February 16, 2026
Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports nearly won his first Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, but fell short in the final stretch. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver started fourth after winning the second America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona. Elliott did not have much of a presence during the race, running in the middle of the pack and keeping his car together through most of the race. At the end of the first stage, he placed 17th, and at the end of the second stage, Elliott was 28th. In the final stage, Elliott set himself in position to contend for the win. After returning to the top 10 on the final restart, Elliott made moves and went to the lead after Carson Hocevar caused a multicar crash on the final lap. Elliott continued forward with Zane Smith pushing him ahead, and although Elliott looked like he was cruising to a victory, Tyler Reddick chased him down after turn four. The Hendrick driver did not have enough speed to hold off Reddick and then ended up crashing after Reddick's teammate, Riley Herbst, got into Elliott and caused him to crash. Although Elliott finished with damage, he still finished in fourth place, marking his best result in the Daytona 500 since 2021.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
February 16, 2026
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski ended up finishing in the fifth position at the end of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 6 Ford driver started the race from the ninth position and moved between the front and the back of the pack throughout the stage. Pit stops and even contact with other drivers set him back to finish 28th at the end of the first stage. He maintained his position towards the back of the pack to keep out of trouble in the second stage, finishing in 29th. In the final stage, Keselowski used pit strategy and made moves to make it back up to the top 10. By the end of the race on the final lap, Keselowski mounted a charge after making the top five, but was blocked by Riley Herbst, who the RFK driver ended up crashing alongside across the finish line. Despite ending with a damaged car, Keselowski earned his first top-5 finish at Daytona since August 2023.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
February 16, 2026
Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing won the Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion at Daytona International Speedway. Starting from the 26th position, Reddick quietly kept himself in contention throughout the whole race and avoided trouble. At the end of the first stage of the race, Reddick was 20th, but by the end of the second stage, he cracked the top 10 and was in eighth place. It was in the final stage that Reddick put himself in position to win, remaining in the top 10 throughout the stage. With his teammate Riley Herbst, Reddick avoided a wreck on the last lap and pushed for the lead against Chase Elliott. Reddick then passed Elliott in the final few feet before the finish line to claim not only his first Daytona Cup victory, but his first Daytona 500. The only lap that Reddick led was the final one, but it helped to snap a winless streak dating back to 2024.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
February 15, 2026
Joey Logano of Team Penske will start third for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 22 Ford driver earned his starting position by being the winner of the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 34 starts at the site, Logano has one win, an average finish of 18.7, and has 11 top-10 finishes. At drafting tracks last season, Logano has two top-20 finishes in six events at the track type. Despite leading in every Daytona Cup race dating back to 2018, Logano has a history of struggling to finish towards the front in most drafting track events. With his starting position being so close to the front, Logano is not recommended to be used in DFS this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney will be starting in the fifth position for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Blaney obtained his starting position for this week's race after finishing second in the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 21 starts at the site, Blaney has two wins, nine top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 18.2. At drafting tracks last season, Blaney has three top-10 finishes, including a win at the summer Daytona race. The No. 12 Ford driver from Penske does have great history at drafting tracks, but his starting position provides almost no upside, making him hard to recommend outside of tournaments for DFS. Although Blaney could be a contender for the win, especially since Penske brings some of the fastest cars on drafting tracks, it may be better to consider alternative picks for cash games.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing is starting on the outside of the front row in second for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Briscoe earned his starting position by setting the second-fastest overall single lap time in qualifying. He also participated in the second America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona, where he led 38 laps, the most of all drivers in that race, until he faded back to a 20th-place finish. In 10 races at Daytona, Briscoe has three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 19.0. The No. 19 Toyota driver also finished in the top 15 in three of the last four Daytona Cup races. At drafting tracks last season, Briscoe has three top-15 finishes in six events at the track type. Although Briscoe's history at drafting tracks is decent, his starting position leaves almost no upside and makes him a huge risk to use in DFS. Fantasy players should consider other drivers with more upside than Briscoe, especially since he has one of the lowest score ceilings for DFS this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott will start in the fourth position for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. Elliott was awarded his high starting position as a result of winning the second America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 20 races at the site, Elliott has six top-10 finishes, an average finish of 20.5, and has never won. He also finished in the top 15 in four of the last five Cup events at Daytona. At drafting tracks last season, the No. 9 Chevrolet driver finished in the top 20 in five of six events at the track type, including a win at Atlanta. Despite having solid history at drafting tracks, Elliott's starting position makes him one of the riskiest drivers to utilize in DFS this week. Elliott can only be considered for tournaments, and even then, there