Finally, the NASCAR season is officially set to kick off. Cup Series cars will be on track tonight for qualifying for the Daytona 500. Later in the week, the newly minted O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will likely continue to offer the best superspeedway racing on the high banks of Daytona. Then there is the Craftsman Truck Series hosting an All-Star Race for their season opener at Daytona. The excitement is back for racing. A sluggish offseason has morphed into anticipation after a refreshing change to the points format and well-received advertising from NASCAR. In addition to all of these returns, the Pit Pass Network Predictions are here for the season fight for the top spot. Daytona Speedweeks will kick off the Pit Pass Network 2026 Predictions.
For those new to Predictions articles, here is how it works. Each week, each entry list for the competing 3 top national series will have 5 drivers randomly drawn. The lone exception will be Cup Series crown jewel events, like this week. For these weeks, there will be 4 groups of 4 drivers drawn. With these groups, each member of the PPN team will pick which driver will do the best. Where that driver finishes is the points award to the team member. Most points at the end of the season wins.
Daytona 500
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Group 1 Drivers: Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, & Tyler Reddick
Zach Adams: Chase Elliott
Andy Coffey: Chase Elliott
Robert Cwick: Christopher Bell
Tiffany Faw: Chase Elliott
Griffin Fuller: Bubba Wallace
Robert Hill Jr: Tyler Reddick
Cash James: Bubba Wallace
Terra Jones: Bubba Wallace
Gregory Latham: Christopher Bell
Mark Matthews: Tyler Reddick
Daniel Smith: Chase Elliott
Jane Waldrop: Chase Elliott
Photos from Getty Images
Group 2 Drivers: Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, & Chris Buescher
Zach Adams: Austin Cindric
Andy Coffey: Chris Buescher
Robert Cwick: Austin Cindric
Tiffany Faw: Chris Buescher
Griffin Fuller: Austin Cindric
Robert Hill Jr: Michael McDowell
Cash James: Chris Buescher
Terra Jones: Michael McDowell
Gregory Latham: Chris Buescher
Mark Matthews: Ty Gibbs
Daniel Smith: Austin Cindric
Jane Waldrop: Michael McDowell
Photos from Getty Images
Group 3 Drivers: Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez, Cody Ware, & Cole Custer
Zach Adams: Todd Gilliland
Andy Coffey: Daniel Suarez
Robert Cwick: Todd Gilliland
Tiffany Faw: Todd Gilliland
Griffin Fuller: Todd Gilliland
Robert Hill Jr: Todd Gilliland
Cash James: Todd Gilliland
Terra Jones: Todd Gilliland
Gregory Latham: Cole Custer
Mark Matthews: Daniel Suarez
Daniel Smith: Cody Ware
Jane Waldrop: Todd Gilliland
Photos from Getty Images
Group 4 Drivers: Corey LaJoie, Casey Mears, Justin Allgaier, & BJ McLeod
Zach Adams: Corey LaJoie
Andy Coffey: Justin Allgaier
Robert Cwick: BJ McLeod
Tiffany Faw: Justin Allgaier
Griffin Fuller: Corey LaJoie
Robert Hill Jr: Justin Allgaier
Cash James: Justin Allgaier
Terra Jones: Corey LaJoie
Gregory Latham: Justin Allgaier
Mark Matthews: Casey Mears
Daniel Smith: Corey LaJoie
Jane Waldrop: BJ McLeod
United Rentals 300
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Drivers: Daniel Dye, Sammy Smith, Anthony Alfredo, Blaine Perkins, & Sheldon Creed
Zach Adams: Sheldon Creed
Andy Coffey: Sheldon Creed
Robert Cwick: Sammy Smith
Tiffany Faw: Anthony Alfredo
Griffin Fuller: Sheldon Creed
Robert Hill Jr: Sammy Smith
Cash James: Sammy Smith
Terra Jones: Anthony Alfredo
Gregory Latham: Blaine Perkins
Mark Matthews: Daniel Dye
Daniel Smith: Sheldon Creed
Jane Waldrop: Sheldon Creed
Fresh From Florida 250
Photos from Getty Images
Drivers: Nick Leitz, Stewart Friesen, Brenden Queen, Grant Enfinger, & Andres Perez
Zach Adams: Grant Enfinger
Andy Coffey: Brenden Queen
Robert Cwick: Stewart Friesen
Tiffany Faw: Grant Enfinger
Griffin Fuller: Grant Enfinger
Robert Hill Jr: Grant Enfinger
Cash James: Brenden Queen
Terra Jones: Brenden Queen
Gregory Latham: Stewart Friesen
Mark Matthews: Nick Leitz
Daniel Smith: Grant Enfinger
Jane Waldrop: Grant Enfinger