Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Justin Allgaier survived a trip to the rear of the field, a pass-through penalty after the initial start and a war of attrition to win Friday night’s Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway in overtime.

Allgaier didn’t win by much. On the final lap of the two-circuit overtime, Allgaier bumped side-to-side with Sheldon Creed coming to the finish line and beat Creed to the stripe by 0.005 seconds—approximately 12 inches at the 2.5-mile track.

RELATED: Race results | Best photos from Daytona

Allgaier was penalized after his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet failed pre-qualifying inspection three times on Thursday. He started from the rear of the field and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty with four other cars after the first lap.

But Allgaier, who won at Daytona for the first time after two runner-up finishes in 25 previous starts at the speedway, stayed on the lead lap for the first stage and vaulted into the third position with a fuel-only pit stop during the break after Stage 2.

“I’ve been coming to this place for a long time,” said Allgaier, who won for the second time this season and the 21st time in his career. “I wanted to win here so bad—we’ve been so close. I just can’t say enough about (crew chief) Jim Pohlman and everybody on this 7 team.

“We had an oversight yesterday when we brought a car to the track and put it through inspection, and it wasn’t where we wanted… and that cost us a pass-through, but the team never quit, never gave up, and we rallied, and obviously we put ourselves in a good position. The strategy was awesome.”

Allgaier’s battle with Creed followed a massive wreck in Turn 3 that sent the race to overtime.

A late block attempt by Trevor Bayne moments after a restart on Lap 99 of 100 robbed many contenders of the win. Bayne shared the front row with Allgaier for the restart. Running behind Bayne in the top lane, Austin Hill made a bold move to the outside, and Bayne moved up to cover, perhaps with Hill’s car dragging his bumper to the right.

MORE: Big wreck sends Xfinity race to overtime

Bayne turned into the outside wall, and chaos reigned behind him. All told, nine cars were involved, including those of John Hunter Nemechek and Josh Berry.

That set up the two-lap shootout, with Allgaier prevailing by the smallest of margins.

“Another great run for us—my best speedway race,” said Creed, who is still seeking his first Xfinity Series win. “I hated speedway racing two years ago. My teammate (Hill) was kicking my butt at it, and I had to get it together, right?

“So asking him questions, just trying to learn and watch and get better at this stuff because speedway racing is so hard mentally. It’s probably harder than any kind of racing mentally, just knowing where to go and what moves to make.”

Daniel Hemric ran third, followed by Parker Kligerman, who moved into the final playoff-eligible position in the standings with two races left before the Xfinity playoffs begin.

Cole Custer was fifth, followed by Ryan Sieg, Parker Retzlaff, Alfredo, Gray Gaulding and Justin Haley.

As Hill was taking the green-checkered flag to win the 30-lap first stage, Riley Herbst’s left front tire exploded and obliterated the fender above it. Herbst brought the severely damaged No. 98 Ford to pit road, where his crew effected repairs and beat the damaged vehicle policy clock.

Herbst, who had complained of steering issues before the tire blew, rejoined the field three laps down. The diagnosis? The top bolt had backed out of the steering box on the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Ford. That problem was solved, and Herbst continued—without a left-front quarter panel.

Herbst benefited from late-race attrition to finish 24th, but he fell out of the top 12 and trails Kligerman by 20 points for the final playoff berth.

Just two races remain on the Xfinity Series regular-season calendar. Next up is the always tricky Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 2 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Note: Post-race inspection is complete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage. There were no issues, confirming Allgaier as the winner.

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Saturday’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway stands as an all-for-one proposition, with 17 hopeful drivers all vying for the lone remaining spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. None of them, however, should anticipate getting there alone.

Teamwork and the assistance of others in the aerodynamic draft at the high-speed 2.5-mile track will be at a premium in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock, NBC Sports App). In some cases, the strategies have already been discussed, with alliances drawn along team and manufacturer lines in an effort to regulate the unpredictable nature of Daytona.

“I mean, you can plan all you want for it, but it’s still a speedway race, right?” said Tyler Reddick, who is locked into the Cup Series Playoffs; his 23XI Racing teammate, Bubba  Wallace, is not. “Like, it’s not gonna go as you expect, so it’s good to talk about it and have a game plan, but I mean, as soon as the green flag drops, the situation may not ever play out over the course of the entire race. It’s just the way speedway racing can be.”

