What’s Happening?

Front row qualifying for the 68th running of the Daytona 500 is officially complete. The front row is now set, and two open cars are officially locked into Sunday’s race while the fate of others rests upon the shoulders of tomorrow night’s duel races. Here’s everything you need to know.

Time Trial Results

• One open driver in 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 84) got to rest easy tonight. Due to NASCAR’s Open Exemption Provisional, Jimmie Johnson will roll off Sunday’s race in the forty-first and final position, regardless of his 28th-place qualifying effort tonight. He’ll roll off 14th in Duel 2 tomorrow night. Also, as a part of that rule, he will forfeit any points and/or purse money.
• Eight Open drivers have made their qualifying bids, and two have now locked in. The first was the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Corey Heim (No. 67) for 23XI Racing. This will be his first start in the Great American Race. The second was Justin Allgaier (No. 40) for JR Motorsports. Allgaier made the 500 last year by racing his way in during the duels. This year, he can breathe a sigh of relief.
• While Heim and Allgaier have qualified for the 68th Daytona 500 on speed tonight, six other drivers will be racing for the final two transfer spots in tomorrow night’s duel races. Those drivers are Corey LaJoie (No. 99), Anthony Alfred (No. 62), Chandler Smith (No. 36), B. J. McLeod (No. 78), Casey Mears (No. 66), and J. J. Yeley (No. 44). Six drivers, two advance, the highest open car finishers from each duel. The remaining four will be heading for the long drive back to the Charlotte Hub.
• Only two drivers secured their starting spots for the 68th running of the Daytona 500 tonight. Starting from the outside pole is Chase Briscoe (No. 19). This is the second year in a row Briscoe and his JGR team will have a front row start in the Great American Race, having won the pole one year ago. And, scoring his 2nd drafting track pole is none other than Kyle “Rowdy” Busch (No. 8). It is his first Daytona 500 pole award.
• The Busch Light Duels at Daytona will kick off tomorrow night on FS1 with the first duel taking the green flag at 7 PM EST. Duel 1 will consist of the odd-number qualifiers from tonight. The second duel will take the green flag at 8:45 PM EST and will consist of tonight’s even-number qualifiers.

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