Who Can Defy the Odds at Daytona in Coke Zero Sugar 400?

Photo Credit to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

NASCAR

Stratta’s Six: Who Can End the Regular Season on Top in Daytona?

Six months and 9,00 miles of racing ago, the green flag fell on the 2026 NASCAR season from Daytona. 25 weeks later, the regular season winds down at the same hallowed high banks. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will set The Chase grid for 2026, with 15 seeds up for grabs and three drivers yet to be determined. Often the most chaotic, pressure-packed, and unknown race of the season, Saturday could be absolute bedlam. Combined with a brand new rules package, there are many unanswered questions left heading into race 26. Here are a few who hope to fight off every challenger for a season and career-defining win at The World Center of Racing.

Ryan Blaney

Perhaps nobody has more momentum at their back for Saturday night than Ryan Blaney. Last year’s Daytona summer race winner, Blaney also took his No. 12 Ford back to victory lane last week in New Hampshire. Trying to be firmly entrenched as the second Chase seed, Blaney wants to keep the good times rolling into the 10-week championship fight. Victorious in two of the last five years at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Blaney beams with another chance to perform in the draft.

“I’ve always tried to be open-minded on things, like try not to expect too much of when I don’t know 100 percent about it,” Blaney said. “I think I’ve just always tried to make myself more versatile that way and not try to get too stuck in my ways, but I don’t know. I go back and forth. It could be a massive, wildly different change, or it could be, ‘It’s not as much of a change as I thought.’ I don’t know what to expect, but we’re gonna be the first to find out, I’ll tell you that. So, we’ll see.”

Ryan Blaney enters Saturday night as a co-favorite for the win, further proving his superspeedway mastery. Blaney tops his Penske teammates with an 18.9 drafting average finish this year, helped by July’s dominant Atlanta victory. Going from 13th with two laps left a year ago to the win just showed how deft the 12 is in the draft. On the flip side, though, Blaney has ended four of the last six Daytona races crashed. If Blaney avoids Daytona’s inevitable chaos, he could easily taste another winning Coke Zero Sugar 400 moment.

Bubba Wallace

Can Bubba Wallace finally be Daytona’s belle of the ball? Driver No. 23 has been second at Daytona three times before and was also the bridesmaid last week. Entering the regular season finale on the Chase bubble, Wallace only needs two points to join the championship dance. Needing only to finish top-35 on Saturday, Wallace can be almost care-free and unrestricted in chasing this checkered flag, unlike in years past here.

23XI Racing celebrated their biggest win ever in February’s Daytona 500 with Tyler Reddick. Wallace hopes to deliver Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan them a clean season Daytona sweep. The 23 was the lead locomotive for much of the final run to those checkers, leading 40 laps before backsliding to 10th. Within eyesight of many past Daytona wins, maybe Saturday will finally be Wallace’s time to shine on racing’s biggest stage.

Carson Hocevar

Death, taxes, and Carson Hocevar being a superspeedway threat are the three guarantees of life in 2026. The Spire Motorsports No. 77 was out front before being spun on the last lap of the Daytona 500, only to win Talladega and finish top-five in both Atlanta races. Much like his childhood idol Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hocevar has seemingly become the Pied Piper of modern superspeedway racing. There’s little reason to doubt the 77 will be in the mix again at Daytona, but there is an added twist. Saturday will see Cup cars debut a new rules package, including a smaller spoiler, less horsepower, and different drag numbers. Many drivers believe this will increase passing and maneuverability in the pack, and Hocevar is optimistic for a fun show.

“I am excited for it,” Hocevar said. “There really isn’t anything to look at. No data or anything. I think that will play to our advantage. You have to just go out there and adapt. We are going to have to try everything as the race plays out and see how the car reacts. Luke (Lambert, crew chief) and Tyler (Green, spotter) are very data driven and so are my teammates Michael (McDowell) and Daniel (Suarez). But none of them really have any idea on what to expect or what to talk about. It is kind of an interesting dynamic going into the weekend.”

Hocevar’s 16.2 Daytona and Talladega average finish over the last two years is one of the best records around. Tumbling over recent weeks from fifth to 11th in The Chase standings, Daytona will be a major opportunity race for the 77 to find their footing again. Hocevar is poised nicely for a maiden run in the Cup playoffs. Saturday could see this team return to their midseason form and be elite threats again.