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Daytona

The possibilities have already raised the specter of some strained what-ifs. Wallace currently has a provisional hold on the final playoff spot, with a 32-point edge over fellow Toyota driver Ty Gibbs.

Denny Hamlin made some podcast waves by saying earlier in the week that given the choice of pushing Gibbs — his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing — or Wallace — his employee at 23XI, the team he co-owns — to a playoff-clinching win, he would assist Wallace. He stood by that statement after his arrival at Daytona on Friday.

“No change in my opinion,” Hamlin said. “Certainly, I’ve kind of stated from the very beginning that the 11 car always comes first. I’d never compromise any of my on-track position for the race team I own. Certainly, it’s important to be a good leader for the team that I own; it’s also important to be a good teammate. Therefore, I’m going to work with both of them equally, but you know, right now, if I had to choose, they’re side-by-side coming to the line at the zero, zero-point-one chance that that happens, then obviously, I’d probably lean to the 23 side.”

Gibbs was brief in his media session on Friday, saying, “We’ve got great teammates at JGR, and hopefully we can all work together and have a great result for the organization.”

On the General Motors side, Ross Chastain said that Chevrolet teams met Monday to talk shop. For Chastain, two objectives stand out — to ensure the best result for Chevy but also to assist Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suárez, who is 18th in the provisional playoff standings — 43 points out of contention.

“Just getting everybody together to talk and just hear what people’s plans are and philosophies,” Chastain said. “There are a million ways you can go about this race. I know for me, and I can’t speak for anybody else, but my mind kind of sways with the wind on what I think is going to work. You look at statistics and the history of it, and you can read it one way, and you can read it the complete 180 of what is successful here. It was just getting us in a room and hearing everybody out.”

Suárez was sealed into the playoffs last season but said the Chevrolet thrust is different this year. Last season, one primary Chevy driver — Austin Dillon in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 — was the focus, and Dillon cashed in with a clutch victory that put him in the postseason. This year, the list is longer.

“We always try to help each other like we always do, but the priority was the 3 car, and right now, there is four of us, so who are we going to help?” Suárez said. “So it’s a little more tricky. It’s not as easy as last year, but like I mentioned before, I think that anything can happen here in Daytona. We have seen the fastest car win the race, and we have seen a wrecked race car win the race, so anything can happen. The numbers don’t lie. Every Daytona race, the second Daytona race of the year, is always a wreckfest. So hopefully, a little bit of luck is on our side, and we can be there at the end.”

Two of those Chevrolet hopefuls are big names from the Hendrick Motorsports camp. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman both missed time during the regular season, and both are firmly in the must-win grouping heading into Saturday night’s showdown. With two teammates trying to funnel into one playoff spot, the question of who lends help to whom gets muddled.

“That’s a great question,” said William Byron, teammate to both in Hendrick’s No. 24. “I think it’s probably not going to work out like that, but I think try to stick to one guy or another throughout the field and just try to see who works the best together. You know, I personally haven’t … I don’t know, I’ve worked with both in the past. I think Chase pushed me to my first win here, so maybe a little bit of karma there and maybe try to pay that back, so we’ll see. We’ll see. Just try to help when I can.”

MORE: Saturday’s starting lineup | Daytona 101

Elliott said he’s already talked with Bowman about the possibilities if the late-race cards are dealt with the two battling at the front.

“Well, I mean, I don’t want to wreck the guy for the win, but honestly, I hope it comes down to the two of us because that means one of us is gonna get in, or one of us has a good shot of getting in if it’s he and I racing to the line,” Elliott said. “So I hope that’s the case for the sake of Hendrick Motorsports and Alex and I, we typically work really well together at these tracks. Ironically enough, we’re in the position where one of us is going to be left short, but you know, it’s part of racing, and I’m looking forward to it. I know he is, too. We’ve talked about it a lot this week, so we’re excited, ready to go to battle.”

Ford’s best-laid plans may be easier to execute early on after the manufacturer swept the first three spots in qualifying and put 10 Mustangs among the top 14. Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford will start from the pole position, with teammate Aric Almirola sharing the front row on Saturday.

Almirola said that Ford team managers and crew chiefs typically meet to talk strategy during the week ahead of superspeedway events, with drivers convening on race day. SHR teamwork was essential in helping Almirola to a superspeedway victory at Talladega in 2018, and he said it would be crucial again come Saturday.

