2026 Fresh From Florida 250
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| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 25 of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | February 13, 2026 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 102 laps, 255 mi (410.383 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 100 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.429 miles per hour (195.421 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | ThorSport Racing | ||
| Time | 50.881 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Drivers | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | |
| Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | ||
| Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | ||
| Laps | 20 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Daniel Hemric | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | |
| Time | 46.479 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Jamie Little, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Dana White (Stage 2) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | NRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden and Mike Bagley | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Kyle Rickey (Backstretch), and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Fresh From Florida 250 was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held on February 13, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 102 laps—extended from 100 laps due to an overtime finish on the 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometre) superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the 27th running of the event.
In the overtime finish, Chandler Smith, driving for Front Row Motorsports, made a four-wide tri-oval pass underneath John Hunter Nemechek on the final lap to earn his eighth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his first of the season.[10] Gio Ruggiero finished second, and Christian Eckes finished third. Ty Majeski and Nemechek rounded out the top five, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brenden Queen, Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top ten. The race also produced the most lead changes in series history, with 32 lead changes among 12 drivers.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[11] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 kilometres) long.[12] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[12]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Thursday, February 12, at 5:00 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes.[13]
Kaden Honeycutt, driving for Tricon Garage, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 48.439 seconds, and a speed of 185.801 miles per hour (299.018 km/h).[14]
Practice results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 48.439 | 185.801 |
| 2 | 1 | Taylor Gray (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 48.448 | 185.766 |
| 3 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.449 | 185.762 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, February 13, at 3:00 PM EST.[13] Since Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying procedure used was a single-car, single-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers had one lap to set a time and determined positions 11-36. The fastest ten drivers from the first round advanced to the second and final round, and whoever set the fastest time in Round 2 won the pole and determined the rest of the starting lineup.[15]
Ty Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing, qualified on pole position, having advanced from the preliminary round and set the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 50.881 seconds, and a speed of 176.883 miles per hour (284.666 km/h).[16]
Seven drivers failed to qualify: Bryan Dauzat, Timmy Hill, Justin Carroll, Tyler Tomassi, Norm Benning, Toni Breidinger, and Greg Van Alst.
