Previewing the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 24 for the penultimate race of the regular season, the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The playoff battle could see another shakeup on the high banks of Daytona.
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: Saturday, August 24
Track: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida)
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Weekend Schedule
Date | Time | Session | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Friday, Aug. 23 | 5 p.m. ET | Qualifying | USA |
Saturday, Aug. 24 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | NBC |
Regular Season Championship, Playoff Battles Intensify Entering Daytona
Tyler Reddick’s victory in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway pushed him to the top of the regular season points standings. He now leads Chase Elliott by 10 points with two races remaining before the playoffs begin. Reddick has been on an incredible run in the past 11 races, which has seen him climb from sixth to first in the points standings.
Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher finished in the top six at Michigan to bolster their hopes of making the NASCAR Playoffs. That helped them build a cushion over Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace, who now sit one point apart with Chastain on the good side of the cutoff line.
Both Chastain and Wallace were involved in incidents at Michigan, relegating them to 25th and 26th in the final results for the event. Buescher was also involved in the lap 116 crash that derailed Wallace’s day, but recovered for a sixth-place finish.
The events at Michigan have created tight battles at both the top and the bottom of the playoff grid with just Saturday’s race at Daytona and the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway remaining in the regular season.
Daytona Capable of Producing Surprise Winner, Playoff Shakeup
All of those playoff conversations could be altered dramatically by the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night. The unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing could present a new winner on the season, giving away an at-large playoff spot.
In 2022, Austin Dillon won this race to force his way into the NASCAR Playoffs. That year, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 was the final race of the regular season, making Dillon’s victory a “walk-off” win.
William Byron accomplished the same feat in the 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400, punching his playoff ticket with a win in the regular season finale at Daytona. That win was also the first of Byron’s career in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Going the Distance (And Then Some)
More than one-third of NASCAR Cup Series events this season have gone to overtime, and that has had a significant impact on the outcome of those races.
If history is any indication, that trend will likely continue on Saturday night. Since 2008, the summer Daytona event has been extended 11 times past the 400-mile scheduled distance. Two other runnings of the event have been shortened due to weather, so only three races in that span have been exactly 400 miles.
‘NASCAR Nonstop’ Broadcast Debuts at Daytona
NBC Sports announced this week that the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be the first of three broadcasts this season featuring “NASCAR Nonstop” coverage. This means there will be no full-screen commercials during green flag racing during the broadcast, using only split-screen advertising under green flag conditions.
At Daytona, along with Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 8 and Talladega Superspeedway on October 6, fans won’t miss any of the constant action at NASCAR’s superspeedways.
ZACH EVANS