“I don’t think it’s harder to do here, but it’s a prerequisite for winning — at least getting yourself in position,” Almirola said. “I think you have to work together with your teammates because this style of racing, you are so dependent on the cars around you. So it’s important to have teamwork, but you’ve got to have fast teammates, and we’ve had really fast speedway cars at Stewart-Haas Racing. So working together is a must for us, and then when it gets down to the end, obviously, it’s every man for himself.”

Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit during Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock, NBC Sports App).

RELATED: Starting lineup | Key story lines, news | At-track photos

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chase Elliott came to the defense of crew chief Alan Gustafson, saying Friday that he stood by his crew chief after his No. 9 Chevrolet’s fuel tank ran dry at a critical juncture during last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International.

Elliott’s remarks came after Friday’s qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway, where the Hendrick Motorsports driver has his last chance to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock, NBC Sports App). One postseason berth remains open in the 16-driver field, and Elliott is among a host of drivers who must win Saturday’s regular-season finale to clinch that final spot.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Daytona 101

Elliott’s most recent opportunity to make the postseason field for the eighth straight year came at Watkins Glen, the 2.45-mile road course where he’s a two-time winner. His bid came to a sputtering halt on the 55th of 90 laps when the fuel cell on his No. 9 Chevy ran empty, and he finished 32nd in the 36-car field.

The miscue led to criticism of Gustafson’s call from certain sectors of social media. Elliott said neither he nor his crew chief gave it much mind, reaffirming the bond that they’ve built ever since they were first paired together for his rookie season in 2016.

“That’s not something that he and I worry about. You know, he doesn’t worry about social media, and I don’t either,” Elliott said after qualifying 23rd for Saturday’s 400-miler. “We have a lot of trust in one another and the job that we do. I think a lot of him, and I think he’s a great dude, he’s a great crew chief, and I don’t really care what anybody says about that because I work with him every week, and no one else does. So it’s kind of unfair, really, for anybody to feel like they have a good hold on what our team sees and the things we talk about every week and the things that we go to work on together, and I’m really proud of that. We’ve been working together for, what, about eight years now, so I’m not worried about him.”

MORE: At-track photos: Daytona | Saturday’s starting lineup

Elliott said that he hasn’t made a major dive into the reasons for the error, which came after the driver hit the switch to the No. 9’s fuel reserves. Gustafson had communicated that Elliott could pass pit road two more times before he needed to bring the car to pit road. Instead, the car stalled at the backstretch chicane.

“I have a decent idea of what went on, but it’s really better that we don’t know, to be honest,” Elliott said. “I don’t really think it was anything trick or anything like that; it was just an unfortunate error that was bad timing more than anything. It wasn’t as obvious as I would say the average watcher would think it was.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe claimed the Busch Light pole position in Friday evening’s qualifying session for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock, NBC Sports App) at Daytona International Speedway.

Briscoe’s No. 14 SHR Ford just edged 2014 Daytona summer race winner and SHR teammate Aric Almirola in the final qualifying run of the afternoon with a lap of 181.822 mph around the 2.5-mile Daytona high banks – a difference of less than two-tenths of a second between the two. It’s Briscoe’s first pole position of the season and second in his three-year tenure in NASCAR’s premier series.

It certainly comes at a crucial time in the season, with one position still to be settled for the 16-driver playoff field that begins its 10-race run to crown a NASCAR Cup Series champion next week at Darlington Raceway. The outside pole position equaled the Florida native Almirola’s best qualifying effort of the season – which came this spring at the other superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.

RELATED: See Saturday’s lineup | Weekend schedule

“It’s exciting,’’ Briscoe said. “To be able to win the pole at Daytona is special no matter what car you’re driving. To be able to say I’m leading the field to green in a Cup race at Daytona is a pretty cool thing to be able to say. It’s a testament, honestly, to everybody at Stewart-Haas. It’s no secret, it’s been a rough season for us, and to have all four cars in the top 10 and to lock out the front row is super important for us and a turning point, and hopefully, one of us can win tomorrow.

“You can start on the pole and be 30th by lap 20, there are so many variables,’’ Briscoe conceded. “But I will say with this new car, track position is more crucial than ever before.

“Being on the pole,’’ he added, “you have a great opportunity from the standpoint of starting position, but you just have to go execute … and that’s what we have to focus on.’’

Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs rounded out the top 10 – four of the five drivers at the head of the grid needing a victory Saturday night to move into playoff contention.

