Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Kyle Busch — who entered the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season desperate for a win in any race and seeking his first Daytona 500 in his 21st start — will lead the field to green Sunday from the pole thanks to posting the fastest lap in single-car qualifying Wednesday. It’s the first Daytona 500 pole for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver.Busch will be joined on the front row by last year’s pole-sitter, Chase Briscoe. Also happy following qualifying: Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier locked themselves into the 2026 Daytona 500 field; the final two spots and the full Daytona 500 starting order will be set in the “duels” qualifying races Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.Here are my takeaways:1. Kyle Busch Has Historic ShotBusch, a two-time Cup champion riding a 93-race winless streak, has led 342 laps over his career in the Daytona 500, the most laps led by a driver who has never won the sport’s biggest race.No driver has ever earned his first Daytona 500 win later than his 20th start — Dale Earnhardt did it in 1998 — so Busch has a chance at history.”It’s a box we’ve got to check,” Busch said in his post-qualifying news conference. “So here we are. This is an opportunity to be able to do that. I’ve come down here a lot of years, and I think I finished in about every position possible.”It’d be nice to close out [that streak] with a victory here in the Daytona 500.”2. Good Start For New Pairing DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: NASCAR Hall of Famer and RCR team owner, Richard Childress, congratulates Kyle Busch after winning the 2026 Daytona 500 pole on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) For Busch, this will be a boost for him and new crew chief Jim Pohlman, who spent the last few years as crew chief for Justin Allgaier in the O’Reilly Series, where they won the 2024 series title. Busch has said the key for Pohlman is keeping people accountable. Bringing fast cars to the track can help, too.”Just a valiant effort by everybody here,” Busch said in his post-qualifying interview with FOX Sports’ Jamie Little. “It would be really nice to be doing an interview like this about being No. 1 come Sunday night.”[NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson on Living Abroad, His Daytona 500 Future]3. Big Relief and Excitement For Heim and Allgaier DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: Justin Allgaier, driver of the #40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, before Daytona 500 practice. (Photo by Jeff…
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2026-02-12 04:23:19
