Posted on August 28, 2026 by Dustin Albino

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chase bubble drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Ryan Preece have differing mindsets heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Preece is going for broke in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 while van Gisbergen takes a measured approach.

“It’s a simple game plan: sit on the pole, win the first stage, win the second stage, win the race,” Derrick Finley, crew chief of the No. 60 car, told NASCAR.com on Friday afternoon before qualifying. “I don’t know why it makes it difficult. It’s pretty straightforward.”

Easier said than done.

Preece and the No. 60 RFK Racing team stepped up to the plate in qualifying and will start from a season-best fourth position. Van Gisbergen will be able to see Preece out of his windshield at the beginning of the race, with the No. 97 Chevrolet clocking in sixth.

Trailing the cutline by 31, Preece needs to outscore van Gisbergen by 32 points to qualify for The Chase in the driver’s standings. The No. 60 team sits just six points below the No. 97 bunch in the owner’s standings, but Preece was docked 25 driver points in early May following an incident with Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Be on offense,” Preece said of how he’s tackling the Daytona high banks. “When I come into this weekend, I just think about trying to win stages and win the race. That ultimately, no matter what situation it is, we would get our way into [The Chase].

“Selfishly, I’d like to be in on the driver’s side, but I am fully aware, and I’ve been in the car owner points race before. Ultimately, I would love to get both in. I completely understand the situation and know that having a great day will get us in on the owner’s side, but the goal going into it before everything starts is to try and do both.”

Van Gisbergen plans to be cautious during the opening stint, allowing Preece to set the pace and adjust accordingly. He knows that approach could change in Stage 2, when he may need to dice it up if the No. 60 car is at the front of the pack.

“I think, you know, 30 points is a lot until it’s not, until [Preece] has two good stages, then we’re probably under a lot of pressure,” van Gisbergen stated during a press conference on Friday. “So, yeah, as everyone knows, there’s a lot of anticipation, I guess, around the new rules and how the cars are going to be. I think we plan to be pretty conservative and then see how his race is going and react to that. If he’s scored well in Stage 1, we probably need to get amongst it in Stage 2 and start pushing the issue a bit.

“It’s going to be fun. It’s a pretty cool feeling to have the pressure on us and see how we go.”

Depending on how the opening two stanzas go, van Gisbergen could want updates on where Preece is running entering the final stage. His immediate goal for the first portion of the 160-lap event is to figure out the new aerodynamic package, throwing another wrinkle into the equation.

“I think there’s going to be a lot going on at the start of the race, trying to figure out how the cars are handling, what people are doing and what techniques they’re using to be good,” van Gisbergen added. “Certainly, if it comes down to it in Stage 3, yeah, I’d want to know where he is and what’s happening. Especially, as I said, if he’s had two good stages and that points gap has evaporated, we’ll be really mindful of where he is.”

The new rules package, which shrinks the rear spoiler by three inches and reduces horsepower from 510 to 465, adds another wild card to a race historically known for chaos. But it hasn’t changed Preece’s mindset. He knows he’ll need a career performance, having outscored van Gisbergen by more than 31 points in a race just twice this season (Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Naval Base Coronado).

“For me, the mindset is win,” Preece said bluntly. “The mindset is be the guy up front controlling lanes or pushing. That’s all you can do because you can get wrecked leading or you can get wrecked riding in 30th. I’ve had both happen, so I’d rather be the one that’s trying to lead the race and not playing defense.”

Mathematically, Brad Keselowski is still eligible; though, he needs a small miracle (minus-66). Plus, his No. 60 team lost pit-stall selection and car chief Jonathan Ellis after two pre-race inspection failures. If Bubba Wallace tallies two points for the race, he will clinch a Chase berth no matter what happens (plus-75). Austin Cindric isn’t guaranteed a spot either, sitting 44 points above the cutline.

Posted on August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Staff Report

Two wrecks in the first two stages of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway set back a trio of Chase bubble drivers Friday night, ultimately leading to Brent Crews and William Sawalich missing the postseason.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Daytona

At Lap 27 of 100, Patrick Staropoli went around in Turn 3 after a push gone awry from Jeremy Clements, spinning up the track and collecting Chase contenders Brent Crews and Sam Mayer. Crews suffered heavy front-end damage after contacting Staropoli’s No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet. Mayer was hit from behind by Staropoli and slapped the outside wall.

