Sports

Key information for Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup race at Daytona

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

The NASCAR Cup Series arrives at its most iconic venue – Daytona International Speedway – for a Saturday night race filled with playoff implications.

Only two races remain in the regular season before the 10-race playoffs begin Sept. 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Twelve of the 16 playoffs berths have been clinched, leaving four spots available to winless drivers. Those drivers have two chances left to lock up berth: either by winning at Daytona or next weekend at Darlington Raceway, or, if they are on the bubble in the standings, building up enough points to secure one of the remaining slots.

Because Daytona can be such an unpredictable race, an unlikely winner from well below the cutline wouldn’t be a huge surprise. Some of the recent winners of the summer race at Daytona include Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher.

Will Daytona produce another surprise Saturday night? Here is all the information you need to get ready for the Coke Zero Sugar 400:

What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona start?

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona on?

NBC is broadcasting the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and has a pre-race show beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona?

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 can be live streamed on the NBCSports website and the NBC Sports app. The race is also available to stream on Fubo.

How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Daytona?

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race will feature three segments (laps per stage) – Stage 1: 35 laps; Stage 2: 60 laps; Stage 3: 65 laps.

Who won the most recent NASCAR Cup races at Daytona?

And one year ago, on Aug. 26, 2023, Chris Buescher prevailed in overtime, edging Roush Fenway Kesolowski Racing teammate and co-owner Brad Keselowksi by 0.098 seconds after taking the lead on the green-white-checkered restart.

Which drivers have already clinched berths in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs?

Drivers can clinch playoff berths by virtue of a regular season victory. Here are the 12 drivers that have at least one win this season (with number of wins and points before the Cup Series race at Daytona):

Kyle Larson 4 (782); William Byron 3 (728); Denny Hamlin 3 (711); Christopher Bell 3 (703); Tyler Reddick 2 (814); Ryan Blaney 2 (732); Chase Elliott 1 (804); Brad Keselowski 1 (677); Alex Bowman 1 (627); Joey Logano 1 (561); Daniel Suarez 1 (526); Austin Cindric 1 (460).

NOTE: Austin Dillon won the Aug. 11 race at Richmond Raceway, but three days later, NASCAR stripped him of an automatic playoff berth after reviewing the final lap of the race, and communication from the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team. Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap before taking the checkered flag. An appeals panel upheld the penalty

What is the lineup for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona?

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford

2. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford

3. (22) Joey Logano, Ford

4. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford

5. (4) Josh Berry, Ford

6. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford

7. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet

8. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford

9. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet

10. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet

11. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet

12. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford

13. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford

14. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford

15. (10) Noah Gragson, Ford

16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet

17. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

18. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota

19. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota

20. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford

21. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet

22. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet

23. (33) Austin Hill, Chevrolet

24. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet

25. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota

26. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota

27. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota

28. (31) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet

29. (62) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet

30. (71) Zane Smith, Chevrolet

31. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota

32. (16) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet

33. (15) Cody Ware, Ford

34. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet

35. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet

36. (51) Justin Haley, Ford

37. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet

38. (78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet

39. (44) Joey Gase, Chevrolet

40. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY