For the Daytona 500, qualifying is a mix of solo time trials and two heat races called the Duels that together set the entire starting lineup and decide which non-guaranteed “open” cars make the race.

Big picture: what’s going on?

Think of it as a three‑step process:

  1. Time trials (single‑car qualifying).
  2. Two Duel races that set most of the grid.
  3. Special rules to slot in the last few “open” cars without charters.

This format keeps the prestige of earning the pole on pure speed, but adds a lot of drama with cars racing for their lives in the Duels.

Step 1: Single-car qualifying (front row + lock-ins)

  • All cars run alone against the clock, usually at night in “Speedweeks.”
  • Each car runs timed laps (recent formats: one timed lap; fastest 10 advance to a second round for the pole).
  • After the final round:
    • The fastest car earns the pole (P1) for the Daytona 500.
* The **second-fastest** starts P2 on the front row.

What about “open” cars here?

  • Most entries have charters, which guarantee them a starting spot, but a few “open” cars do not.
  • In recent rules, the two fastest open cars in qualifying are locked into the Daytona 500 field, even before the Duels are run.

So after qualifying, you know:

  • Who’s on the front row.
  • Which two open cars are already safely in on speed.

Step 2: The Duels (two qualifying races)

The rest of the field is largely decided by two 150‑mile races on Thursday night, called the Duels (formerly the Gatorade Duels, now often “Bluegreen Vacations Duels”).

How cars are split into the Duels

  • The qualifying results are used to divide the field:
    • Odd qualifiers go to one Duel and set the inside row of the 500 grid.
    • Even qualifiers go to the other Duel and set the outside row.

So if you qualified 3rd overall and win your Duel, you’ll start on the second row of the Daytona 500, right behind the pole sitter, on the inside line.

What the Duels decide

For chartered cars:

  • Finishing order in Duel 1 sets positions (for example) 3, 5, 7, 9… on the inside row (behind the pole).
  • Finishing order in Duel 2 sets positions 4, 6, 8, 10… on the outside row (behind P2).

For open cars:

  • The highest finishing open driver in each Duel automatically earns a Daytona 500 spot.

That means by the end of the Duels, four open cars are set:

  • Two from qualifying speed.
  • Two from best Duel finishes (one in each race).

If the highest finishing open car in a Duel was already locked in from qualifying, the rules fall back to speed to fill remaining open spots, using the next fastest open qualifiers not already in the race.

Step 3: Last few spots and special cases

Once the Duels are done:

  • The grid is fully determined by:
    • Front row from time trials.
    • Inside and outside rows from Duel finishing order.
    • Open entries set by a combination of Duel results and qualifying speeds.

Recent tweaks (like for 2026) adjust details—for example, how many open cars advance to a final qualifying round and exactly how many can get in on speed—but the core idea remains: time trials secure the front row and some open entries, Duels decide the rest of the order and who races their way in.

If something unusual happens:

  • A crash in the Duels can force a driver into a backup car and they must start at the back, even if their Duel result originally slotted them higher.
  • If weather cancels qualifying or one of the Duels, NASCAR uses backup procedures (practice speeds, remaining Duel, or rulebook formulas) to set the field and determine which open teams make it.

Mini FAQ: “how does daytona 500 qualifying work” in plain terms

  • Is the whole field set by qualifying speed?
    No. Only the front row is purely by speed; most of the lineup is set by where drivers finish in the two Duel races.
  • Can an open car miss the race even if it’s fast?
    Yes. If it isn’t one of the locked‑in speed cars and doesn’t race in well enough in its Duel, it can go home.
  • Why is it more complicated than a normal race?
    Because the Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s biggest event and still uses this classic, storyline‑heavy format where part of qualifying is a race of its own, not just a timed lap.

Simple HTML table of the process

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Stage</th>
      <th>What happens</th>
      <th>What it decides</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Single-car qualifying</td>
      <td>All cars run timed laps alone; fastest 10 may advance to a final round in recent formats.</td>
      <td>Front-row starters (P1 and P2) and two fastest open cars locked into the race.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Duel 1</td>
      <td>Race with half the field based on qualifying order (often odd qualifiers).</td>
      <td>Sets inside-row starting spots and locks in the best-finishing open car from this race.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Duel 2</td>
      <td>Race with the other half of the field (often even qualifiers).</td>
      <td>Sets outside-row starting spots and locks in the best-finishing open car from this race.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Final field set</td>
      <td>Combine front row, Duel results, and remaining open cars by qualifying speed if needed.</td>
      <td>All 40 starters for the Daytona 500 are confirmed, with charters guaranteed and open cars filled by speed and Duel results.</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.