Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway
(⏰ Saturday, 7 p.m. ET | 📺 NBC, Peacock | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona, the 26th points-paying race of the 2023 Cup Series campaign.
Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | Daytona 101
📍 Location: Daytona Beach, Florida 📐 Track length: 2.5 miles 🎟️ Buy tickets: Find weekend passes, seats for the race 💰 Cup Series race purse: $8,778,583 📏 Race distance: 160 laps | 400 miles 🔢 Stages: 35 | 95 | 160 -- 🚪 Entry list: Cup Series drivers entered 📋 Starting lineup: Briscoe leads the field 🚗 Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit 🏆 Most recent winner: Austin Dillon, summer 2022 Key things to watch 🔑 Friday's sessions Seven Fords crowded the top 10 during Friday's final qualifying session at the superspeedway, and no blue oval showed more speed than Chase Briscoe, who will lead from the pole for only the second time in his NASCAR Cup Series career. Following Briscoe on the front row was Aric Almirola, with Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs rounding out the top five. | Read the full qualifying recap Big story line Who will claim the 16th and final spot in the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs? With one race remaining in the regular season, 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace currently holds the final playoff spot ahead of Saturday night's regular-season finale under the lights at Daytona. Following a strong day of picking up valuable stage points and a 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen, Wallace is 32 points above the elimination line. The first five out are Ty Gibbs (-32), Daniel Suárez (-43), AJ Allmendinger (-72), Alex Bowman (-96) and Chase Elliott (-101). However, Wallace, Gibbs and Suárez are the only three drivers who can mathematically advance on points. Everyone else below Suárez in points will need to win the Daytona summer race for any shot at advancing to the postseason. A total of 17 drivers will be fighting for the final spot in the field of 16 that will fight for the 2023 Cup Series title. Seven of these 17 drivers have past wins on drafting tracks. Knowing how unpredictable and intense the racing can get at Daytona, it will almost surely be a race of survival to see who is the last one standing from this group. | Preview Show: Daytona provides final shot to make playoffs History tells us... There is a chance of getting a first-time Cup Series race winner. In the last 10 Daytona races, five drivers got their first career Cup Series wins: Erik Jones (2018 summer race), Justin Haley (2019 summer race), William Byron (2020 summer race), Michael McDowell (2021 Daytona 500) and Austin Cindric (2022 Daytona 500). Superspeedways such as Daytona give more drivers an opportunity to win compared to most weeks. Drafting tracks bring the competition closer and tight racing allows for a surprise winner to emerge. One driver in the hunt to make the postseason and looking for his first win at NASCAR's premier level is Ty Gibbs. Winning his first Cup race at the World Center of Racing on Saturday night would come at the perfect time for the rookie driver, who is seeking a playoff berth in his maiden season. Gibbs has clicked off five consecutive top-15 finishes, giving the No. 54 team some positive momentum heading into a high-pressure, leave-it-all-on-the-line situation to cap off the regular season, which the Joe Gibbs Racing driver hopes will end with a playoff berth. | Relive William Byron's first Cup win in 2020 Daytona summer race He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for... Bubba Wallace. Surprisingly, Wallace's odds opened at 20-1 for Daytona (improving to 14-1 by race day). Considering that superspeedways are typically his best tracks, seeing the No. 23 Toyota running upfront on the high banks of Daytona should not be a surprise. With three runner-up finishes on the 2.5-mile high-banked oval, Wallace will try to do one spot better on Saturday night by getting a win at one of NASCAR's most iconic tracks. If there is a repeat winner at Daytona and Wallace avoids a catastrophic points night, the 23XI Racing driver can make the playoffs without needing a win. Despite the 32-point cushion at the moment, winning the 400-mile Florida race will have to be at the top of Wallace's mind. The No. 23 team certainly has the speed and talent to seal the deal at Daytona, but their fate will come down to avoiding chaos on the track and fully executing every aspect of the race with minimal mistakes. | Analysis: Bubba Wallace pads playoff cushion with 'exceptional' effort Talkin' Trophies 🔍 In this installment of 'Talkin' Trophies', we explore the origins of the Harley J. Earl trophy that is handed out to the winner of the Daytona 500. [ndmsvideo vid="404360" play="false"] Familiar favorites ⭐️ Our biggest pieces of the week -- get covered for race day from all angles. • At-track photos: All of the best photos from the action-packed race weekend | Scroll through gallery • Bubble Watch: Seventeen drivers fight for one playoff spot | All comes down to Daytona • Paint Scheme Preview: See the schemes for Daytona-2 | Pick a favorite • Power Rankings: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. goes for Daytona double as playoff countdown looms | Latest driver rankings • Stacking Pennies: Corey LaJoie discusses Bubba Wallace's approach to racing at Daytona on the playoff bubble and more | Listen to the podcast 💎 NASCAR 75: Learn more about the history of the sport, from pioneers to current stars | Visit NASCAR 75 hub