The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has begun in Daytona Beach. Will President Donald Trump make an appearance for the second year in a row?
On-track activities kicked off this morning with NASCAR Cup Series practice, followed by afternoon media day festivities and qualifying at 8:15 p.m.
Thursday will feature the two 150-mile Duel qualifiers, which will finalize the starting lineup for the Daytona 500. On Friday and Saturday, the Cup cars will cede the spotlight to the Truck Series, ARCA and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Each will open its 2026 season.
Then, the 68th Great American Race will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Here’s what to know about Trump’s attendance.
Is Donald Trump attending the Daytona 500 race?
As of Feb. 11, it is unknown whether Trump will attend the big race on Sunday, Feb. 15.
The Federal Aviation Administration has posted a temporary flight restriction for West Palm Beach for Feb. 13 -17, which is where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is located. There is no flight restriction for the Daytona Beach area.
How many Daytona 500 races has Donald Trump attended?
Trump has attended two Daytona 500 races as president: 2020 and 2025. Before entering politics, Trump attended the Daytona 500 each year from 1998 to 2001.
See photos of Donald Trump’s last appearance at the Daytona 500
National Weather Service forecast for Daytona 500, Speedweek
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74 degrees. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon.
Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. North-northeast wind at around 5 mph, becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: A 20% chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Light and variable wind becoming northeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. East wind around 5 mph becoming southeast after midnight.
Saturday: A 20% chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday night: A 20% chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South southeast wind around 5 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Sunday: A 50% chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Sunday night: A 50% chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Monday: A 20% chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. West wind around 10 mph, becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
How to watch, stream the Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 will be airing on FOX at 2:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 16. There will also be live radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Fans can also watch the race on NBC, TNT, USA Network and CW.
Watch Daytona 500 on Fubo
If you don’t have live TV, you can stream the race on Fubo, FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app.
Contributing: Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal
Samantha Neely is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, theme parks, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
