The Great American Race turns 68 years old this year when the Daytona 500 takes place on Sunday afternoon from Daytona International Speedway. It’s also nicknamed the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing, making it apropos that it takes place a week after The Big Game and with many sports fans still wanting a major event to watch on Sundays.
The 2026 Daytona 500 is loaded with intriguing storylines but none more so than the one involving the two-time defending champion, William Byron. He kicks off our list of the top narratives involving the Daytona 500 2026.
Can Byron Pull off a Historic 3-Peat?
Last year saw Byron become the fifth driver to win consecutive Daytona 500 races, and no one has ever claimed the checkered flag three years in a row. Denny Hamlin came closest in 2021 when he finished fifth, while the other back-to-back winners, and their placements in the third race, were Richard Petty (7th, 1975), Cale Yarborough (36th, 1985), and Sterling Martin (40th, 1996).
Prior to his back-to-back wins, Byron had never finished better than 23rd in his prior six Daytona 500 starts, but he’s clearly progressed as a driver since then. That was evident when Byron won the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship before finishing fourth in the NASCAR Playoffs.
Will Kyle Larson Finally Break Through?
On anyone’s shortlist for the best active NASCAR drivers is undoubtedly Kyle Larson. He is, after all, the reigning Cup Series champion, with last year’s title joining his 2021 championship. He’s also won three Crown Jewel races in the Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500, and Brickyard 400. But Larson has yet to experience Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway, and not just with the Daytona 500 but also at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which is also held at the track.
Superspeedways as a whole have been Larson’s Kryptonite, as he’s yet to win a race on these circuits across 61 starts. His best-ever finish at The Great American Race is seventh place, as he’s one of three drivers in the field—along with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch—who can become the 5th driver in NASCAR history to complete the Crown Jewel Grand Slam with a victory.
Connor Zilisch Looking to Make a Strong First Impression
Few NASCAR rookies in recent years have garnered as much attention as Connor Zilisch, a 19-year-old from Charlotte who will make his Daytona 500 debut. He won the Xfinity Series regular season championship last year, tied for series’ record with four consecutive race wins, and set the Xfinity Series record with 18 straight top 5 finishes. His 10 wins last year were the most ever but now he’s racing with the big boys, and Zilisch’s best finish while dabbling in three races in the Cup Series a year ago was 11th. As the only rookie on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series, Zilisch can become the youngest winner in Daytona 500 history, besting Trevor Bayne, who won the 2011 race the day after his 20th birthday.
The Inevitable Accidents
At the Daytona 500, avoiding trouble isn’t just something lucky drivers do; it’s a skill that many actively work on. The races over nearly the last decade have shown just how much attrition can occur from multi-car pileups. There have been at least 10 did-not-finishes in each of the last nine Daytona 500s, meaning at least 38 percent of each of those fields failed to finish the race. Last year saw 17 of the 41 cars fail to finish, including those driven by the likes of Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr. That details the complexity of this race as you want to be aggressive, but you also have to play it safe at the same time, making whoever prevails worthy of all the acclaim that he’ll receive.
The Unfavorable Pole Position
You would think that starting on the pole—the best position on a track—would be highly desirable for the Daytona 500. However, it’s been over a quarter-century since the Daytona 500 pole winner went on to actually win the Daytona 500. The last came with Dale Jarrett in 2000, and recent years have more often than not seen the pole winner non-competitive in the race. The pole winner has finished 14th or worse in nine of the last 11 Daytona 500 races, and he’s also failed to even finish the race due to a crash in four of the last seven years.
On the other hand, six of the last eight winners of the race have started 10th or worse, proving that having an early lead isn’t always the best thing at The Great American Race. Kyle Busch claimed pole position for the Daytona 500 2026 as the two-time Cup Series champion looks to reverse the curse of the Daytona pole winner. Busch has infamously never won the Daytona 500 across 20 career starts, the most among active drivers but there’s still a ways to go to match the all-time record of 33 by Dave Marcis.
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