NASCAR Daytona 500 2026 Results, Standings, Highlights as Reddick Wins for Michael Jordan's Team

Tyler Reddick opened the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season in triumphant fashion, capturing the checkered flag in the 2026 Daytona 500.

This wasn't a year when one driver dominated the proceedings. The lead changed hands 66 times, and nobody led more than 39 of the 200 laps. That provided the perfect recipe for a frantic finish.

Reddick was pretty much the last man standing after a dramatic battle down the stretch.

Carson Hocevar, Michael McDowell and Erik Jones were running first, second and third on the final lap before all three were taken out. Chase Elliott then surged out ahead of the pack, only to get passed by Reddick and eventually hit the wall after contact from Riley Herbst.

Reddick is only credited with one lap led, but he certainly made it count.

As the day unfolded, quite a few of the top contenders fell by the wayside for one reason or another.

The proverbial "Big One" arrived on Lap 124, with 20 cars being involved in some form.

Justin Allgaier was too late in trying to block Denny Hamlin from passing on the outside. Allgaier and Hamlin made contact and lost control, taking out a lot of drivers behind them.

Kyle Larson was the biggest loser from the crash.

The reigning series champion led seven laps on the day and was consistently hovering around the top 10. The No. 5 car sustained significant damage to the front end, though, and all of the work required to get it back onto the track took up valuable time.

Larson wasn't a serious threat once he returned to the race.

Chase Briscoe, who started behind Busch in the second spot, fared even worse in the 2026 Daytona 500. On Lap 85, the No. 19 car was sent spinning through the infield after contact by Connor Zilisch.

Briscoe's day wasn't over completely, but he was 11 laps down when he was out running again. He wound up in 36th.

Zane Smith was a surprise Stage 1 winner, climbing to the top of the leaderboard after starting in 30th. He left Daytona with a nice points haul and a sixth-place showing.

Bubba Wallace was the Stage 2 winner en route to a 10th-place result.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is the next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series. The track will play host to the Autotrader 400 on Feb. 22.

A Daytona 500 win remains elusive for Kyle Busch, who sat on the pole for Sunday. Considering he has the best average finish (8.8) there going back to 2023, his fortunes might improve in a week's time.