Without a new season winner, Wallace could potentially point his way into the title chase. He currently holds a 32-point advantage on the Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Gibbs. Of course, a win is his ticket through, too.

Equally as compelling a story as those that qualified well were the handful of playoff hopefuls who will have to start deeper in the field.

Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suárez, who is 17th in the standings – just behind Gibbs – qualified 22nd. And seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott will roll off 23rd in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Elliott is currently ranked 19th in the playoff standings – a healthy 101 points back after missing seven races due to a combination of injury and a one-week suspension from NASCAR.

“I still don’t think it matters a whole lot,’’ Elliott said of qualifying at Daytona. “I do think track position matters at some point during the day, and we saw that in the [Daytona] 500 here. I crashed there early on, but the part of the race I was in, I felt like everybody was stuck. We couldn’t go anywhere. I was looking around, and there were times during the race I was like, he’s trying to go forward and can’t.

“I think the more the cars are the same as time has gone on, it’s hard to be different. … then it puts all the emphasis on the little stuff. How fast are your pit stops? How much gas you got in it? How good’s your restart? All the itty-bitty little things become much larger pieces of the puzzle when the cars are just more and more the same, especially when you’re running around here wide open.’’

“There’s still a little bit of a difference,’’ he added. “Whether it’s the driver, the car or a combination of both, I still think a guy can make himself stand out.’’

Ford dominated the qualifying session, with seven cars among the 10 that advanced to the final round. NASCAR Xfinity Series’ regular Riley Herbst qualified sixth fastest in the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford. Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was seventh fastest, followed by the Fords of Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney and the SHR teammates Ryan Preece and Kevin Harvick.

Among the grid’s top 10, only Larson and Blaney have victories. Harvick is the only other driver among that group to have secured his playoff bid – pointing his way in. The retiring driver of the No. 4 SHR Ford still hasn’t scored a win in his farewell season.

“It would definitely shake up the playoff field for sure, and everybody loves an underdog,’’ Briscoe said of possibly winning from pole Saturday night.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin qualified their Toyotas 13th and 19th, respectively. Truex leads Hamlin by 39 points in a duel for the regular-season championship, which gives the champ a 15-point bonus for the playoff.

Defending Coke Zero 400 race winner — Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon — will start 21st.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 25, 2023) – National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (“NASCAR”), and FanDuel, the premier online gaming company in North America, today announced a multiyear partnership that makes FanDuel an Authorized Gaming Operator of NASCAR®. As an Authorized Gaming Operator, FanDuel has been granted the rights to use certain NASCAR marks and will collaborate with NASCAR to create and promote engaging betting experiences, including odds integration into NASCAR’s fantasy platform.

“Partnering with FanDuel, a best-in-class sports gaming company and iconic brand in the space, is a huge win for NASCAR and its fans,” said Joe Solosky, NASCAR managing director of sports betting. “We can’t wait to work with FanDuel to deliver our fans more engagement opportunities and expand our sports gaming offerings.”

MORE: Play Fantasy Live | Cup Series schedule

NASCAR entered legal sports wagering in September 2020 when it became the first league to partner with the American Gaming Association. Since then, sports betting on NASCAR has increased exponentially as betting operators saw a 51.5% increase in the total amount of money wagered on NASCAR in 2022 compared to the previous year. From 2021 to 2022, FanDuel saw a 70% increase in NASCAR bets placed on their platform leading to an 88% increase in handle showing the continued growth in engagement opportunities for fans through betting.  

“We see the potential in sports gaming offerings around NASCAR and are committed to further engaging its fans with the heavy-passing, side-by-side racing action on the track,” said Clifton Ma, strategic partnerships, vice president at FanDuel. “We’re thrilled to partner with the premier racing organization in North America and continue to grow its presence in the sports gaming space.”

In addition to its partnership with NASCAR, FanDuel has brought on NASCAR on FOX Analyst and racing icon Clint Bowyer as a FanDuel Ambassador. Bowyer will help engage race fans by promoting FanDuel NASCAR offerings.

FanDuel is currently available in 19 states that offer mobile sports betting, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

All players must be 21+ to place a legal sports wager. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Posted on by Brandon White

Brandon Ward has long carried a reputation of being one of the most versatile competitors in the southeast.

From the moment he took his first national checkered flag in a NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2001, Ward has figured out how to win in nearly every type of car in which he has competed. This includes Late Model Stocks, the USAR Pro Cup Series and Modifieds.

On Saturday night, Ward obtained one of the most noteworthy accomplishments in southern Modified competition by adding his name to the prestigious list of track champions at Bowman Gray Stadium that includes Tim Brown, Burt Myers, Junior Miller and many more.

A Winston-Salem, North Carolina native, Ward had long been familiar with the lore surrounding summer Saturday nights at Bowman Gray. His championship campaign from 2023 now has him permanently intertwined with the track’s storied history.

“Any championship you can win is always a big honor not only for yourself, but your entire team,” Ward said. “The track is in my hometown, but I spent a lot of years not even racing there because I was traveling with different touring series. To win a championship there is such a big accomplishment for me.”

RELATED: Final Bowman Gray Stadium point standings

Despite having plenty of experience on his side when he first started racing at Bowman Gray a decade ago, nothing could have prepared Ward for what the Madhouse provided.

Bowman Gray’s flat, quarter-mile layout frequently forces drivers to abandon traditional race craft for more aggressive, on-track tactics. Different formats ranging from 25 lap sprints to 200-lap endurance features only further emphasize the importance of finding great track position to gain as many points as possible.

Previously competing in different touring divisions gave Ward an advantage in the longer Bowman Gray events, but the shorter races required a brief adjustment period. It did not take long for Ward to get acclimated to Bowman Gray’s electric environment, and he gradually became a favorite for wins in the Modified division.

A stellar 2022 season gave Ward and New Day Motorsports plenty of optimism about grabbing their first title this year, but everyone within the organization knew it would take more than just winning races to accomplish that goal.

“To race for a championship, you have to complete every lap and be consistent,” Ward said. “In the past, we could win some races [at Bowman Gray], but we also fell out of some races over there. In 2019, we won four races but were barely top five in points. We’ve made an honest effort to chase points the past couple of seasons, and it’s been a good effort.

“We fell a little bit short last year and that was motivation going into this year.”

Despite not winning a race, a stellar final six-race stretch from Brandon Ward enabled him to secure his first Bowman Gray Stadium title. (Photo: Erick Messer)

After falling to fifth in the standings during the second half of the year, Ward accumulated five consecutive top-five finishes to rapidly close the gap on the points leader Brown heading into the season finale.

The Monday leading up to the finale saw Ward deliberate with co-owners Jeff Day and Kevin Powell about how to approach everything. Powell said there was plenty of confidence prevalent in the speed of their No. Q104 Modified, but he knew circumstances outside of their control could easily curtail any championship hopes.

“Historically we’re very good in the long races, so we thought we had a good chance of winning,” Powell said. “But we were also warned there could be some extra dynamics going on with some people who might want to wreck our car and take shots at Brandon. That’s part of the show at Bowman Gray that might cost us the championship.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking, but it was also the calmest I had ever been watching a race at Bowman Gray. I knew we were going to be OK.”

Powell’s optimism did not betray him. After J.R. Snow intentionally damaged Brown’s car following an on-track incident between them, all Ward had to do was maintain second behind Myers to secure the illustrious Bowman Gray Modified championship.

Ward was disappointed to see a great fight between him and Brown get settled by another driver seeking revenge. He added the 11-time track champion has always raced him fairly since his first race at Bowman Gray, and that it was honor to best one of the facility’s greatest drivers for his first title.

Aside from Ward, Danny Bohn is the only other driver without the last name of Brown, Myers or Miller to earn a Bowman Gray track championship since 1996. It took Ward more than a decade just to get one title, but his grueling quest helped him gain more appreciation for everything those three sacrificed to enjoy so much success.

“Being a champion at Bowman Gray means so much,” Ward said. “There’s not a lot of people who have done it, so you have true respect for what Tim [Brown] and Burt [Myers] have done for the last 20 years. It’s not easy over there, and it makes you realize just how tough everything is, even for those two.”

RELATED: Career stats for Brandon Ward

For Powell, Ward finally being able to hoist a Bowman Gray championship trophy served as a culmination of not only a season-long goal, but one that started when Ward initially teamed up with him and Day many years ago.

A broken scapula for Powell is what led to Ward making his first Bowman Gray Modified appearance. Since then, New Day Motorsports has become a household name at the facility, with Ward and Powell having developed a close bond that extends far beyond race weekends.

