peddle New tournament format for first time in 12 yearsSpeed Week officially kicks off as the 2026 NASCAR premier national series schedule begins at Daytona International Speedway.
The highlight is the 68th Daytona 500, which will begin on February 15 at 2:30 pm ET. William Byron is the two-time defending season-opening champion at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
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February 4, Ryan Preece Scored his first major win in the Premier League Cup series Won the clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The exhibition game was postponed three days due to winter weather.
Three other series will also begin their seasons this week at Daytona. The Truck Series opener will take place on Friday, February 13 at 7:30 pm ET. ARCA will kick off its season on Saturday, Feb. 14, at noon ET, followed by the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series opener (with new title sponsor for 2026) at 5 p.m.
Here’s the daily schedule and outlook for Speed Week (all times ET):
Daytona Speedweeks Weather
Wednesday, February 11: Clouds and sunshine in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon and clear in the evening. The high temperature will be 73 degrees, with winds from the west southwest at 10 to 15 mph. Temperatures are expected to be 63 degrees when cup qualifying begins, with a 3 percent chance of rain.
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Thursday, February 12: Partly cloudy, with a high of 66 degrees, north-northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. It was 59 degrees at the start of Duel Qualifying with a 5% chance of rain.
Friday, February 13: A break of clouds and sunshine, with highs near 70 degrees and winds of 10 to 15 mph blowing from the north to the northeast. Temperatures were in the high 60s when the truck race began, with a 4% chance of rain.
Saturday, February 14: A mix of sunshine and clouds, with a high of 72 degrees and winds from east to southeast at 10 to 15 mph. O’Reilly Auto Parts The temperature at the start of the race was 68 degrees with a 4% chance of rain.
Sunday, February 15: Cloudy with intermittent showers in the afternoon. High temperature 77 degrees, south wind 15 to 25 mph, with a 50 percent chance of rain. The temperature is expected to be 76 degrees when the Cup begins, with a 43% chance of rain.
Daytona Speedweek Schedule
(All times Eastern)
Wednesday, February 11
garage open
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Cup Series — 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Track activity
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10 – 10:50 am — Cup Practice (FS1)
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4pm – ARCA transport truck enters
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8:15 – 10pm – Cup Qualifying Round (FS1)
Thursday, February 12
garage open
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Cup Series — 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
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Truck Series — 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Track activity
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8 a.m. — Truck haulers move in
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2pm – ARCA Driver Observer Meeting
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4 – 4:55 pm — ARCA Practice
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5 – 5:50 pm — Truck Practice (FS1)
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6:35 — Cup driver introductions
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7 p.m. — Cup Qualifying Race #1 (60 laps, 150 miles; FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
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8:45 p.m. — Cup Series Second Qualifying Race (60 laps, 150 miles; FS1, Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday, February 13
garage open
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Cup Series — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Truck Series — 11:30 a.m. – 11:55 p.m.
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O’Reilly Auto Accessories Collection — 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Track activity
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1:30-2:15 PM — ARCA Qualifying
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3 – 4:30 PM — Truck Qualifying (FS1)
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4:30 – 5:20 pm — OAP Exercise (CW Network App)
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5:35 – 6:25 pm — Cup Practice (FS1)
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7:10 p.m.: Truck Driver Introduction
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7:30 p.m. — Truck Race (100 laps, 250 miles, 20/40/100; FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday, February 14
garage open
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Cup Series — 12:30 – 7 p.m.
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ARCA — 8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.
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O’Reilly Auto Accessories Collection — 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Track activity
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10 – 11:30 AM — OAP Qualifying (CW Network App)
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11:40 am — ARCA driver introduction
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12 p.m. — ARCA race (80 laps, 200 miles; Fox, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
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3 – 3:50 pm — Cup Practice (FS1)
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4:30 pm — Introduction to OAP Drivers
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5 p.m. — OAP race (120 laps, 300 miles, stages 30/60/120; CW Network, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, February 15
garage open
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Cup Series — 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Track activity
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1:40pm — Cup Drivers Meeting
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2:15 PM — Cup Driver Introduction
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2:30 p.m. — Daytona 500 (200 laps, 500 miles, stages 65/130/200; Fox, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
