Daytona Race Weekend - What To Expect
Jason Karlavige
The Daytona 500 race weekend has arrived, and we are ready for an action-packed weekend which started yesterday with NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.
Kyle Busch won the pole for the Daytona 500 with a time of 49.006 seconds. Chase Briscoe continues his qualifying prowess into 2026, earning the 2nd spot with a lap time of 49.023. The rest of the field will compete on Thursday in the Duels to secure their starting spots.
Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier locked themselves into the 500 on qualifying time. Jimmie Johnson has a provisional guaranteeing his starting spot.
Chandler Smith, J.J. Yeley, Anthony Alfredo, Casey Mears, B.J. McLeod, Corey LaJoie are the open drivers competing in the Duels to earn their spots in the 500. Four drivers will miss the race.
When do fantasy lineups lock?
The fantasy NASCAR lineups lock at the following times for the three series listed below:
Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series lock times are unique for Daytona due to the early qualifying and Duel races. We keep rosters fully open for the Daytona 500 until green flag on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3:05 PM ET.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals 300 has qualifying and the race on Saturday, Feb. 14.
- 8-driver roster locks on Saturday at 10:00 AM ET when qualifying begins
- 4-starters lock on Saturday at 5:00 PM ET
Craftsman Truck Series
The Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 has qualifying and the race on Friday, Feb. 13.
- 8-driver roster locks on Friday at 3:00 PM ET when qualifying begins
- 4-starters lock on Friday at 7:45 PM ET
How to view the fantasy NASCAR results live during the race
TLDR;
- Before qualifying - you can only see the league members who submitted lineups for the race, but not the drivers on their rosters.
- After qualifying starts - you can view all league member picks, but can't see who is starting.
- Once the race starts, you can see the starting drivers for all league members.
🔔 Once the race begins, the fantasy results page updates in real-time, showing the current points and fantasy positions throughout the race.
A“View member picks” section becomes available at the top of the league page after qualifying starts to view the fantasy results page.
The view member picks section becomes available after qualifying starts to view the fantasy resultsAfter qualifying starts, you can see the drivers selected for all league members for each class on the fantasy results page.
Once the race starts, you will see the four starting drivers for each team, and be able to watch the fantasy results update live during the race. You do not have to wait until the race is over to see the fantasy results.
You can view the fantasy results live during the raceDaytona Weekend Schedule
View the full Daytona race weekend schedule to keep up with all the action on the track. We also encourage everyone to check out our How to Play page, which walks through joining leagues, setting rosters, tracking results/standings/stats. View the full 2026 NASCAR Cup schedule to find the dates and start times for the season, and to quickly view the driver results for each race.
Have Questions?
Always feel free to reach out at speedwaycollective@gmail.com and I will be happy to help with any questions! Our How to Play page linked above also has an FAQ section at the bottom.
The season is here! Wishing everyone a great weekend as we kick off another exciting year!
