Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona may have no scarcity of storylines when the inexperienced flag flies.
Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace are all making an attempt to level their manner into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Sequence playoffs, and with two regular-season races remaining, there’s little margin for error.
In the meantime, Kyle Busch and 16 different drivers will look to earn a season-saving, playoff bid-clinching victory on Saturday, whereas the highest drivers within the sport proceed their hunt for the regular-season championship.
The tales begin on the entrance of the sphere, nonetheless, with the aptly named Entrance Row Motorsports. Michael McDowell gained the pole for Saturday’s race, with teammate Todd Gilliland set to begin second. Each McDowell and Gilliland are in want of a win to be able to make the postseason, they usually’ll have the perfect view of anybody when the race begins.
The aforementioned factors battle is presently fixated on Chastain (+1) and Wallace (-1) who discover themselves only one level away from a very completely different destiny. Wallace’s 18th-place beginning place will give him a slight edge over Chastain, who will begin twenty fourth – however do not forget about Truex, (seventeenth) Gibbs (twenty sixth) or Buescher, (thirteenth) who aren’t thought of secure by any means.
Denny Hamlin’s penalty from earlier within the week might have knocked him out of the regular-season title hunt, however the prime three drivers are nonetheless solely separated by 32 factors. Michigan winner Tyler Reddick now holds a 10-point lead over Chase Elliott, with Kyle Larson being 32 factors behind the chief. Reddick, Elliott and Larson will begin twenty fifth, tenth and ninth, respectively.
Seventeen drivers, together with Busch, should win one of many subsequent two races to be able to earn a playoff berth. Busch does not simply have a spot within the postseason on the road, nonetheless — he is making an attempt to avoid wasting a 20-year Cup Sequence profitable streak that’s at risk of ending if he cannot discover victory lane over the subsequent 12 weeks. A win at Daytona can be monumental for Busch, who’s in the course of the worst season of his profession.
Each Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry are in search of their first profession Cup Sequence victories, however they’re locked into a good factors battle of their very own. The 2024 NASCAR Cup Sequence Rookie of the 12 months battle is in full swing, with Hocevar main Berry by simply 14 factors. Hocevar and Berry sit twenty second and twenty third in factors and can begin Saturday’s race thirty seventh and fifth, respectively.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona will go inexperienced shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Protection shall be offered by NBC, Peacock, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
