What to Watch: Strategy plays could make or break playoff hopes

Coke Zero Sugar 400

(⏰ Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET | NBC | Peacock | NBC Sports App | MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: Daytona Beach, Florida Track length: 2.5 miles Race purse: $9,193,568 Race distance: 160 laps | 400 miles Stages: 35 | 95 | 160 -- Starting lineup: Michael McDowell on pole Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit Defending winner: Chris Buescher, August 2023

Key things to watch

Friday session Front Row Motorsports swept the front row for Saturday night's 400-miler as Michael McDowell claimed the pole with a blistering 183.165 mph lap in the final round of qualifying. Todd Gilliland wasn't too far behind with a 182.801 mph hot lap. Ford claimed seven of the top 10 starting positions for Saturday, including the top-five starting spots. Joey Logano (182.341 mph), Ryan Preece (182.312 mph) and Josh Berry grabbed coveted spots in the front five. | Friday recap Big story line It's the hope that fuels you Forty drivers have the opportunity to stake their claim as a Daytona winner Saturday night, and with that comes the need to balance keeping track position and saving fuel to have the shortest pit stops throughout the evening. Track position has taken on an important role in recent superspeedway races, but drivers know how to get to the front in these races. However, is it worth burning the extra fuel before the final push to the checkered flag? Bubba Wallace, who sits one below the playoff elimination line to Ross Chastain, says the recent strategy addition comes with the growing on-track awareness of drivers. "It's not even, like this car. It's just we've all gotten smart," Wallace said. "Like 10 years ago, it's like, why don't we just save fuel? You're like 'yeah, we could have done that.' I don't know how you change that. I'm not smart enough to get into the details of it. It is what it is. It's not fun riding around half speed here, you know, but you adapt quick. If that's gonna put you in a spot to win, then you adapt, and you do it." In the Talladega spring race, a group of Toyotas shook up the strategy by pitting early in the final stage for fuel. While a chunk of them wrecked, Tyler Reddick made it through and eventually went on to take the checkered flag in that event. While it's the shortest superspeedway race of the year, at least one stop for fuel will be required in the second and final stages. Pit stops aren't historically known for determining a driver's chances to win on a superspeedway, but a bad stop may determine whether or not he'll compete for a championship. History tells us... First-time winners occur half the time in the summer race. Whether it occurred on Independence Day weekend or served as the regular-season finale, Daytona's annual sequel has shook up the playoffs 40% of the time in the 10-year history of the NASCAR Playoffs. The fifth first-time winner was Justin Haley, who won a rain-shortened 2019 event but was ineligible for the Cup Series Playoffs. Austin Dillon is the most recent driver to win his way into the playoffs, doing so in a chaotic 2022 event that saw the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet bob and weave his way through a big wreck to come out as the leader. Aric Almirola (2014), Erik Jones (2018) and William Byron (2020) have also won their way into the playoffs at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, with Byron's and Almirola's being the first of each of their careers at the Cup level. An interesting note regarding those who had already clinched a playoff spot is they are all well-known superspeedway connoisseurs with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2015), Brad Keselowski (2016), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2017), Ryan Blaney (2021) and Chris Buescher (2023) snagging the checkered flag in those events. He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for... ZANE SMITH. Spire Motorsports knows how to get around superspeedways, and with an all-time underdog win with Justin Haley a half-decade ago, it wouldn't be a surprise if another Spire driver can stun the Cup Series landscape and make the 2024 playoffs. Smith has made two Cup starts at Daytona and put on solid runs with a pair of 13th-place results in back-to-back Daytona 500s. Seventy-to-one odds are quite the long shot at a superspeedway, but Spire as a whole enters Saturday night event with momentum with Smith and Carson Hocever both scoring top 10s at Michigan last week. | Daytona odds

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week -- get covered for race day from all angles. • Dillon penalty upheld: Appeals panel upholds No. 3 penalty; spotter suspension reduced | Read article • No. 11 team penalized: Hamlin, No. 11 team receive L2-level penalty for violating engine inspection requirements | Read article • Quite a reputation: How chaos has defined Daytona | Read article • Stay aware: How to get notified for 2025 schedule release | Sign up! • New part added to Cup car: NASCAR mandates air deflector to right side of car following Michigan flip | Read article • Dye to Kaulig: Daniel Dye to pilot No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevy full-time in Xfinity Series for 2025 | Read article • No. 48 Xfinity team penalized: Big Machine Racing team levied L1-level penalty after Michigan | Read article • 'We're at the adult table': Spire Motorsports' co-owner Jeff Dickerson gives insight on the organization's rise | Watch video • Power Rankings: Will Buescher's big breakthrough arrive at Daytona? | Photo gallery • Turning Point: Will unpredictability reveal itself again at Daytona? | Read article • Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Saturday-night showdown | Read article • Field of 16: How the playoff picture shakes out with two races left in regular season | Read article • 36 for 36: Check out this week's survivor pool picks | Read article • Fantasy Fastlane: Spin the wheel of fortune at Daytona | Photo gallery • NASCAR Classics: Head into the video vault with vintage summer Daytona replays | Read article • Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs dazzling for Daytona | Pick your favorite

Fast facts ⏩

Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• Toyota is winless in the last eight Daytona races. • The last four Daytona winners all started outside the top 10. • The final green-flag stretch was two laps or less in 13 of the last 14 Daytona races.