The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship may already belong to Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, but there is plenty left to race for in Saturday night's regular season-ending Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
For some, such as polesitter Ross Chastain, it's about one thing, and that's winning. There is no more "win and in", and the Trackhouse Racing driver has already been eliminated from postseason contention, meaning the only thing left for him, among more than a dozen others, to try to do throughout the remainder of the season is win races.
For others, including every driver not named Hamlin who is still championship eligible, it's about seeding, as nobody else is locked into their current playoff seed heading into Saturday night's 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval. Five drivers are battling for three playoff spots, as only 12 others have officially punched their tickets to the "Chase."
RFK Racing's Chris Buescher, who is among those locked into the playoffs but still fighting for seeding, joined Chastain on the front row at the start of Saturday's race.
Follow along with our Coke Zero Sugar 400 race updates from Daytona.
NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Race updates
NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Coke Zero Sugar 400 Stage 1 results
1 - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
2 - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3 - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
4 - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
5 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
8 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
9 - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
10 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Coke Zero Sugar 400 Stage 2 results
1 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
2 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
3 - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
4 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5 - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
6 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8 - Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
9 - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 - Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Full Coke Zero Sugar 400 results
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
2 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
3 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
4 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
5 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
6 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
7 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
8 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
9 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
10 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
11 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
12 | Harrison Burton, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
13 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
14 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
15 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
16 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
17 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
18 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
19 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
20 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
21 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
22 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
23 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
24 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
26 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
27 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
28 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
29 | Daniel Dye, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet |
30 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
31 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
32 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
33 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
34 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
35 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
36 | Joey Gase, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
37 | Casey Mears, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet |
38 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
39 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
40 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
Darlington Raceway is scheduled to open up the 10-race NASCAR Cup Series postseason with the Cook Out Southern 500, which is set to be shown live on USA Network from Darlington Raceway starting at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 6.
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