Both Crews and Mayer came down pit road for repairs. Crews, driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota, went to the garage before returning to the race 44 laps down. Mayer’s No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet kept rolling and stayed on the lead lap, finishing 25th to confirm a Chase spot after entering 19 points above the cutline.

At Lap 45, Anthony Alfredo and Corey Day made contact down the frontstretch, sending Sammy Smith around and into bubble driver William Sawalich and involving several others. Sawalich suffered massive front-end damage, forcing the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to the garage, where the team assessed his damage as terminal.

Ultimately, both Crews and Sawalich missed The Chase with their early misfortunes. They each entered Friday’s race just one point to the good over teammate Taylor Gray. Crews did not participate in four of the first six races due to age restrictions in his rookie season and fell short despite 12 top 10s in 20 events. Sawalich, meanwhile, did not qualify for the postseason for the second time in as many years.

Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

Posted on August 28, 2026August 29, 2026 by Dustin Albino

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Billy Scott has plenty of fond memories at Daytona International Speedway. Growing up near Tampa, roughly two hours southwest of Daytona, Scott fell in love with racing at the speedway as a child.

His most recent trip to the “World Center of Racing” added another chapter to those memories when he guided Tyler Reddick to victory in the 68th running of the Great American Race in February. The win ranks at the top of his career accolades.

RELATED: Daytona lineup | At-track photos

“That’s why it was special on two counts. It was the Daytona 500, but this is the place where I grew up coming as a fan in the stands many times to watch races,” Scott told NASCAR.com on Friday afternoon in a sweltering Cup Series garage.

Six months later, Scott and the other 39 crew chiefs will be learning on the fly. When the green flag waves on Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the new superspeedway aerodynamic package will debut, featuring a rear spoiler shortened from 7 inches to 4 inches, the same height used at intermediate tracks. The shorter spoiler is intended to reduce drag, while horsepower has been reduced from 510 to 465 to compensate for the reduced downforce.

Because Friday’s single-car qualifying session provided the only on-track laps before Saturday’s race, teams vary in their expectations for the new package. Some believe it will be a welcome change while others are still waiting to see how it plays out.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think it’s going to be as big of a change as everyone thinks,” Derrick Finley, a 30-year veteran and Ryan Preece’s crew chief, said. “We’ve raced here in the past with a lot less downforce, similar speed, similar horsepower. I don’t think it’s going to be as big of a change as you think. That’s my opinion. It could be wrong.

“When I look at the aero balance, I look at the simulation, it scares you to death. But then I take the experience side of it, and we’ve raced here a lot with very similar and less downforce, and it’s kind of a normal Daytona race.”

The opening 35-lap stage, which is less than a full fuel run, should give crew chiefs useful information on how to adjust for the remaining 125 circuits. But until the cars run three-wide for multiple rows or a driver pulls out of line to move forward, much remains unknown.

MORE: Friday recap

“They are substantial changes,” Scott said. “It’s a lot of drag, a lot of horsepower, a lot of downforce off. I think the biggest thing unknown that we’re looking to learn before Talladega [Superspeedway] is how do they drive now? You can look at the numbers on paper, at least a car by itself and see that it’s a drastic change. We have to make some consideration for that, but what it’s going to do in the pack is the interesting part.”

There’s also hope that the new package will reduce fuel saving. The teams won’t fully understand how far they can stretch the tank until the first pit stop, likely at the end of the opening stage. Depending on the mileage, Finley believes there is an outside chance teams could save even more fuel and pit only at the two stage breaks.

“Right now, we don’t have a good grasp on what type of mileage we’re going to see,” Finley said. “When I look at the range from what we’re predicting, it’s anywhere from it’s going to eliminate fuel savings, or it’s going to create even more fuel savings. There are opportunities that if mileage is on the really good side that we won’t pit except for the stage breaks – but we will have to save to do that. So, we’re right back in the same situation to begin with.”

Preece will take the green flag from fourth Saturday after posting the fourth-fastest qualifying time. Reddick, who has banked the most points at drafting tracks this season, will roll off 17th.

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daniel Suárez and wife Julia Piquet are expecting their first child — at any moment.

“I think it’s considered already full term because we are getting into 38 weeks, so it can happen anytime,” Suárez acknowledged Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “She can call me right now and say, ‘Hey, you have to come back.’ We’ll see how things happen. Hopefully, things work out for me to be there.”

RELATED: Daytona lineup | At-track photos

Suárez is fully prepared for the new arrival, at least from a logistics standpoint.

