Breaking Down the Chase Bubble Drivers at Daytona

Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images

NASCAR

Who Has an Upper Hand for Daytona Regular Season Finale?

It all comes down to 400 miles at Daytona on Saturday night to set NASCAR’s 2026 Chase grid. 13 of the 16 berths are already locked up, leaving three golden tickets for the taking. Five drivers are still alive in the running for the last three spots in the 10-week championship dance. Here are those five men and their chances ahead at Daytona. All three manufacturers are represented here, with points at a premium for these contenders. All five of these drivers also have teammates who could push them into The Chase, with agendas abounding across the field. When Saturday’s checkered flag falls, three of these men will go Chase racing for the 2026 Cup title.

Bubba Wallace +75 points

23XI Racing’s flagship driver, Bubba Wallace has the easiest path forward to The Chase. Driver 23 simply needs to score two points on Saturday – finishing 35th or better – to clinch a top-16 spot. Wallace could easily earn two points across both stages as well as a very deft drafter. Wallace led a race-high 70 laps in February’s Daytona 500 alone, before finishing 10th. His teammate Tyler Reddick, meanwhile, saw the seas part on the last lap en route to victory lane. Despite the loss, Wallace still called this his best-executed Daytona race ever. Alas, Wallace has been a lot closer to winning Daytona before. 18 career starts for Wallace at The World Center of Racing have yielded three runner-ups, five top-fives, and seven top-10s.

In the least pressure-packed scenario for any bubble driver, Wallace can almost throw care to the wind in chasing down another checkered flag. Daytona and Atlanta to open this season were two near-misses for team 23. Perhaps a retribution win is in the cards for Wallace.

Austin Cindric +44 points

Currently 15th in The Chase, Austin Cindric could not be heading to a better track to protect this lead. The Team Penske driver has laps led in all but three of his 10 past Daytona starts, including 2022’s Daytona 500 win. Only two other top-10s show a bit of inconsistency in Cindric finishing where he runs, though. The 2 is often a victim of catastrophic superspeedway chaos.

Cindric will seal up a Chase berth no matter what with a top-four result. He could widen this margin too by earning any stage points. Considered by many to be the best Next Gen drafter, Cindric will try to make The Chase a Penske Perfect affair on Saturday.

Shane van Gisbergen +31 points

Bringing up the caboose for the top-16, road racing ace Shane van Gisbergen merely needs 45 points. Protecting his slim points gap, SVG must do everything possible to finish Saturday still rolling. Driver 97 has laps led in his last two Daytona starts, finishing a career-best 16th in this race last year.

SVG is equally in the most and least stressful place of all bubble drivers, needing to defend his 31-point cushion. The only 2026 winner among those around the cut line, the 97 aims to stay in the field of 16.

Ryan Preece -31 points

Nobody in Saturday’s field has seen more Daytona highs and lows than Ryan Preece. The RFK Racing driver has been within eyesight of victory lane here, and also gone airborne at Daytona. Preece was a late frontrunner in this race each of the last two years, but got muscled out of the way both times.

If Preece does miss The Chase by a close margin, then many will be quick to point back to Texas in May. That day saw Preece penalized 25 points for intentionally spinning Ty Gibbs. This points docking only impacted driver’s points, however, leaving owner’s points unaffected. Preece and team 60 could make the owner’s Chase but not the driver’s title bid, making it a unique 10 weeks for them.

Preece has perhaps the steepest hill to climb for any bubble driver, needing to erase a 31-point deficit. Stage points and a strong finish must both be at the top of mind in the No. 60 camp. A simple top-10 won’t make the cut for the RFK Racing team. Preece has been top-10 in three of the last five races this year, but must elevate himself at Daytona. This race has seen many first-time Cup winners before; Preece’s playoff hopes may hinge on a trip to victory lane.

Brad Keselowski -66 points

Still mathematically alive for a Chase bid is past Cup champion Brad Keselowski. The man who won it all in 2012 needs just about an equally-Herculean effort on Saturday though if he wants a chance to repeat. Being 66 markers outside of the top-16, Brad Keselowski must win Daytona AND find a way to score 12 more points. This may seem like an impossible mountain to climb, but Keselowski is one of NASCAR’s best superspeedway racers ever.

BK dominated this race for his lone Daytona points win in 2016, and since then has been an annual threat on the high banks. Fifth in this year’s Daytona 500 was Keselowski’s best Daytona result in three years, where the elusive Harley J. Earl Trophy was within reach. 25 races removed from this heartbreak, Keselowski’s season depends on closing this gap to become a winner again.

If he’s locked out of getting stage points, however, then Keselowski will be eliminated from contention before the checkered flag. BK is in the very unique situation of owning another car on the bubble. He could easily assist Preece into the Chase if the 6 cannot make it. Keselowski shoved Chris Buescher to the win here in 2023, and could play a factor in Daytona’s finish once again.

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 has been nothing short of an annual spectacle in recent years under the Playoff format. Now under The Chase, only five drivers’ seasons truly can be made or broken in Daytona. For these select five drivers though, everything can be won or lost with one wrong turn. Daytona will go green Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The 400-mile thrill ride will be everyone’s last chance to set their seeding for The Chase, and kick off the return of the 10-week championship quest.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images