NASCAR Cup Qualifying: Kyle Larson Takes 10th at Daytona as Ross Chastain Wins Pole
Kyle Larson will start 10th in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway after Friday’s qualifying session set the starting lineup for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Larson, driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, secured his place on the fifth row alongside Team Penske’s Joey Logano. The result gives Larson a solid position for one of NASCAR’s most unpredictable races of the season, although the Hendrick Motorsports driver will have plenty of work to do if he wants to move toward the front.
Ross Chastain claimed the pole position in dramatic fashion, recording a best lap of 184.391 mph in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Chris Buescher qualified second, just 0.051 seconds behind Chastain, creating an all-Ford-or-Chevrolet front row for Saturday night’s 160-lap race.
Chastain’s pole was particularly significant because it was his first of the 2026 season and only the third of his NASCAR Cup Series career. It was also his first pole at Daytona after 16 previous Cup Series starts at the iconic 2.5-mile superspeedway.
For Larson, 10th place represents a potentially strong starting point in a race where track position can change rapidly.
Daytona is unlike most NASCAR tracks because drivers rely heavily on drafting, teamwork and timing. A driver who starts outside the top five can quickly move into contention by working with other cars, while a driver starting near the front can just as easily lose positions during a single sequence of green-flag or caution-period racing.
That makes Larson’s 10th-place starting position far from a disadvantage.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has already enjoyed a strong 2026 campaign and will be looking to finish the regular season with another impressive result. The Daytona race is particularly important because it is the final event before the NASCAR postseason begins.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will determine the final 16-driver field for The Chase, making Saturday night’s race one of the most consequential events of the regular season.
Larson’s position also puts him alongside several other major championship contenders near the front half of the field.
The complete top 10 from qualifying has Chastain and Buescher on the front row, followed by Austin Hill and Ryan Preece. Riley Herbst qualified fifth, Shane van Gisbergen sixth, Conor Zilisch seventh, Austin Cindric eighth, Joey Logano ninth and Larson 10th.
However, one major lineup change occurred after qualifying.
Herbst, who originally qualified fifth, will not compete in Saturday night’s race after experiencing lingering effects from a crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway the previous weekend. 23XI Racing announced that Harrison Burton will replace him in the No. 35 Toyota.
That change means the starting lineup will be adjusted before the green flag.
For Chastain, meanwhile, the pole provides an opportunity to convert qualifying speed into a major victory.
The Trackhouse Racing driver has struggled for consistency at Daytona in the past, making his performance in qualifying especially encouraging. His best lap demonstrated that the No. 1 Chevrolet has the speed to compete at the front.
Chastain’s previous Daytona starts have not produced the level of success he would have wanted. He had never started higher than the top 10 at the track before Friday’s session, making the pole a career milestone at the famous superspeedway.
Buescher’s second-place starting position also gives RFK Racing a strong opportunity.
Buescher has enjoyed considerable success at Daytona in recent years and won the 2024 summer race. He has also recorded six top-10 finishes in his last seven Daytona events dating back to 2023, making him one of the drivers to watch closely on Saturday night.
The race will also feature an important technical change.
NASCAR has introduced superspeedway rules designed to increase passing and reduce the emphasis on fuel saving. The changes include a lower spoiler and reduced horsepower, with the goal of encouraging more aggressive racing and creating additional opportunities for drivers to make moves.
That could make the Daytona race even more difficult to predict.
The track’s drafting characteristics already create close racing, and the new rules could produce larger packs and more opportunities for drivers to change positions.
For Larson, the challenge will be maintaining his position while finding the right drafting partners.
The No. 5 Chevrolet will start ahead of several major names, including Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney. Several championship contenders are therefore within striking distance of Larson from the opening laps.
The race is also significant for drivers fighting to qualify for the postseason.
Shane van Gisbergen currently holds the 16th and final provisional playoff position entering the Daytona finale, with Ryan Preece 31 points behind. With a victory capable of dramatically changing the playoff picture, the race could produce major movement before the postseason field is finalized.
That creates an added layer of pressure for drivers near the playoff cutline.
A strong qualifying position can help, but Daytona’s unpredictability means nothing is guaranteed.
One major crash can eliminate multiple contenders at once. Conversely, a driver starting deep in the field can survive the chaos, make the right moves during the closing laps and suddenly find himself racing for the victory.
Larson will therefore need patience as much as speed.
Starting 10th gives him enough track position to avoid some of the early congestion while keeping him close enough to the leaders to benefit from the draft.
The race is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC, with coverage also available through HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The 160-lap event will cover 400 miles around Daytona’s high-banked oval.
As the final race before the NASCAR playoffs, every position could matter.
For Larson, the goal will be to turn his 10th-place qualifying effort into a much stronger finishing position.
For Chastain, the objective is even clearer: protect the pole, control the early race and attempt to become the first driver to lead the field to the checkered flag.
With the playoff field on the line and a new superspeedway rules package adding another variable, Saturday night’s Daytona race promises to be anything but predictable.
Kyle Larson starts 10th.
Ross Chastain starts first.
And with the NASCAR Cup qualifying session complete, the stage is set for a high-speed battle that could determine who enters the playoffs with momentum — and who watches their championship hopes disappear at Daytona.
About the Author
