Cup - 2026 - DAYTONA 500

Date: 2026-02-15 | Track: Daytona International Speedway

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Three ways to measure this race

Official winner TLS leader Best ARP
Driver Tyler Reddick (#45) Bubba Wallace (#23) Denny Hamlin (#11)
Finish P1 P10 P31
TLS points 4845 6122 6051
ARP 17.90 11.69 11.59
Laps led 1 40 3

Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.

Official winner — Tyler Reddick (#45): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 1 laps with 17.90 average running position and 4,845 TLS points.

TLS leader — Bubba Wallace (#23): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (6,122 points). Finished P10 with 40 laps led and 11.69 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.

Best ARP — Denny Hamlin (#11): lowest average running position (11.59). Finished P31 with 6,051 TLS points and 3 laps led. ARP is an average across all laps — a driver can run near the front all day yet score fewer TLS points if they led fewer laps, completed fewer laps, or lost ground late while keeping a strong average.

The checkered flag reflects who survived the final seconds. TLS reflects where drivers ran across the whole race. ARP tells you the typical running spot — but not who banked the most valuable laps.

What happened on the last lap

Carson Hocevar (#77) led at the white flag. Chase Elliott (#9) led on the final backstretch. A tri-oval crash on the last lap collected both; Reddick cleared the chaos to win by 0.308 seconds over Ricky Stenhouse Jr (#47).

For most of the race the field ran in tight packs, often at partial throttle — strong average running position mattered more than a snapshot lead. That is why three different drivers can hold the official win, the TLS lead, and the best ARP in the same afternoon.

Finish Position Points Position Driver Car Number Manufacturer Team Start Position Laps Led ARP Points
1 15 Tyler Reddick 45 Toyota 23XI Racing 26 1 17.90 4845
2 33 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 Chevrolet HYAK Motorsports 16 4 28.77 2659
3 11 Joey Logano 22 Ford Team Penske 3 9 15.77 5272
4 4 Chase Elliott 9 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 4 2 12.52 5925
5 5 Brad Keselowski 6 Ford RFK Racing 9 0 13.13 5803
6 9 Zane Smith 38 Ford Front Row Motorsports 30 9 14.59 5510
7 2 Chris Buescher 17 Ford RFK Racing 41 4 11.86 6059
8 19 Riley Herbst 35 Toyota 23XI Racing 28 0 19.18 4586
9 13 Josh Berry 21 Ford Wood Brothers Racing 14 0 17.06 5037
10 1 Bubba Wallace 23 Toyota 23XI Racing 27 40 11.69 6122
11 20 Noah Gragson 4 Ford Front Row Motorsports 25 0 21.58 4124
12 25 William Byron 24 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 39 0 22.59 3901
13 27 Daniel Suarez 7 Chevrolet Spire Motorsports 15 0 23.45 3729
14 22 Ty Dillon 10 Chevrolet Kaulig Racing 34 3 21.86 4048
15 7 Kyle Busch 8 Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 1 19 14.54 5547
16 12 Kyle Larson 5 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 8 7 16.52 5121
17 28 Cody Ware 51 Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing 33 2 24.07 3604
18 30 Carson Hocevar 77 Chevrolet Spire Motorsports 6 1 25.21 3374
19 32 AJ Allmendinger 16 Chevrolet Kaulig Racing 35 1 27.45 2924
20 10 Ross Chastain 1 Chevrolet Trackhouse Racing 37 12 14.69 5489
21 21 Erik Jones 43 Toyota Legacy Motor Club 24 0 21.65 4090
22 24 Michael McDowell 71 Chevrolet Spire Motorsports 10 10 22.56 3908
23 16 Ty Gibbs 54 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 20 0 18.22 4779
24 18 Cole Custer 41 Chevrolet Haas Factory Team 23 0 18.85 4653
25 26 Ryan Preece 60 Ford RFK Racing 19 0 22.61 3898
26 14 John Hunter Nemechek 42 Toyota Legacy Motor Club 11 19 17.44 4912
27 8 Ryan Blaney 12 Ford Team Penske 5 2 14.38 5525
28 40 * Corey Heim(i) 67 Toyota 23XI Racing 29 8 0.00 0
29 37 * Jimmie Johnson 84 Toyota Legacy Motor Club 31 0 30.00 2399
30 17 Shane Van Gisbergen 97 Chevrolet Trackhouse Racing 13 3 18.59 4681
31 3 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 22 3 11.59 6051
32 38 * Casey Mears 66 Ford Garage 66 17 0 36.38 1101
33 34 Connor Zilisch # 88 Chevrolet Trackhouse Racing 32 0 28.46 2653
34 23 Austin Cindric 2 Ford Team Penske 36 5 21.47 3982
35 6 Christopher Bell 20 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 12 9 13.03 5562
36 29 Chase Briscoe 19 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 2 23 23.29 3536
37 35 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 7 0 22.81 2648
38 40 * Justin Allgaier(i) 40 Chevrolet JR Motorsports 40 3 0.00 0
39 31 Todd Gilliland 34 Ford Front Row Motorsports 18 1 17.88 2991
40 36 Alex Bowman 48 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 21 0 21.87 2496
41 39 * BJ McLeod 78 Chevrolet Live Fast Motorsports 38 0 28.20 69

Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)

Previous Next
Rank Driver Car Number Season Points Average Running Position Total Laps Led Points this race
1 Bubba Wallace 23 6122 11.69 40 6122
2 Chris Buescher 17 6059 11.86 4 6059
3 Denny Hamlin 11 6051 11.59 3 6051
4 Chase Elliott 9 5925 12.52 2 5925
5 Brad Keselowski 6 5803 13.13 0 5803
6 Christopher Bell 20 5562 13.03 9 5562
7 Kyle Busch 8 5547 14.54 19 5547
8 Ryan Blaney 12 5525 14.38 2 5525
9 Zane Smith 38 5510 14.59 9 5510
10 Ross Chastain 1 5489 14.69 12 5489
11 Joey Logano 22 5272 15.77 9 5272
12 Kyle Larson 5 5121 16.52 7 5121
13 Josh Berry 21 5037 17.06 0 5037
14 John Hunter Nemechek 42 4912 17.44 19 4912
15 Tyler Reddick 45 4845 17.90 1 4845
16 Ty Gibbs 54 4779 18.22 0 4779
17 Shane Van Gisbergen 97 4681 18.59 3 4681
18 Cole Custer 41 4653 18.85 0 4653
19 Riley Herbst 35 4586 19.18 0 4586
20 Noah Gragson 4 4124 21.58 0 4124
21 Erik Jones 43 4090 21.65 0 4090
22 Ty Dillon 10 4048 21.86 3 4048
23 Austin Cindric 2 3982 21.47 5 3982
24 Michael McDowell 71 3908 22.56 10 3908
25 William Byron 24 3901 22.59 0 3901
26 Ryan Preece 60 3898 22.61 0 3898
27 Daniel Suarez 7 3729 23.45 0 3729
28 Cody Ware 51 3604 24.07 2 3604
29 Chase Briscoe 19 3536 23.29 23 3536
30 Carson Hocevar 77 3374 25.21 1 3374
31 Todd Gilliland 34 2991 17.88 1 2991
32 AJ Allmendinger 16 2924 27.45 1 2924
33 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 2659 28.77 4 2659
34 Connor Zilisch # 88 2653 28.46 0 2653
35 Austin Dillon 3 2648 22.81 0 2648
36 Alex Bowman 48 2496 21.87 0 2496
37 * Jimmie Johnson 84 2399 30.00 0 2399
38 * Casey Mears 66 1101 36.38 0 1101
39 * BJ McLeod 78 69 28.20 0 69