For its final race of the regular season, NASCAR returns to Daytona International Speedway.
Ross Chastain is the pole-sitter for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, Aug. 29 in the final Cup Series competition before the postseason Chase begins.
Chastain was eliminated from competing for a spot in the Chase last weekend at New Hampshire due to an internal engine failure, but he’s enjoying the accomplishment of winning the pole at Daytona. It’s the first time his car will sit on the pole in a Cup Series race since 2023 at Watkins Glen and the best-ever starting position for a run at Daytona for the 33-year-old Florida native.
“It’s almost indescribable,” Chastain said. “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.”
While Chastain is out of the Chase, one of his Trackhouse Racing teammates is desperately trying to hang on to the final spot inside the cutline. Road course ace Shane van Gisbergen qualified sixth and enters Saturday’s race 31 points ahead of Ryan Preece, who qualified fourth.
Van Gisbergen has shown improvement on NASCAR’s more traditional ovals and has a few solid finishes on drafting tracks like Daytona. He was 16th in this race last season and has ran inside the top 20 in his last two trips to Talladega.
The battle between Preece and van Gisbergen will be a major talking point throughout the race as both drivers jockey for the final spot in the Chase.
“There’s a lot going on. Not really sure how it’s going to play out. 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 said. “I think we plan to be pretty conservative, and then see how his race is going and react to that. It’s going to be fun. It’s a pretty cool feeling to have the pressure on us and see how we go.”
Elsewhere on the Chase bubble, Austin Cindric is 15th in the standings with a 44-point edge over Preece and qualified eighth. Bubba Wallace is 14th and technically hasn’t mathematically clinched with a 75-point advantage over Preece, but essentially just needs to run a wreck-free race to secure a berth in the postseason field.
Outside of the cutline, Preece is really the only driver with a realistic shot of making the field. His teammate Brad Keselowski is mathematically in contention, but would probably need to win both stages and the race, and then need all the other bubble drivers to have very bad days.
What will be different about this race from the Daytona 500 in February is a new competition package for the cars, featuring reductions in both horsepower and downforce. With no practice, and with single-car qualifying, drivers won’t really understand what the changes mean until the green flag flies on Saturday night and they start drafting.
Austin Hill — who filled Kyle Busch’s seat in the Cup Series this season after the two-time champion’s shocking death — qualified third in the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Friday night, Hill finished second to Ryan Sieg. Based on what he’s learned from the simulator, Hill believes this new package for the Cup Series will make their cars similar to the ones in the second-tier O’Reilly.
“What does concern me is that it is a totally different package and we aren’t practicing. There’s a lot of different agendas,” Hill said. “You’re going to have guys that are fully trimmed out for just straight raw speed, and you’re going to have guys that are full downforce and want to have a lot of balance in their car.
“From everything that I’ve been told and all of the data that I’ve gotten from (General Motors), it seems to be as close as it can get to the O’Reilly side, and that makes me really excited.”
Hill, who just signed on for a full-time ride with RCR in the Cup Series in 2027, is aiming for his first win at the top-level of NASCAR. With one race remaining until the Chase, much is at stake.
Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona:
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona start?
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona on?
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be broadcast on NBC. Pre-race coverage will start at 7 p.m. ET.
Leigh Diffey will have the call alongside analysts Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte, while Dale Jarrett and Brad Daugherty will offer additional analysis from the pit box. Burton and Letarte will join host Marty Snider on pre- and post-race shows. Former Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will be the pace-car analyst.
Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona?
Yes, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the final three races of the Chase broadcast by NBC will also stream live on Peacock.
Subscribers to Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV can watch through those services as well.
HBO Max will continue to provide live streams of in-car cameras, while MRN will carry the live radio broadcast.
Stream the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on Fubo
How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona?
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile asphalt track for a total of 400 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 35 laps; Stage 2: 60 laps; Stage 3: 65 laps.
Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona last year?
Tyler Reddick won the last time the NASCAR Cup Series visited this historic track, taking the checkered flag at the season-opening Daytona 500 back in February. That race is longer and a bit of a different beast than Daytona’s summer race though.
Ryan Blaney won Daytona’s summer race last year, finishing ahead of Daniel Suarez. A driver behind the wheel of a Ford has won this race in four of the past five years.
Previously called the Firecracker 400 in the old days of NASCAR, this race has a knack for handing drivers their first career Cup Series wins. In recent years, Harrison Burton (2024), William Byron (2020), Justin Haley (2019) and Erik Jones (2018) all picked up their first career victories in this race.
David Pearson has the most summer wins at Daytona with five, while Tony Stewart and Cale Yarborough each notched four. Among active drivers, Blaney is the only one with two victories in this race.
What is the lineup for the Coke Zero Sugar 400?
(Car number in parentheses)
- Ross Chastain, (1) — Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher (17) — RFK Racing, Ford
- Austin Hill (33) — Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet
- Ryan Preece (60) — RFK Racing, Ford
- Riley Herbst (35) — 23XI Racing, Toyota
- Shane van Gisbergen (97) — Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet
- Connor Zilisch (88) — Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet
- Austin Cindric (2) — Team Penske, Ford
- Joey Logano (22) — Team Penske, Ford
- Kyle Larson (5) — Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Corey Heim (67) — 23XI Racing, Toyota
- Chase Briscoe (19) — Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota
- William Byron (24) — Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Ty Gibbs (54) — Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota
- Erik Jones (43) — Legacy Motor Club, Toyota
- Cole Custer (41) — Haas Factory Team, Chevrolet
- Tyler Reddick (45) — 23XI Racing, Toyota
- Michael McDowell (71) — Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Ryan Blaney (12) — Team Penske, Ford
- Alex Bowman (48) — Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski (6) — RFK Racing, Ford
- Chase Elliott (9) — Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Daniel Suarez (7) — Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Josh Berry (21) — Wood Brothers Racing, Ford
- Cody Ware (51) — Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace (23) — 23XI Racing, Toyota
- John Hunter Nemechek (42) — Legacy Motor Club, Toyota
- Carson Hocevar (77) — Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Austin Dillon (3) — Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon (10) — Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet
- Denny Hamlin (11) — Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) — HYAK Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Todd Gilliland (34) — Front Row Motorsports, Ford
- Zane Smith (38) — Front Row Motorsports, Ford
- Christopher Bell (20) — Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota
- AJ Allmendinger (16) — Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet
- Noah Gragson (4) — Front Row Motorsports, Ford
- Casey Mears (62) — Beard Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Daniel Dye (78) — Live Fast Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Joey Gase (44) — NY Racing Team, Chevrolet
Note: Gray Gaulding in the No. 66 Ford did not qualify.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR at Daytona: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Coke Zero Sugar 400
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