2026 General Tire 200
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| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 20 in the 2026 ARCA Menards Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | February 14, 2026 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 84 laps, 210 mi (337.932 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 80 laps, 200 mi (321 km) | ||
| Average speed | 103.562 miles per hour (166.667 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Nitro Motorsports | ||
| Time | 49.133 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jake Finch | Nitro Motorsports | |
| Laps | 32 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Jack Wood | Pinnacle Racing Group | |
| Time | 48.435 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Gio Ruggiero | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Eric Brennan, Phil Parsons, and Austin Cindric | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden and Mike Bagley | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Kyle Rickey (Backstretch), and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 General Tire 200 was an ARCA Menards Series race held on Saturday, February 14, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 84 laps—extended from 80 laps due to an overtime finish on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2026 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 63rd running of the event.
After Jake Finch and Gus Dean, two of the dominant drivers in the race, were taken out of contention after an incident with two laps to go, Gio Ruggiero, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would control the lead on a one-lap shootout, and held off the rest of the field to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series win.[7] Jake Bollman finished second, and Kole Raz finished third. Daniel Dye and Glen Reen rounded out the top five, while Jack Wood, Jason Kitzmiller, Ryan Vargas, Bobby Dale Earnhardt, and Andy Jankowiak rounded out the top ten.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[8] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[9] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[9]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Thursday, February 12, at 4:00 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[10]
Jake Finch, driving for Nitro Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 48.878, and a speed of 184.132 miles per hour (296.332 km/h).[11]
Practice results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Jake Finch | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 48.878 | 184.132 |
| 2 | 25 | Gus Dean | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 48.879 | 184.128 |
| 3 | 70 | Thomas Annunziata | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 48.889 | 184.090 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, February 13, at 1:30 PM EST.[10] The qualifying procedure used is a multi-car, multi-lap group-based system. Drivers will be split into different groups of seven to eight drivers. Each group will have four minutes to set a lap time, and the driver who sets the overall fastest lap between the groups will win the pole. The fastest 34 drivers will lock in, with the final 6 spots being reserved for provisional starters.[12][13]
Gus Dean, driving for Nitro Motorsports, would score the pole for the race after setting the fastest time between the overall groups, with a lap of 49.133, and a speed of 183.176 miles per hour (294.793 km/h). Jake Bollman, who originally won the pole, was disqualified from his starting position after discovering a height violation during post-qualifying inspection.[14]
10 drivers would fail to qualify: Ron Vandermeir Jr., Logan Misuraca, Tony Cosentino, Andrew Patterson, Greg Van Alst, Nick White, Steve Lewis Jr., Robert Martin, Nolan Wilson, and Dale Shearer.