“It’s funny you ask that question because we were just talking that last night. I had my official hospital tour, and I’m ready to drive as quick as possible, whenever the moment presents,” Suárez said.

“Hopefully, I’m home for that. I already know which floor I have to go, where I can park, where I’m going to chill, where I’m going to stress. I had an hour-and-a-half tour last night.”

Suárez said he was prepared to skip qualifying at Daytona if the call should happen to come on Friday.

“Any other weekend, I don’t think that would be the case, especially being in The Chase,” said Suárez, who already is locked into the postseason. “If it’s Saturday or Sunday, I think it’s going to be tough. Julia and I, we already had a conversation, but hopefully it’s a Monday-through-Friday baby.”

Posted on August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Floridian Ross Chastain claimed his first Busch Light Pole position of the season – and third of his career – delivering a clutch effort Friday evening at Daytona International Speedway.

The 33-year-old from Alva, Florida – whose crew chief, Brandon McSwain, is from Auburndale, Fla. — dramatically claimed the top starting spot for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Cup Series regular season finale — delivering a best lap of 184.391 mph in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. The effort bettered RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford by 0.051 seconds.

It’s the best start on the 2.5-mile high banks for Chastain in 16 previous races at the iconic track and his first series pole position since the Watkins Glen, New York, road course race in 2023. Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney won this race from pole position last year – the first to do it in any Daytona NASCAR Cup Series race since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

“It’s almost indescribable,” Chastain said, noting he fully realizes starting position in these close-quarter races at Daytona doesn’t always translate into a trophy.

“But tonight and today, for a new package, for Trackhouse to pick the right package and execute through two rounds … it’s very important to note we chose the right things as a team,” said Chastain, whose Trackhouse team advanced all three Chevrolets into the 10-car field qualifying round.

“Life achievement,” Chastain said of the accomplishment. “I was a kid sitting in the grandstands and we camped outside Turn 1 … It’s a big deal, a life achievement and a moment I’ll never forget.”

“Just incredible,” he added. “All the cars were bouncing, all the cars were not driving well, and we made ours go faster not driving well.

All three of the drivers most closely vying for the final two Chase positions advanced to the second round of qualifying.

Buescher’s RFK teammate Ryan Preece was fastest in the opening round of qualifying and ended up fourth on the grid in the No. 60 RFK Ford – his best start of the season.

It’s important momentum, considering Preece is 17th in the championship standings – 44 points off Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and 31 points behind Chastain’s Trackhouse teammate, Shane van Gisbergen – the two holding onto 15th and 16th in the standings heading to Saturday’s green flag.

The third RFK driver, co-owner Brad Keselowski, qualified 21st and will endure an additional setback for Saturday’s race. His No. 6 car failed pre-race technical inspection twice, resulting in a loss of pit selection and the ejection of car chief Jonathan Ellis. Keselowski enters 66 points below the cutline — still mathematically eligible for The Chase.

The top-16 drivers in the standings will advance to the 10-race Chase to decide the 2026 season champion, which gets underway next weekend at Darlington Raceway.

“I think having a good starting spot gives us an opportunity to learn about our car, but also still have a very reasonable shot at some good points,” said Cindric, who will roll off eighth. “That first stage is super short, so that’s giving us a chance to start checking boxes early in the race.”

Said Preece of his strong qualifying showing, “I wanted the pole. Fourth is great, but not what I wanted. The good thing is we have a fast Ford Mustang, and we’ll race the hell out of them tomorrow.”

Driving the car that the late Kyle Busch drove to pole position for this year’s Daytona 500, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill will start third in the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet, alongside Preece.

It was 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst who led for most of the opening session of qualifying, sitting atop the speed chart until Preece claimed the spot with only nine drivers remaining. The driver of the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota – the only Toyota to advance to the final session – will start fifth.

Van Gisbergen will roll off sixth in the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet, his rookie teammate Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Trackhouse Chevrolet seventh best in the session, his fourth top-10 start of the season and best on an oval.

Team Penske teammates Cindric and three-time series champion Joey Logano will start their Fords eighth and ninth, with Hendrick Motorsports’ driver and reigning series champion Kyle Larson rolling off 10th in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet.

Daytona has historically presented a long list of race champions — nine different drivers have won the last 11 races at the speedway. There have been seven different winners in the last eight summer races here.

Of note, none of the top four drivers in the points standings advanced to the second round of qualifying. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who clinched the No. 1 seed in the Chase last week, was only 30th fastest in the No. 11 JGR Toyota.