Joey Logano

It’s been over a decade since Joey Logano’s lone Daytona triumph, but the No. 22 has laps led in almost every race since. Even last summer’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 saw the past Cup champion spun from the top spot late, rebounding to third here in February. If anyone has drafting confidence and recent mojo at their top of mind, it’s the man trying to extend his even year championship streak.

“I’m curious to see how much handling comes into play,” Logano said of the new rules package. “Typically even with the added downforce that we had before, coming off of turn four is kind of the trouble point. That’s where cars would kind of slip up and those kind of things. I’m assuming it’s gonna look more like the old Daytona years ago before they repaved it – a little bit more that direction. Or like Atlanta, where handling is gonna come into play to some extent. I just don’t know at what point in the run does that happen. Are we packed up for the first 10 [laps] and then you start to see the cream rise to the top? You start to see the best cars start to move their way through the field? I don’t know, maybe. I kind of think it’s gonna go that direction. It only makes sense if you’re taking grip away. Sure, the car’s gonna handle worse, so like Ryan [Blaney] said, we’ll be the first to know. But we ain’t gonna know before anybody else, either because one lap of qualifying is gonna tell us nothing. So, I don’t know.”

Logano has at least one lap out front in the last 15-straight Daytona races. However, the three-time champion has almost nothing to show for this sustained success. Logano’s seen four Daytona top-fives in this span as his best results, still locked out of victory lane. Penske cars always make their presence known here in the draft. Logano also wants to send a strong message to everyone ahead of The Chase. Team 22 could make Saturday a long night ahead for everyone else, chasing their third checkered flag in six weeks.

Austin Cindric

Not to be discounted as an elite Daytona threat, Austin Cindric wants to win his way back into The Chase. The third Team Penske driver won the 2022 Daytona 500, and has been a mainstay up front here ever since. Despite fast Mustangs in every start he’s ever had here, Cindric only has three top-10s to show for it. Starting Saturday as the 15th man on The Chase grid, Cindric must balance patience and aggression in protecting his 44-point cushion.

“If it was up to me, I know exactly what I would want to do,” Cindric said. “I’m the guy who begged my crew chief to let me race after being on the front row in the Daytona 500, but obviously there’s a lot at play for the race and a lot of factors to come in. I think qualifying will probably play a factor in some of those decisions, maybe. And maybe some of those decisions have already been made and I just haven’t been informed yet. I think there’s a lot of important things, but when you have the package change as much as I think we’re anticipating it – at least changing how the car drives, from my seat you definitely learn a lot more by racing. So, I think there are pros and cons to both and I think we have a couple days left in the week to really understand what our best move forward is.”

Cindric has quietly and steadily been the picture of consistency this summer. The No. 2 has a top-15 finish in seven of the last eight races. Failing to finish top-30 in his last two Daytona starts, however, Cindric must do everything possible to survive on Saturday. It may be a show on Saturday watching the 2 try to control the pack again. Cindric is heralded as one of the most cunning and calculated Next Gen drafters.

Brad Keselowski

Another Chase bubble hopeful, Brad Keselowski will do everything in his power to break back into the top-16. RFK Racing driver No. 6 faces a very steep path ahead, but has dominated this race before. Keselowski needs to win on Saturday AND earn 12 stage points if he is to make The Chase for a 13th time.

Keselowski is one of the most prolific drafters ever in NASCAR. Despite this title, he hasn’t won a superspeedway race in over five years. Fifth in this year’s Daytona 500 showed that Keselowski can still maneuver his way through the pack and survive carnage. RFK Racing was 1-2 in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 with Keselowski pushing just three years ago too. BK may just do whatever it takes to see Daytona’s checkered flag first. The veteran is facing a must-perform scenario in a 66-point deficit.

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 has a different energy and atmosphere than February’s mammoth Daytona 500. The summer classic may be an even more hard-fought win. Many agendas will clash throughout Saturday’s pack. Chase seedings are up for grabs and some are still trying to break into the top-16. The high-octane and exciting night race will get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Every lap turned could make or break a driver’s entire season. A select few drivers have one last chance at Chase glory.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images