DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 20, 2025) – The prestige and pressure return to Daytona International Speedway to open and close the NASCAR Cup Series regular season in 2026. The track announced today the dates for those event weekends, as NASCAR released its full schedule for next year for all three national series.
As previously announced, the season-opening DAYTONA 500 is set for Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will take place on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, once again providing the final opportunity for Cup Series drivers to race their way into the NASCAR Playoffs.
“Winning the DAYTONA 500 is the pinnacle of our sport — the race every driver wants most,” said Frank Kelleher, President of Daytona International Speedway. “A championship is a career milestone, but the DAYTONA 500 stands alone. Opening the season with the DAYTONA 500 and closing the regular season with one last shot to race into the NASCAR Playoffs keeps The World Center of Racing at the heart of sport’s biggest moments.”
In addition to the schedule news announced today, earlier this week, NASCAR announced a multi-year partnership with O’Reilly Auto Parts that makes the leader in the automotive replacement parts industry the title sponsor of what is now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will also return to The World Center of Racing for its 2026 season opener, while the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will accompany the Cup Series on both race weekends in Daytona.
Below are the dates for the 2026 NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway:
DAYTONA 500 race weekend (Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth):
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Wednesday, Feb. 11 – NASCAR Cup Series DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Presented by Busch Light
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Thursday, Feb. 12 – NASCAR Cup Series Duel at Daytona
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Friday, Feb. 13 – NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race
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Saturday, Feb. 14 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race
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Sunday, Feb. 15 – NASCAR Cup Series DAYTONA 500
Coke Zero Sugar 400 race weekend:
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Friday, Aug. 28 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola
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Saturday, Aug. 29 – NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400
Earlier this year, William Byron captured his second straight DAYTONA 500 championship in an overtime thriller, becoming the first driver since Denny Hamlin (2019, 2020) and only the fifth overall to win The Great American Race back-to-back. The win was also a record-breaking 10th DAYTONA 500 victory for Hendrick Motorsports.
Tickets are going fast to see if Byron can make history with three in a row in the 2026 DAYTONA 500, but fans can still get great seats and Hard Rock Bet Fanzone and Pre-Race Access at www.
Later this week, the Cup Series drivers will battle it out under the lights for the final spots in the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET). Several previous Cup race winners at Daytona are still looking for their first win of the season and hope their previous success at the Superspeedway translates to a 2025 Playoff berth by virtue of Saturday night’s Victory Lane celebration. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, as well as Justin Haley, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are all still chasing post-season glory in 2025.
Tickets are still available for Saturday night’s race at www.
To view the entire 2026 NASCAR schedule, visit www.nascar.com/schedule.
About Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of The Great American Race – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the World Center of Racing, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. Some of the exciting racing events include January’s Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and Roar Before The Rolex 24, February’s DAYTONA 500 and Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth, March’s Bike Week At DAYTONA Presented By GEICO, featuring DAYTONA Supercross and the DAYTONA 200, the August Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend, and much more. The Speedway grounds are also used extensively for other events that include concerts (Welcome to Rockville, Heroes Honor Festival, etc.), sporting events (DAYTONA Soccer Fest, CLASH DAYTONA, etc.) civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.