are better alternatives available for less salary and more upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Austin Cindric will start 36th for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 2 Team Penske Ford driver obtained his starting position through a 17th-place finish in the second America 250 Florida Duel race. In nine races at Daytona, Cindric has one win and five top-20 finishes, including three inside the top 10. The Penske driver also finished eighth in last year's Daytona 500. At drafting tracks last season, Cindric had two top-10 finishes in six events, including a win in the spring Talladega race. Cindric should be one of the top drivers to consider rostering for this year's Daytona 500, especially since he is with one of the fastest teams at drafting tracks with extremely high upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski will start ninth for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 6 Ford earned his starting position after starting 10th and finishing fourth in the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 33 starts at the site, Keselowski has one win and nine top-10 finishes, and he also led at least once in four of the last six Cup events there. Keselowski finished in the top 20 in each of his last three drafting track races dating back to last season. Despite having limited upside given his starting position, Keselowski has seven drafting track victories and has historically been one of the best at this track type. Fantasy players could utilize Keselowski in tournament lineups as a potential winner to target and a contrarian play, but should not consider him for cash games.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick will be starting in the 26th position for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 45 Toyota driver nabbed his starting position from finishing 12th in the second America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 13 starts at the site, Reddick has three top-five finishes, including a runner-up finish in last year's Daytona 500. At drafting tracks last season, Reddick finished 21st or better in all six events, including three top-10 finishes. Reddick has great upside based on his starting position and is trending upward in terms of favorable finishes at drafting tracks. He is a solid overall option to consider for all DFS formats on Sunday.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports obtained a starting position of 21st for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver earned the starting position after placing 10th in the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 19 starts at the site, Bowman has 12 top-20 finishes, including seven inside the top 10. Two years ago, Bowman was the runner-up finisher in the Daytona 500 to his teammate William Byron, who won the last two 500s. Last year at drafting tracks, Bowman had three top-10 finishes in six events at the track type. Considering how Hendrick has some of the fastest cars at drafting tracks and Bowman's overall positive track history at Daytona, he is one of the more favorable mid-tier drivers to consider rostering this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain is starting in the 37th position for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Chastain was awarded the starting position after finishing 21st and one lap down. In 15 Cup starts at Daytona, Chastain has eight top-20 finishes with three inside the top 10. At drafting tracks last season, Chastain scored four top-20 finishes in six races at the track type, including two top-15s in his last two. Chastain has incredibly high upside based on his starting position and is one of the better all-around DFS options to consider this week. Expect Chastain to be one of the top-scoring drivers in fantasy, capable of a top-20 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
Justin Allgaier will start in the 40th position for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Allgaier originally made the race by setting one of the two fastest times by an open entry in qualifying and then eventually obtained his starting position after placing 21st in the second America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona. In five starts at Daytona, Allgaier has one top-10 finish, which he earned last year while driving for JR Motorsports. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series regular for JRM also finished second in the O'Reilly race at the site earlier in the weekend. With extremely high upside from starting in the back of the pack, Allgaier is a driver worth rostering in all formats, especially as he is one of the safest picks in the field.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
If Christopher Bell isn't on your fantasy radar for this Sunday's Daytona 500, you may want to re-think who you're paying attention to. Since the start of 2023, Bell has finished third three times at Daytona, and in two of the other six races, he wrecked while he was running inside the top five. His average driver rating of 87.0 at Daytona since the start of 2023 ranks as third-best among active drivers, behind just Joey Logano and Chris Buescher. Looking at other drafting tracks, Bell grabbed a win at Atlanta last year and also finished eighth at Talladega last fall. As far as DFS goes this weekend, CBell is an interesting play because he doesn't have massive Place Differential upside, but he still has some room to move up from his 12th-place starting spot. Don't be afraid to mix in some Christopher Bell into your DraftKings lineups on Sunday, especially in tournament formats.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
February 15, 2026
William Byron will try to make history on Sunday, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver will be attempting to win an unprecedented third straight Daytona 500. Most drivers dream of getting just one win in "The Great American Race," and Byron has been lucky enough to grab victories in each of the last two years in this race. He will have some work to do to get to the front this weekend, though, as the No. 24 Chevrolet was involved in a wreck during the Duel race on Thursday night. Byron will now have to start back in 39th-place when the 2026 Daytona 500 goes green, his worst-ever starting spot at this track. Seasoned DFS players know that starting position doesn't mean anything at Daytona, though, and beginning that far back in the back actually makes Byron a prime DFS target due to his massive Place Differential upside on Sunday. Even with his $10,000 salary on DraftKings this weekend, Byron has some of the most potential on the slate to score big for DFS players.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
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