Daytona 500 final field set: Full starting order revealed for NASCAR Cup Series season-opener

Single-car qualifying came and went, the Duels have been fought, and now all that remains is The Great American Race itself. The Daytona 500 will have to wait until Sunday, but the full starting order has officially been set following all the Speedweek action.

Inside row:
1st – Kyle Busch
3rd – Joey Logano
5th – Ryan Blaney
7th – Austin Dillon
9th – Brad Keselowski
11th – John Hunter Nemechek
13th – Shane Van Gisbergen
15th – Daniel Suarez
17th – Casey Mears
19th – Ryan Preece
21st – Alex Bowman
23rd – Cole Custer
25th – Noah Gragson
27th – Bubba Wallace
29th – Corey Heim
31st – Jimmie Johnson
33rd – Cody Ware
35th – AJ Allmendinger
37th – Ross Chastain
39th – William Byron
41st – Chris Buescher

Outside row:
2nd – Chase Briscoe
4th – Chase Elliott
6th – Carson Hocevar
8th – Kyle Larson
10th – Michael McDowell
12th – Christopher Bell
14th – Josh Berry
16th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18th – Todd Gilliland
20th – Ty Gibbs
22nd – Denny Hamlin
24th – Erick Jones
26th – Tyler Reddick
28th – Riley Herbst
30th – Zane Smith
32nd – Connor Zilisch
34th – Ty Dillon
36th – Austin Cindric
38th – BJ McLeod (Anthony Alfredo DQd)
40th – Justin Allgaier

The order is subject to change depending on post-race inspection and whether drivers go to backup cars.

On Wednesday, February 11th, single-car qualifying determined the Daytona 500’s front row. Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy turned in a blistering second lap of 49.006 seconds to claim pole position. Chase Briscoe wasn’t far behind in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, delivering a 49.026-second lap to claim the second spot on the front row.

Wednesday also saw the first two open entries claim their right to race the Daytona 500 this weekend. Corey Heim, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in a historic season last year, qualified on speed. Justin Allgaier also made the cut on speed, guaranteeing JRM another shot at the 500.

Duels decide fates for the Daytona 500

After Wednesday, the Daytona 500 field from P3-P41 and two open entry spots remained undecided. The Duels changed that by way of two 60-lap, 150-mile races. In Duel 1, the three open entries fighting for a single transfer spot were Corey LaJoie, Casey Mears, and Chandler Smith.

The race was clean until it came time for green flag pit stops. Casey Mears locked up his tires coming hot into pit road and spun out, catching Noah Gragson and causing the first caution of the night. After fueling up, the field was ready to battle for position. With 5 laps remaining, Bubba Wallace raced to the lead, then got a hard shove from Austin Dillon, spinning him out, resulting in a second caution along with damage to Chris Buescher and Chandler Smith. In a wild turn of events, Corey LaJoie got caught in a massive wreck on the final lap of overtime to lose his lead for the open entry transfer spot. Somehow, Casey Mears navigated through the wreck, ahead of Smith and LaJoie, to claim the single open entry spot. Joey Logano won the race. Full results here.

Anthony Alfredo, B.J. McLeod, and J.J. Yeley battled it out for the last open entry transfer spot in Duel 2. Alfredo earned the final transfer spot.