With a championship under their belt, New Day Motorsports seeks to add onto their growing legacy at Bowman Gray Stadium. (Photo: Erick Messer)

Powell is proud of everything New Day Motorsports has accomplished and hopes their 2023 championship is the first of many to come.

“I picked Brandon to drive my car because he’s a great driver and he exhibits the same type of characteristics I do as a person,” Powell said. “There are a lot of famous names at Bowman Gray we could have tapped, but Brandon was an unknown at Bowman Gray, and the way he handled himself outside of the car spoke volumes to me.

“I love him just like he’s my own, and he honestly feels like my adopted son. I can’t see us doing anything outside of what we’re currently doing.”

Earning a Bowman Gray track title was Ward’s first championship of any kind since grabbing a UARA STARS Late Model Series crown in 2006. He plans to cherish his accomplishment for as long as he can while he chases more victories around the southeast to close out the year.

When April comes around, for Ward, it will be right back to focusing on Bowman Gray. He who believes he and New Day Motorsports can build off the momentum from the end of 2023 and claim another championship.

“I wish we could have started the year off where we’re at now,” Ward said. “There were so many new things that happened at New Day Motorsports this year with us having a two-car team, building two new cars and bringing in new people. This was going to be a rebuilding year, so to come out the first year with a title after so much restructuring was amazing.

“Going into next year, we’re going to be even further ahead than where we were starting out this year.”

Ward knows the Bowman Gray legends like Brown and Myers are going to be chasing him in 2024 with the goal of adding on to their own legacies. With an organization like New Day Motorsports behind him, Ward is confident he can keep adding on to his own.

Posted on by Kobe Lambeth

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.

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

Get in on the action 💰

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy and Fan Rewards.

• Fantasy Live: Participate in interactive gameplay from week to week | Choose your lineup
• Fan Rewards: New in 2023, get rewarded for your participation | Learn more
• NASCAR BetCenter: Don’t miss your chance to make picks each week | Visit the BetCenter
• Going the distance: 2023 Cup Series championship odds | See them here

🔮 Advance to Victory Lane: Racing Insights projects the finishing order

Posted on by Staff Report

Saturday night marks the final race in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Seventeen drivers will vie for the final playoff spot when the green flag drops for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock, NBC Sports App).

As Daytona International Speedway levels the battlefield, any of the drivers listed below can clinch their way into the 2023 postseason. Here are some notes on the drivers going for the 16th playoff position, courtesy of Racing Insights.

RELATED: Cup standings | Clinching scenarios at Daytona

✅ DRIVER ABOVE ELIMINATION LINE

BUBBA WALLACE

Points above: 32

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Hit or Miss: Wallace is one of the top superspeedway racers at the Cup level. His first career win came at Talladega in the fall of 2021 and he’s finished runner-up twice in the Daytona 500 (2018, 2022). But his results have been on and off recently, wrecking out in both this year’s Daytona 500 and at Talladega in the spring. 

☣️ ON THE BUBBLE

TY GIBBS

Points below: 32

Trending: OK

Daytona outlook — Cold: Gibbs’ top-five run at Watkins Glen kept him within striking distance of the 16th playoff spot. The math checks out for him to still point his way in but given Wallace’s prowess at superspeedways, Gibbs will need to manage his way to the front as soon as possible. 

DANIEL SUÁREZ

Points below: 43

Trending: Hit or Miss

Daytona outlook — Cold Until 2023: Suárez has scored a top-10 finish in three of the four superspeedway races this season with the most recent being a runner-up finish in the rain-shortened night event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

🚩 MUST-WIN SITUATION

AJ ALLMENDINGER

Trending: Watkins Glen Snapped Cold Streak

Daytona outlook — Hot: In what may come as a surprise, Allmendinger has five consecutive top-10 finishes at Daytona. He finished sixth in this year’s running of the Daytona 500 and he’s got a teammate known for getting it done on superspeedways.  

ALEX BOWMAN

Trending: Mostly Cold

Daytona outlook — Hit or Miss: Hendrick Motorsports knows how to qualify at the front of the field at Daytona but it’s the consistent results that have yet to show on the 2.5-mile oval. However, Bowman placed fifth in this year’s Daytona 500, which is his best result at the track. 

CHASE ELLIOTT

Trending: Hit or Miss

Daytona outlook — Cooling off: Like Bowman, Elliott has a good chance to start toward the front of the field Saturday night. He owns two career runner-up finishes at Daytona and won two races at superspeedways last season.  

