Josh Herrin Wins the 2026 Daytona 200

Josh Herrin defied every expectation — including his own — to win the 2026 Daytona 200 aboard the Rahal Ducati Moto entry at Daytona International Speedway.

"If you had asked me even on the grid, last week, two weeks ago, how I felt coming into the race, I just would have said I had zero chance," Herrin said. "I woke up this morning thinking there's no way because the lap that I did in qualifying yesterday took everything I had. I had to get a perfect draft. I was a second and a half off of Kayla, Di Mario, and PJ all five days that I rode this bike in pre-season testing. Just wanted to put my head into a wall. I was pretty frustrated."

Herrin credited crew chief Scott Jensen with keeping him focused through a difficult pre-race week. "That's what's cool about having a crew chief that used to be a racer because he has that never-give-up attitude. He knows how it is to be a frustrated rider. I don't know him very well, but we work very well together. No matter how frustrated I got, he just kept making me feel more positive at the end of each day. Even though I was negative towards him, he just made me feel better every time I would go to the hotel. We showed up with a good bike today and it shows."

The race itself was anything but smooth. Herrin's bike wouldn't start during the first pit stop, forcing his crew to push him roughly fifty yards down pit lane. He rejoined five to seven seconds behind the leaders. Then, on the final pit stop, Herrin collided with a camera operator who was filming PJ Jacobsen leaving his pit box.

"I was so angry. I can't be angry now. Now it's just funny, but it was one of the worst moments in my career," Herrin said. "It felt like something was just helping me out there. Every time something bad happened, I just got carried back to the front. It was just an amazing race."

Herrin wore a special helmet painted by Troy Lee himself in honor of Scott Russell, who shared the design on his social media ahead of the race.

"I can't thank the entire Rahal Ducati Moto team enough. Thank you to Desnuda. Thank you to Brew Watch, Nimbus Healthcare. Thank you to everybody that came in and helped out just for this weekend," Herrin said. "It's an amazing feeling. I can't describe what it feels like, especially to be wearing this helmet that Troy Lee painted himself to honor Scott Russell, and to have Scott share the helmet on his social media and stuff. It's a special day. It just doesn't feel real."