noon, Forty-One of Stock Car’s Fiercest Gladiators strapped into their Chariots of Horsepower in attempt to Master, Daytona’s 2.5-mile International Superspeedway.
Many ambitious drivers have attempted and only a few have etched their name on the coveted Harley J. Earl Trophy.
Kyle Bush and Chase Briscoe’s exceptional qualifying laps locked in the front row, respectfully for the 68th running of the Great American Race.
Next in Order, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott were also successful each winning a Duel Race on Thursday Night.
The remaining starting grid was set accordingly to each team’s Duel Race finishing position.
Stage 1 Recap:
Daytona 500
The 2026 Nascar Cup Season is christened under the wheel of Cup Champ Kyle Busch.
Early John Hunter Nemecheck turned on the heat advancing to confront front runners. Kyle Busch was victim of Nemecheck’s speed on lap 4. Lless than one lap forward, BJ McLeod’s day was be cut short early after lose handling on Lap Five. Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Casey Mears, and William Byron were collected in the BJ McLeod incident. Zane Smith in the 38 took advantage of precision pitting to separate himself from any immediate challengers to score the first Stage win of the Season.
Stage 1 Results:
Daytona 500
1. Zane Smith
2. Austin Cindric
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Carson Hocevar
5. Daniel Suarez
6. Chris Buescher
7. Michael McDowell
8. Ryan Preece
9. Alex Bowman
10. Noah Gragson
Stage 2 Recap:
2026 Daytona 500
Car Chess controls the final Stage sequences to determine Stage 2 victor. Oval Blue Blaney bump drafted Kyle Busch’s Chevrolet back to lead the field of challengers with 10 laps remaining.
Traveler Justin Allgaier shook off an early-Stage 1 collision to contend for the state win. Allgaier mistimed block with Denny Hamlin erupted a 20+ car collision. Bubba Wallace benefited securing Stage 2 honors under the “Big One” catastrophe.
Stage 2 Results:
2026 Daytona 500
1. Bubba Wallace
2. Ryan Blaney
3. John Hunter Nemechek
4. Kyle Busch
5. Riley Herbst
6. Corey Heim
7. Chris Buescher
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Joey Logano
10. Daniel Suarez
Final Stage Recap:
2026 Daytona 500
Under the direction of Nascar’s favorite driver Chase Elliott and a ray of Bowties accelerate to the front as sands dwindle from hourglass. Blue Ovals hit pit lane for final refuel in expediate time. Taking no prisoners, Carson Hocevar plows to the front to claim the lead with five (5) scheduled miles remaining. Hocevar’s inaccurate block allowed Chase Elliott to take over the lead and set his dials to Victory Lane.
Harley J. Earl Trophy destination to Dawsonville would be interrupted by a determined Tyler Reddick.
Reddick erased a Ten position deficit to challenge Chase for the Checker Flag on the final lap. Reddick pulled by Elliott as the front runners made contact and all skidded across the line.
Tyler Reddick cuts down the Nets, delivering Michael Jordon his first Crown Jewel Victory at Daytona.
Daytona 500 Results
NASCAR CUP SERIES
February 15, 2026
Pos | Driver
1. Tyler Reddick
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
3. Joey Logano
4. Chase Elliott
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Zane Smith
7. Chris Buescher
8. Riley Herbst
9. Josh Berry
10. Bubba Wallace
11. Noah Gragson
12. William Byron
13. Daniel Suarez
14. Ty Dillon
15. Kyle Busch
16. Kyle Larson
17. Cody Ware
18. Carson Hocevar
19. AJ Allmendinger
20. Ross Chastain
21. Erik Jones
22. Michael McDowell
23. Ty Gibbs
24. Cole Custer
25. Ryan Preece
26. John Hunter Nemechek
27. Ryan Blaney
28. Corey Heim
29. Jimmie Johnson
30. Shane van Gisbergen
31. Denny Hamlin
32. Casey Mears
33. Connor Zilisch
34. Austin Cindric
35. Christopher Bell
36. Chase Briscoe
37. Austin Dillon
38. Justin Allgaier
39. Todd Gilliland
40. Alex Bowman
41. BJ McLeod
NASCAR CUP SERIES Season
Points after Daytona 500 2/15/26
Pos. | Driver | Points |Wins
1. Tyler Reddick | 58 | 1 Win
2. Joey Logano | 46
3. Chase Elliott | 43
4. Zane Smith | 41
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 39
6. Brad Keselowski | 39
7. Chris Buescher | 39
8. Bubba Wallace | 37
9. Carson Hocevar | 36
10. Ryan Blaney | 36
11. Riley Herbst | 35
12. Daniel Suarez | 35
13. Josh Berry | 33
14. Kyle Busch | 35
15. Kyle Larson | 29
16. Noah Gragson | 27
17. Michael McDowell | 26
18. William Byron | 25
19. John Hunter Nemechek | 25
20. Ty Dillon | 23
21. Cody Ware | 20
22. AJ Allmendinger | 18
23. Ross Chastain | 17
24. Ryan Preece | 17
25. Erik Jones | 16
26. Ty Gibbs | 16
27. Cole Custer | 13
28. Shane van Gisbergen | 13
29. Austin Cindric | 13
30. Casey Mears | 9
31. Christopher Bell | 9
32. Austin Dillon | 9
33. Denny Hamlin | 8
34. Connor Zilisch | 5
35. Todd Gilliland | 4
36. Alex Bowman | 4
37. Chase Briscoe | 2
38. BJ McLeod | 1
NASCAR CUP SERIES 2nd point’s race shifted to Hotlanta for the Autotrader 400 hosted by the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Sunday, February 22nd, 2026
3:00 p.m. EST.
FOX / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio 90 / MRN