Last week’s New Hampshire race winner and defending Daytona race winner, Penske’s Ryan Blaney — who sits second in the points — was 19th quickest.

Hamlin’s JGR teammate Ty Gibbs, who is third in the standings, will start his No. 54 Toyota from the 14th position on the grid. And 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who is fourth in the championship, will start his No. 54 Toyota 17th.

Forty drivers will take the green flag Sunday. Gray Gaulding was the only entrant who did not qualify. It would have been his first NASCAR Cup Series start since 2023.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Staff Report

GAF 150

Stafford Speedway

Qualifying results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	In Lap	Laps	Diff
1	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications; Inc.	19.237	93.57	2	2
2	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply; Lumiere Electrical; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; AP Marquadt & Sons; Hughes Motors.	19.25	93.506	2	2	0.013
3	73	Paulie Hartwig III*	Professional Therapy LLC; Jersey Shore Contracting	19.293	93.298	2	2	0.056
4	82	Andrew Molleur	Dannyâ€™s Cesspool Service; Village Springs Water	19.31	93.216	2	2	0.073
5	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools	19.311	93.211	2	2	0.074
6	79	Jonathan McKennedy	Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Boyle Electric; Hillsboro Ent.; Levasseur HVAC; J Young Landscaping	19.328	93.129	2	2	0.091
7	28	Doug Coby	Nucar	19.348	93.033	2	2	0.111
8	1	Patrick Emerling	USNE Power	19.349	93.028	1	2	0.112
9	6	Cory Dimatteo*	Manafort Brothers; Sargis Associates Inc.; TWM Development	19.363	92.961	2	2	0.126
10	31	Michael Christopher Jr	Elite Towing	19.371	92.922	2	2	0.134
11	60	Matt Hirschman	Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports	19.43	92.64	2	2	0.193
12	50	Ronnie Williams	Empower Financial Advisory	19.439	92.597	2	2	0.202
13	89	Matt Swanson	Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC	19.455	92.521	2	2	0.218
14	44	Chase Dowling	SS Paving / Harshaw Paving	19.456	92.516	2	2	0.219
15	3	Tyler Rypkema	Northeast Drilling; SYP	19.48	92.402	2	2	0.243
16	15	Joey Cipriano	Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company; Creative Racing	19.486	92.374	2	2	0.249
17	95	Matt Kimball	Tuckers Fabrication & Welding/Croteau Machine/Apex Race Cars/Apex Racing	19.509	92.265	2	2	0.272
18	20	Max Zachem	Lu-Macs Package Store; USNE Power; Dunleavy’s	19.519	92.218	2	2	0.282
19	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power	19.547	92.086	2	2	0.31
20	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara; USNE Power	19.548	92.081	2	2	0.311
21	36	David Sapienza	Sapienza Enterprises	19.549	92.076	2	2	0.312
22	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply	19.573	91.963	2	2	0.336
23	05	Teddy Hodgdon IV*	Business Time Motorsports; Omaha Beef; The Landau Team of Re/Max	19.612	91.781	2	2	0.375
24	18	Ken Heagy	Merkel Racing Engines	19.678	91.473	2	2	0.441
25	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power; Eighty-Two Services	19.809	90.868	2	2	0.572

Posted on August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers will pit this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Staff Report

