DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The engines aren’t the only things warming up at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona 500 Media Day fires off Wednesday, sliding neatly between the first NASCAR Cup Series practice of the year and single-car qualifying under the lights later that night. It’s the unofficial green flag to Speedweeks — where microphones, notebooks and recorders get their first real workout of 2026.
Once practice wraps, the Cup Series garage funnels into the famed Daytona media center, and it becomes organized chaos in the best possible way. Drivers rotate through interviews with MRN Radio, FOX Sports, national and local outlets, and a deep bench of racing journalists who know their way around a superspeedway stat sheet. It’s rapid-fire, it’s information-heavy, and it’s where early narratives of the Daytona 500 start to take shape.
One of the biggest draws again this year is expected to be The Teardown Live, hosted by Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic and produced by Dirty Mo Media, the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-led powerhouse. Last year’s Media Day edition streamed free on YouTube and featured interviews with every Cup driver attempting to make the Daytona 500 field — a rare, unfiltered marathon that fans and competitors alike embraced. With 41 cars eligible this year thanks to Jimmie Johnson’s provisional, Gluck and Bianchi are expected to be back to do it again, wall-to-wall, all day long. Fans can listen live on YouTube, podcast platforms and audio apps as the driver carousel spins.
And yes — the heavy hitters are in the building. Bob Pockrass will be filing his trademark rapid-fire updates. Matt Weaver, the grassroots guru with a historian’s eye, is on site. Jacob Seelman anchors coverage remotely from North Carolina, continuing a Speedweeks tradition of sharp analysis and timely reporting. Between them, just about every angle — competitive, historical and human — gets covered before a wheel turns in qualifying.
From the EasySportz side, coverage ramps up immediately. The outlet has one writer on site Wednesday to handle Media Day interviews and atmosphere, while the rest of the horsepower keeps the keyboards humming remotely. Full in-person EasySportz coverage begins Thursday for the Daytona 500 Duels, with daily reporting stretching from Daytona International Speedway to New Smyrna Speedway and Volusia, all the way through Monday morning’s champions breakfast and handprints. It’s a long week — the good kind.
Media Day doesn’t award points, poles or trophies, but it does something just as important: it reminds everyone that racing is officially back. Storylines start breathing. Voices get heard. Expectations get set. And for a few hours in the Daytona media center, the focus is squarely on the people who’ll try to tame 2.5 miles of banking on Sunday afternoon.
So here’s a tip of the cap to Gluck and Bianchi for bringing fans along for the ride once again, and a welcome back to Speedweeks. The cars are on track, the mics are hot — and Daytona is alive.
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