It’s Sunday, February 15, 2026.
As the sun rises to the East of Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, the new day is blessed with the ability to change somebody’s life forever.
You see, once a racecar driver hoists the Harley J. Earl trophy in the spoils of victory, everything changes. Once just a competitor at the top-level of American Motorsports, winning “The Great American Race” transcends a driver’s legacy and, from that point forward, they are known as a DAYTONA 500 Champion.
Throughout the field of 41 set to compete in the 68th DAYTONA 500, there are no two drivers exactly alike; everybody has a different backstory of how they’ve made it here, and for the most part, different motivations to pull their racecars into Victory Lane.
They’ve all got two things in common, though; they want to win the biggest race of the season, and should their engines fire when the command is given, they have a chance to do just that.
It’s the maiden points-paying event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, and, unlike in other sports, the biggest event of the season kicks things off. For motorsports enthusiasts, the DAYTONA 500 is like the World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, Wimbledon, and the Super Bowl all wrapped into one high-octane, tight-quarters package.
Now, after nearly seven decades of iconic motorsports memories, multiple different track surfaces, rules packages, and different generations of racecars in the NASCAR Cup Series, the drivers remain adamant that the DAYTONA 500 hasn’t lost any of the prestige that it’s always held, and as far as those in the sport are concerned, will always hold.
“I think it’s still a big deal,” Joey Logano said matter-of-factly when asked about the prestige of the DAYTONA 500 during Media Day on Wednesday. Logano has been to Victory Lane at ‘The World Center of Racing’ and knows first-hand the jubilation that comes from winning the biggest race in NASCAR.
2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney hasn’t been to Victory Lane in the DAYTONA 500, but has come close on several occasions, and is the only one of the three full-time competitors at Team Penske that hasn’t brought the Harley J. Earl trophy home for ‘The Captain’, Roger Penske.
“I don’t know why people say that,” said Ryan Blaney. “The racing has changed. Denny Hamlin has talked about this a little bit with this car, and I agree with him. I feel like it’s a little harder to show your skills as a speedway racer with this car than it used to be, and that’s just the way this car is. I don’t think it’s lost any luster — at least to me it hasn’t. People started talking about that, and I didn’t agree with it because it still means everything if you’re able to win it.”
For Alex Bowman, who came up short of winning the DAYTONA 500 to teammate William Byron in 2024, the message is the same… even though the current racing might not be the strongest product the sport has ever seen on superspeedways, it doesn’t mean that the DAYTONA 500 isn’t one of the most prestigious accolades a driver can have.
“I think for me the prestige is still there,” said Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “It’s still the DAYTONA 500, and the pageantry is still there. You are still at the DAYTONA 500, and that is not going to change just because the style of racing is different. To me, at least. So, yeah, doesn’t mean it any less to me, for sure. I’m still trying to win one.”
Chase Briscoe, a member of last year’s Championship 4 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, says that the elimination of the win-and-you’re-in element of the post-season (with NASCAR reverting to ‘The Chase’ format used in the 2010s) could actually make the prestige of the DAYTONA 500 larger, as it no longer carries the subplot of a driver locking themselves into the post-season.
“I think this race is still just as prestigious as it was before. If anything, I think [the new post-season format] makes it more prestigious. In the past, so-and-so won the DAYTONA 500, and they’re locked in the Playoffs. Now, it’s just the DAYTONA 500,” said Chase Briscoe.
For some people, like Ty Dillon, winning the DAYTONA 500 would mean a lot because of a personal connection; both to his grandfather Richard Childress and the success that he’s had as a car owner at Daytona International Speedway, and to his brother Austin Dillon, who has the edge in the sibling rivalry by winning the DAYTONA 500 in 2017, something the younger of the Dillon brothers would like to even the score on.
“It’s massive. I have been attempting this race… this will be my 10th or 11th time in the DAYTONA 500, and I have had some close opportunities, never been in the top-two coming to the white flag, but real close. Top-three or top-four, and you feel it,” said Ty Dillon. “It would mean a lot to me because my family has had so much success here. And it’s one of those races that changes your life forever, no matter what is going on. It would be awesome to be a part of the history here with the Harley J. Earl trophy and to have your name etched on it and be able to lift that big trophy up.”
It doesn’t matter if you’re a newcomer to the NASCAR Cup Series like Corey Heim, or a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion entering the twilight of your career, the DAYTONA 500 has a certain significance that you won’t find during the other 35 events of the season — even the other crown jewel events.
“Being here is really cool, and seeing how many people care about this event, show up for this event, and it being the first points-paying race of the year, and my first race of the year,” said Corey Heim. “Great to knock the rust off as well, to compete at the highest level, in the biggest race, at least to have a chance at it, is a rewarding feeling. When I was a kid, I was so excited to wake up and watch the Daytona 500, and now to wake up and race in it. It’s a cool feeling.”
For seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who will end his NASCAR Cup Series career following the 69th Running of the DAYTONA 500 next February (2027), there’s just something about the race that stands out. “Opening ceremonies,” said Jimmie Johnson. It just has such a moment. National Anthem, Thunderbirds coming by… that’s the moment for me.”
Now, all that’s left is to race… and after a 200-lap (or maybe more, who knows) gauntlet, there is one driver whose life will never be the same.