AUSTIN CINDRIC

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Hit or Miss: Cindric won the Daytona 500 to begin his rookie campaign but has yet to find Victory Lane in the Cup Series since. He’s also finished outside the top 10 in the last four superspeedway races.

JUSTIN HALEY

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Cold: It’s surprising that Haley has yet to produce the superspeedway results at the Cup level that he did in Xfinity but that can all change Saturday night. Haley snagged the Daytona summer trophy in 2019.

RYAN PREECE

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Hit or Miss: Having a skilled superspeedway teammate in Aric Almirola always helps but Preece has yet to produce steady results on this discipline with five straight finishes of 24th or worse at superspeedways.

ARIC ALMIROLA

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Mostly Cold: Almirola knows how to run up front at superspeedways. He was less than half a lap from winning the Daytona 500 in 2018 and scored his first career Cup win at Daytona in 2014. If he can stay out of trouble, don’t be surprised if Almirola is the one to steal the final playoff spot Saturday night.

COREY LAJOIE

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Cold: Mark down LaJoie as another driver that can steal the final playoff spot if he keeps his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet clean. He has four straight finishes of 14th or worse at Daytona but did finish fourth at Atlanta in the spring.

ERIK JONES

Trending: Hit or Miss

Daytona outlook — Cold: Around this time last year, the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club team found a spark that propelled them to a Southern 500 win but weren’t in the playoffs. Jones has won at Daytona before and if he can steal the final playoff spot Saturday night, it could have him shocking the NASCAR world once again when the playoffs begin at Darlington.

AUSTIN DILLON

Trending: Cold

Daytona outlook — Hit or Miss: Austin Dillon is the defending winner of the regular-season finale after escaping the Big One unscathed last season. He was among those at the front in the closing stages of February’s Daytona 500 so there’s a good chance Dillon can pull off back-to-back shockers.

MORE: Racing Insights predicts regular-season finale results

Posted on by Holly Cain

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action at Daytona’s big track following back-to-back weeks of high-drama, road-course style racing. The Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola takes center stage at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night (7:30 ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

There are still three races remaining to set the 12-driver 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff field – but much to the pleasure of race fans, these drivers have been competing as if each race was a cut-off event.

RELATED: Xfinity standings | Daytona schedule

Sam Mayer claimed last week’s win at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course with a full-contact overtime restart knocking the day’s most dominant driver and defending series champion Ty Gibbs from the lead. Mayer took the lead position from Gibbs after the contact and held off Sheldon Creed to claim his second career victory in the series in only the last four races.

It’s worth noting, Gibbs, a full-time Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in the NASCAR Cup Series, will not be back in the Xfinity Series this week at Daytona, rather in his stead will be 2011 Daytona 500 winner, Trevor Bayne, driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Last week’s race was as impactful for the top of the championship standings as it was for those drivers competing for the last playoff position. Austin Hill – who won the series’ February season-opener at Daytona – holds a slim nine-point lead over John Hunter Nemechek for the regular-season title and all-important 15-point playoff bonus. Both drivers had action-packed days on the Watkins Glen road course with Hill being collected in the final restart and finishing 14th and Nemechek taking a hard-earned sixth-place finish.

Jeremy Clements is the defending summer race winner at Daytona; however, Hill has won two of the last three Xfinity Series events there – both February races in 2022 and 2023. They are the only two current full-time drivers with a past Daytona trophy. NASCAR Cup Series regular Justin Haley – who has a pair of Daytona Xfinity Series wins – is the only other former winner who will be competing in Friday night’s race.

Should Hill, driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, win Friday night he would be only the second driver ever to sweep both Daytona races in a season. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. is currently the only one to accomplish the feat (2003).

Eight drivers have already clinched a position in the playoffs with victories, including Nemechek – who boasts a series-best four wins – plus Hill, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Mayer, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton.

Josh Berry, Creed, 2021 series champion Daniel Hemric and Riley Herbst are currently inside the playoff points cutoff. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver Herbst, however, holds only a slim three-point advantage over Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman. Herbst was sixth in the Daytona season-opener, and Kligerman was 23rd.

This marks a rare race weekend when the series will not have practice but instead qualify right away. Qualifying is set for 3 p.m. ET on Friday and the session will air at 4 p.m. on the USA Network.