Volusia's Daniel Dye Finishes 24th in NASCAR Cup Series Debut

Daniel Dye, a NASCAR driver and Volusia County local, finished 24th in his NASCAR Cup Series debut on Sunday. He drove the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports, two laps down when the race ended. The son of, car dealer, former racer, and NASCAR Foundation board member Randy Dye, Daniel Dye grew up in Volusia County and attended Father Lopez Catholic High School. His proximity to NASCAR's headquarters provided a backdrop to his beginnings in racing. Coming into the weekend, Dye's ability to participate in Talladega Superspeedway's Jack Link's 500 was uncertain. With one more entry than the field would accommodate, he was one of a few cars that wasn't locked in and risked being sent home. As it so happened, a bit of weather proved a lucky break for the 22-year-old. Qualifying on Saturday was rained out, and the metric that NASCAR used to set the starting lineup positioned another team to miss the field. Dye was set 40th, the last car in the starting lineup. During the race, Dye turned his first ever laps in a NASCAR Cup Series car at Talladega. His learning curve was evident early on, as Dye incurred a speeding penalty in the race's first stage. Luck turned around when Dye was able to continue after a crash on Lap 115 eliminated a huge chunk of the field. Sponsorship for Dye's No. 78 Chevrolet came from Champion Container Corporation, a longtime supporter of the DeLand native. The company sponsored Dye throughout the bulk of the 2025 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season as well. His Talladega start was the first NASCAR race since Dye served a suspension by NASCAR for homophobic comments on a live stream about David Malukas, an IndyCar Series driver. Dye was early into a full season with Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and was released as a result of the controversy. The day before his Cup Series debut Dye competed in the Alabama Manufactured Housing 200, that weekend's ARCA Menards Series race. Unofficially considered the fourth run on the NASCAR ladder, ARCA was the venue for Dye's first career win at Berlin Raceway in 2021. In Saturday's race he finished tenth driving for SPS Racing. Daniel Dye has three more NASCAR Cup Series entries on his schedule during the 2026 season. The next will come at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania on April 26. He'll then race in front of a hometown crowd at Daytona International Speedway on August 29. Dye's Cup Series campaign ends with a second Talladega start on October 25.