GAF 150

Stafford Speedway

Final practice results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	In Lap	Laps	Diff
1	79	Jonathan McKennedy	Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Boyle Electric; Hillsboro Ent.; Levasseur HVAC; J Young Landscaping	19.183	93.833	7	16
2	60	Matt Hirschman	Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports	19.209	93.706	22	23	0.026
3	50	Ronnie Williams	Empower Financial Advisory	19.249	93.511	5	18	0.066
4	05	Teddy Hodgdon IV*	Business Time Motorsports; Omaha Beef; The Landau Team of Re/Max	19.274	93.39	14	14	0.091
5	31	Michael Christopher Jr	Elite Towing	19.301	93.259	7	20	0.118
6	3	Tyler Rypkema	Northeast Drilling; SYP	19.306	93.235	6	20	0.123
7	6	Cory Dimatteo*	Manafort Brothers; Sargis Associates Inc.; TWM Development	19.314	93.197	20	21	0.131
8	1	Patrick Emerling	USNE Power	19.318	93.177	4	12	0.135
9	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications; Inc.	19.327	93.134	6	20	0.144
10	44	Chase Dowling	SS Paving / Harshaw Paving	19.327	93.134	4	12	0.144
11	73	Paulie Hartwig III*	Professional Therapy LLC; Jersey Shore Contracting	19.335	93.095	5	13	0.152
12	28	Doug Coby	Nucar	19.368	92.937	18	18	0.185
13	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply	19.371	92.922	7	14	0.188
14	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply; Lumiere Electrical; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; AP Marquadt & Sons; Hughes Motors.	19.383	92.865	4	21	0.2
15	82	Andrew Molleur	Dannyâ€™s Cesspool Service; Village Springs Water	19.394	92.812	12	13	0.211
16	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools	19.407	92.75	14	14	0.224
17	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara; USNE Power	19.417	92.702	4	17	0.234
18	36	David Sapienza	Sapienza Enterprises	19.427	92.655	5	17	0.244
19	89	Matt Swanson	Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC	19.435	92.616	6	13	0.252
20	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power	19.454	92.526	15	16	0.271
21	15	Joey Cipriano	Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company; Creative Racing	19.481	92.398	9	11	0.298
22	18	Ken Heagy	Merkel Racing Engines	19.494	92.336	18	19	0.311
23	95	Matt Kimball	Tuckers Fabrication & Welding/Croteau Machine/Apex Race Cars/Apex Racing	19.524	92.194	7	15	0.341
24	20	Max Zachem	Lu-Macs Package Store; USNE Power; Dunleavy’s	19.55	92.072	17	19	0.367
25	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power; Eighty-Two Services	19.583	91.916	16	16	0.4

Posted on August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Staff Report

GAF 150

Stafford Speedway

Practice results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	In Lap	Laps	Diff
1	05	Teddy Hodgdon IV*	Business Time Motorsports; Omaha Beef; The Landau Team of Re/Max	19.172	93.887	10	21
2	1	Patrick Emerling	USNE Power	19.178	93.858	6	27	0.006
3	44	Chase Dowling	SS Paving / Harshaw Paving	19.188	93.809	24	24	0.016
4	60	Matt Hirschman	Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports	19.211	93.696	15	17	0.039
5	28	Doug Coby	Nucar	19.286	93.332	5	21	0.114
6	31	Michael Christopher Jr	Elite Towing	19.312	93.206	8	18	0.14
7	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply	19.32	93.168	11	29	0.148
8	89	Matt Swanson	Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC	19.321	93.163	6	16	0.149
9	79	Jonathan McKennedy	Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Boyle Electric; Hillsboro Ent.; Levasseur HVAC; J Young Landscaping	19.322	93.158	7	25	0.15
10	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications; Inc.	19.322	93.158	5	23	0.15
11	3	Tyler Rypkema	Northeast Drilling; SYP	19.324	93.148	8	26	0.152
12	6	Cory Dimatteo*	Manafort Brothers; Sargis Associates Inc.; TWM Development	19.332	93.11	22	30	0.16
13	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power	19.339	93.076	5	34	0.167
14	82	Andrew Molleur	Dannyâ€™s Cesspool Service; Village Springs Water	19.341	93.067	6	26	0.169
15	15	Joey Cipriano	Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company; Creative Racing	19.359	92.98	21	27	0.187
16	73	Paulie Hartwig III*	Professional Therapy LLC; Jersey Shore Contracting	19.362	92.966	8	27	0.19
17	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools	19.41	92.736	15	24	0.238
18	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply; Lumiere Electrical; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; AP Marquadt & Sons; Hughes Motors.	19.422	92.678	14	22	0.25
19	36	David Sapienza	Sapienza Enterprises	19.424	92.669	6	34	0.252
20	20	Max Zachem	Lu-Macs Package Store; USNE Power; Dunleavy’s	19.425	92.664	4	15	0.253
21	50	Ronnie Williams	Empower Financial Advisory	19.44	92.593	14	17	0.268
22	18	Ken Heagy	Merkel Racing Engines	19.542	92.109	6	16	0.37
23	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power; Eighty-Two Services	19.543	92.105	8	27	0.371
24	95	Matt Kimball	Tuckers Fabrication & Welding/Croteau Machine/Apex Race Cars/Apex Racing	19.579	91.935	7	26	0.407
25	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara; USNE Power	19.64	91.65	5	22	0.468

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

After 25 races, five drivers are fighting for the final three spots inside The Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

