Kyle Busch has won a lot of things across his glittering 22-year career. He hasn’t captured a Daytona 500, though.

The two-time Cup Series champion, 63-time race winner and future NASCAR Hall of Famer is one of the most decorated drivers to ever grace a cockpit. But American stock car racing’s grandest prize has eluded him thus far.

He’s gotten close, to be sure. Busch placed third in the race in 2016 and second — behind teammate Denny Hamlin — in the 2019 iteration of the race.

At 40 years old, Busch likely doesn’t have too many opportunities left to hoist the famous Daytona 500 trophy. He set himself up nicely ahead of the 2026 race, however, setting the Daytona International Speedway track alight with a blazing run during qualifying.

With that, here’s what you need to know about the starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Who won the Daytona 500 pole for 2026?

Qualifying for the Daytona 500 pole took place on Wednesday, with Richard Childress star Kyle Busch holding off reigning Championship 4 contender Chase Briscoe.

He avoided wrecking out during Thursday’s Daytona Duels, ensuring he’d sit on the pole come Sunday afternoon.

Busch has yet to find victory lane since 2023. He also is yet to capture a Daytona 500. Daytona poles aren’t quite meaningless. But they don’t necessarily predict in-race success, either. After all, The Big One tends to shake things up in a major way during race day.

Nevertheless, Busch expressed delight over his car’s performance on Wednesday.

“Just a valiant effort by everybody here,” Busch said, per NASCAR.com. “It would be really nice to be doing an interview like this about being No. 1 come Sunday night.”

Daytona 500 starting lineup 2026