Gentlemen, start your engines! The 2026 Daytona 500 is here!
Gentlemen, start your engines! The 2026 Daytona 500 is here!
Catch all the action from practice to race day — here’s your full weekend viewing guide.
The Daytona 500 is back at Daytona International Speedway this Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, and yep, it’s the big one. The green flag drops at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, and this is the race every driver circles on the calendar. It’s been opening the NASCAR season every February since 1982, and it’s still the one that matters most. It’s 500 miles of superspeedway chaos with drafting packs flying three-wide at 200 mph. If you only watch one race all year, this is the one. You can stream all the action, including Friday and Saturday’s practice sessions, with 50% off a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500
- When: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- TV: Race on FOX; practice, qualifying, and heat races on FS1
- Stream: Watch with a subscription to Sling TV.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 Daytona 500:
What is the broadcast schedule for the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500?
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Feb. 15 | 2:30 p.m. | Daytona 500 | FOX |
Why we like Sling TV for watching the NASCAR Daytona 500
If you’re trying to keep up with NASCAR, football, random live events, and whatever show everyone’s texting you about, Sling TV is honestly one of the easiest ways to do it without feeling like you’re burning money every month. It’s still one of the cheapest major live TV streaming options, and it carries the big networks you actually need for race weekend.
Right now, Sling is running 50% off your first month, which takes the base plan from $46 per month down to $23 for month one. That’s pretty solid. You can pick Sling Orange or Sling Blue, or bundle both. The combo usually costs $61 per month, but with the promo, your first month is $30.50, which is still cheaper than most live TV streaming services out there.
And if you’re just here for the Daytona 500 and not trying to commit long term, Sling also offers short-term day, weekend, and week-long passes, which makes things way more flexible. Just make sure to double-check that FOX is available in your area before signing up, since it’s only in select markets.
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Chicago
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Detroit
- Gainesville
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis/St. Paul
- New York
- Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa/St. Petersburg
- Washington, DC
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
Can you watch the NASCAR Daytona 500 for free?
If you’re trying to catch the Daytona 500 without fully committing to a new subscription, there are still a few free trial options floating around. Just know they’re not all the same. DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all promote trial periods, but how long you actually get can vary.
The safest bet is DIRECTV STREAM. It consistently offers a five-day free trial, which is more than enough time to stream the race and move on if you want. Hulu + Live TV usually offers a three-day free trial for new users, which can work perfectly for race weekend.
Fubo can be a little unpredictable. As The Streamable’s David Satin has pointed out, the length of its free trial isn’t always obvious even during sign-up. Some viewers end up with just a day, while others might get up to seven.
YouTube TV can be similar. The service often advertises trials lasting “up to two weeks,” but some users report getting just two days which can make planning tricky.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| Fox | + $19 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| FS1 | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
Watch a preview for the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 race
About the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 isn’t just another race… it’s the race. It’s still the trophy everyone wants on their shelf. You win this one, and your name is basically locked into NASCAR history forever. Richard Petty still owns the all-time record with seven Daytona 500 wins, which is just absurd when you think about how hard this race is to win once. Cale Yarborough has four. Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin has three wins here, and William Byron has two, making them the only current drivers with multiple Daytona 500 victories.
The thing about Daytona is that the track itself is part of the story. It’s a 2.5-mile tri-oval with steep, 31-degree banking in the corners, which means the cars can stay wide open for long stretches. The draft is everything here. Drivers lock into tight packs, using the air off the car in front to gain momentum, then slingshot past in a matter of seconds. The order can flip in half a lap. It’s fast, technical, and very strategic for something that looks like pure chaos. One small miscalculation can trigger “The Big One,” a chain-reaction crash that wipes out half the field in an instant. Survive that, position yourself correctly on the final restart, and suddenly you’re one move away from a career-defining moment.
How to watch the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world, with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to Sling TV in order to stream the race with a VPN.
NordVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. I use it every single day to surf the web. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month — plus you’ll get three extra months FREE. A high-speed VPN with best-in-class security that can be used on up to 10 devices at once — what more could you ask for? Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!
While NordVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling (and my preferred option), there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Best Features: ExpressVPN | Starting at $5 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available