Richard Childress Racing Photo
Kyle Busch wins his first pole in the Great American Race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 11, 2026) – With sights set on its fourth
consecutive DAYTONA 500 championship title, Chevrolet returned to the
top of the qualifying speed chart with Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard
Childress Racing Chevrolet team taking the coveted pole position for the
68th running of the DAYTONA 500. The 40-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada,
native was the fastest driver in both rounds – laying down a blistering
lap of 49.006 seconds in Round Two of qualifying to drive Chevrolet to
its series-leading 32nd pole win in the “Great American Race”.
“Certainly, here on Wednesday night, being able to get my first pole
for the DAYTONA 500, that’s pretty special,” said Busch. “I’ve had
one other speedway pole down here in Daytona for the summer race. This
feels really good for RCR as a group. Everybody from ECR, thanks to Bob
(Fisher) and his whole team there.”
After an impressive debut in their first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start
one year ago, JR Motorsports has made their return to the division for a
second bid for a starting position in the crown jewel event. Back behind
the wheel of the organization’s No. 40 Chevrolet entry, Justin
Allgaier ended the qualifying session 14th overall – an effort that
secures one of the two open positions on speed following the evening’s
qualifying session.
With the front-row set, the two 60-lap, 150-mile, Duels at Daytona
will determine the remaining starting lineup for the 68th running of the
DAYTONA 500. FS1 will telecast the Duels on Thursday, Feb. 12, beginning
at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR
Radio Channel 90.
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – Pole Winner Quotes
“This is special for all of us at Richard Childress Racing; for
Richard and Jim Pohlman, with it being his first race as the crew chief.
Obviously having the opportunity to come down here with fast speedway
cars, and I’ve had fast speedway cars with RCR every time we’ve been
here. It feels really good to sit on the pole and to have the No. 1
starting spot come Sunday. But we also want the No. 1 finishing position
on Sunday.
Thank you to everyone at ECR; Lucas Oil for everything they do for our
power; and all of our partners that support this No. 8 Chevrolet team.
“I think we learned some things last year at a couple of the speedway
races. I feel like those guys have really tuned-in on those things that
worked. I hope it turns out to be what we all think it should be for
speed on Sunday. I’m sure we’ll find a little bit more about it
tomorrow.”