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Playoff dreams and Daytona chaos collide in Coke Zero Sugar 400
August 21, 2025
By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – And so – again – it will come down to a perpetually thrilling night-time 400-miler at the Daytona International Speedway to finalize the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field.
Fourteen of the 16 positions are already firmed up by winning drivers this season. The final two championship contenders will be decided in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 regular season finale on the Daytona high-banks (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman currently hold the final two points positions. Reddick is a strong 89 points up on the cutoff line and Bowman has a reasonable 60-point advantage. Neither driver has ever won a NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona, although Bowman has a pair of runner-up finishes, the last coming in the 2024 Daytona 500.
For Bowman, in particular, the plan at Daytona is ironically, straightforward.
“Daytona’s always wild,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen, but that’s part of the fun. For us, it’s about staying out of the mess and being there at the end. This is the final race to get locked into the Playoffs, so every point matters.”
And of course, all the best laid plans could change with a new winner.
If last weekend’s clutch first win of the season for Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon is any indication, it’s anybody’s guess who will be hoisting a trophy in the track’s iconic Victory Lane.
There have been 16 different winners in the last 17 Daytona summer races – among them, Kyle Busch (2008), Brad Keselowski (2016), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2017), Erik Jones (2018), Justin Haley (2019) and Chris Buescher (2023) who are still needing a victory Saturday night to advance into the Playoffs. Count 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell on that win-and-in list as well.
Only twice, however, in the elimination format has a driver won the final regular season race to earn the longshot Playoff berth – Dillon in 2022 (at Daytona) and Chase Briscoe in 2024 (at Darlington, S.C.).
“It’s the kind of place where anything can happen and I feel like our car always have better handling here than others,” said Stenhouse, who won the 2017 summer race and the 2023 Daytona 500. “We’ve done pretty well at superspeedways this year, so I feel good about our chances. Hopefully we can put ourselves in the right position at the end and give [sponsor] Jack Link’s and all of our fans something to cheer about.”
Although Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron wrapped up the Regular Season Championship last week at Richmond, Va. he has a lot at stake this weekend at Daytona. The two-time defending Daytona 500 winner is trying to become the first driver since former Hendrick teammate, Jimmie Johnson to sweep both Daytona races in a season (2013). Byron scored his first career series win in the 2020 summer race.
Just how unpredictable is Daytona? Consider. … the race winner led 10 laps or less in eight of the last nine Daytona races. … Twelve of the last 17 summer Daytona races have gone into overtime. … The final lead change came in the final three laps in the last eight summer races at Daytona. … The summer winner hoisted his first trophy of the season in five of the last seven years.
Time to buckle up.
Busch Light Pole Qualifying is Friday at 5 p.m. (truTV, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). McDowell is the defending pole winner.
Daytona set to shake up Xfinity Playoff picture with three to go
Three more NASCAR Xfinity Series races remain to settle which 12 drivers will advance to this year’s Playoffs and Friday night’s Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (730 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has traditionally proven to be anyone’s game.
To that point, current championship leader and season’s winningest driver (six victories) Connor Zilisch is still expected to qualify and start the race. How many laps he does afterward depends on his recovery after breaking his collarbone in a frightening fall off his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet celebrating his victory in the series’ last race at Watkins Glen, N.Y. two weeks ago.
Zilisch, his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier and Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer are separated by only 34 points in the competition for the regular season title. Zilisch and Allgaier by only nine points out front.
Part-time Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ryan Truex is the defending Daytona race winner, however, he is not entered this weekend. A strong group of notable championship contenders join him in celebrating most recently at the big track – from Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love, who won here in February to his teammate Austin Hill, who had won the three previous season-openers and is the series’ all-time drafting track champion (eight wins). Reigning series champ Allgaier won the Fall Daytona race in 2023.
Considering the circumstances – and the history track in general – a new winner at Daytona would not surprise. Last year’s Daytona NASCAR Cup Series summer race winner, Harrison Burton, is certainly eyeing a return to Victory Lane. That victory proved as much to himself as others that he can win when much on the line.
Going into the weekend, eight drivers have secured Playoff positions via a win. JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil (-112), Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed (-77), Joe Gibbs Racing’s Taylor Gray (-76) and Burton (-30) claim the points positions beyond the winners list. And Creed, Kvapil and Gray finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, at Daytona in February.
Just below the cutoff line is Harrison Burton’s cousin Jeb Burton, who has a pair of wins on the sport’s other big track, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Owner-driver Ryan Sieg is only 38 points out of a transfer position and raced to a fifth-place finish in this race last year.
Of note, Chevrolet has won 14 of the last 16 races at Daytona and already this year has won 20 of the 23 races on the schedule – a record for the series.
Former Daytona NASCAR Cup Series race winners, Justin Haley (No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevy) and Aric Almirola (No. 19 JGR Toyota) will be competing Friday night as well.
There is no practice this weekend. Kennametal Pole Qualifying takes place at 3 p.m. ET on Friday (The CW App). Current NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff driver Chandler Smith won the pole position for this race last year and finished second.
