Brent Crews will make his NASCAR debut at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Entering the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Series regular-season finale at Daytona, Crews sits on the Chase bubble with a one-point advantage over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Taylor Gray.
The driver of the No. 19 car has arguably been a top-5 driver in the O'Reilly Series, but missing four races has put him on the Chase cut line. If Crews were able to compete in those four race weekends, he would likely be getting prepared for an opportunity to chase an O'Reilly Series championship soon.
While that could still be the case, Crews has a very tough challenge ahead of him. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has never competed in the draft
at Daytona and won't have any practice time. With no room for error, Crews might have to run the race of his life to make his way into the Chase during the 2026 NASCAR season.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Brent Crews' Daytona debut comes with Chase implications in 2026