The battle will reach a fever pitch on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Before the green flag waves, here is a look at the five contenders who have a chance to advance to the 16-driver contest for a 10-race journey toward their title hopes with help from Racing Insights. Three of these drivers will leave Daytona Beach with an opportunity to chase a championship; two will be left fighting for 17th place in the points standings through the end of the season.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Daytona schedule

14. Bubba Wallace

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media

Points to the cutline: +75
Points needed to clinch: 2
Best Daytona result: 2nd (three times)
Highest seed possible: 9th
Average points per race: 25.2
Most points earned in a 2026 race: 48 (EchoPark Speedway, February)

Details: In need of just two points to advance to The Chase, Bubba Wallace realistically just needs to finish 35th or better on Saturday night at Daytona, even if he doesn’t score any stage points. That’s not always so straightforward, of course: Wallace was at the forefront of a crash at Lap 27 of last year’s summer race at the “World Center of Racing” and finished 37th, only earning one point. But Wallace has a strong track record at Daytona, and those behind him would need near-perfect days to oust the No. 23 Toyota from The Chase grid. In other words, Wallace is a near-certain lock to advance.

15. Austin Cindric

James Gilbert | Getty Images

Points to the cutline: +44
Points needed to clinch: 33
Best Daytona result: 1 win (2022 Daytona 500)
Highest seed possible: 11th
Average points per race: 23.96
Most points earned in a 2026 race: 48 (Richmond Raceway)

Details: Cindric bolstered his chances of making The Chase with his best points day of the season just two weeks ago at Richmond. With a 44-point buffer to the cutline, Cindric’s spot in the 16-driver grid is fairly secure. Cindric typically keeps his No. 2 Team Penske Ford toward the front of the field on superspeedways, leading a combined 92 laps in his last five Daytona starts specifically. With such great superspeedway racers as teammates — Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney — Cindric should have help around him to bolster his odds. There is a question regarding what his team’s strategy should be — be aggressive and fight for stage points, or survive until the end and gain ground late? But either should yield a promising result for the fifth-year driver.

16. Shane van Gisbergen

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Points to the cutline: +31
Points needed to clinch: 45
Best Daytona result: 16th (2025 summer)
Highest seed possible: 12th
Average points per race: 23.44
Most points earned in a 2026 race: 68 (Watkins Glen)

Details: Dominant days for van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway led to two fantastic victories with critical points earned, placing him into position to qualify for The Chase on points. But a shout is deserved for SVG’s improvement on ovals, which has proven dire to his current cutline predicament, including top-five runs at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway and dual sixth-place finishes this year at EchoPark Speedway. A 31-point buffer to the cutline is decent but not totally comfortable for the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing team, particularly with two strong drafters at RFK Racing lurking behind in the standings.

17. Ryan Preece

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Points to the cutline: -31
Points needed to clinch: Can only clinch with help
Best Daytona result: 4th (2021 summer)
Highest seed possible: 14th
Average points per race: 22.2
Most points earned in a 2026 race: 45 (Naval Base Coronado)

Details: Ryan Preece has had a summer of seemingly missed opportunities. A career short-track ace, Preece had a couple of middling performances at Iowa Speedway (20th) and Richmond Raceway (17th) that didn’t quite yield the number of points expected for the No. 60 RFK Racing team. Daytona has been hit or miss — or take-off — for Preece over the years, with seven DNFs in 13 Daytona starts. But Preece promised “a heavyweight match” to SVG for that final position following last week’s top-10 run at New Hampshire with a hearty dose of confidence planted in his right foot. The uphill climb is obvious, but it’s also doable on the unpredictable high banks of Daytona.

18. Brad Keselowski

Sen Gardner | Getty Images

Points to the cutline: -66
Points needed to clinch: Can only clinch with help
Best Daytona result: Win (2016 summer)
Highest seed possible: 16th
Average points per race: 20.8
Most points earned in a 2026 race: 55 (Darlington)

Details: For as many laps as Keselowski has led at Daytona International Speedway (356 total), the 2012 Cup Series champion only has one win to show for it. That win came a decade ago in the summer race on the Florida high banks, but he nearly scored his first Daytona 500 victory back in February as well before placing fifth. In order to control his own destiny Saturday, Keselowski will need to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and score significant stage points in the process. He’s proven he can excel in must-win moments before, but erasing a 66-point deficit in one race will be a unique challenge for the RFK Racing co-owner and driver.