Venue: Daytona International Speedway, 1801 West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach, Florida.
Scheduled start: Green flag targeted for 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-race coverage earlier; approximate green ~7:47 p.m. ET).
TV/Streaming: NBC / HBO Max.
Radio: MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This is the final points race of the regular season. The top 16 drivers in the standings after this event advance to the 10-race Chase for the championship.
Track Details
Length: 2.5 miles (4.023 km)
Configuration: Tri-oval superspeedway (asphalt)
Distance: 160 laps / 400 miles
Stages: 35 / 95 / 160
Banking: 31° in Turns 1–4; 18° in the tri-oval (start/finish); approximately 3° (or minimal for drainage) on the straights
Backstretch: Approximately 3,000 feet
Frontstretch: Approximately 3,800 feet (including tri-oval section)
Track width: About 40 feet (plus apron)
Daytona produces high-speed pack racing with heavy drafting, frequent lead changes, multi-car wrecks (“The Big One”), and strategy focused on positioning rather than pure single-car speed. The restrictor-plate/superspeedway package rewards teamwork, timing, and surviving the chaos.
Weather Forecast (Daytona Beach area)
Saturday features a high near 88–89°F with mostly sunny to partly sunny skies and a 40–50% chance of showers or thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon and toward evening. Heat index can reach the upper 90s to low 100s during the day. By the evening race window, temperatures should drop into the mid-to-upper 70s°F with light east/southeast winds (5–10 mph). A chance of isolated storms remains possible early in the night. Conditions are typical late-August Florida weather and generally raceable, though any storms could cause delays.
Race History & Context
The summer 400-mile race at Daytona is a long-standing regular-season finale tradition. It is known for dramatic finishes, massive wrecks, and unexpected winners due to the draft-dominated nature of the track. Ryan Blaney is the defending winner of the most recent edition. Pack racing often produces high attrition, many lead changes, and last-lap chaos. The event sets the 16-driver Chase field and frequently features intense battles among drivers on the playoff bubble.
Current Standings Snapshot
Denny Hamlin (#11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) leads the series with 1,001 points and has clinched the No. 1 seed. Key standings highlights:
Ryan Blaney (#12 Team Penske Ford) – 924 pts
Ty Gibbs (#54 JGR Toyota) – 880 pts
Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing Toyota) – 860 pts
Christopher Bell (#20 JGR Toyota) – 738 pts
Chase Briscoe (#19 JGR Toyota) – 727 pts
Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) – 708 pts
Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Chevrolet) – 707 pts
Joey Logano (#22 Team Penske Ford) – 682 pts
Chris Buescher (#17 RFK Racing Ford) – 676 pts
Several drivers are locked into the Chase. The cutline battle is tight: Shane van Gisbergen currently holds the provisional 16th spot with a roughly 31-point cushion over Ryan Preece, with Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, and Brad Keselowski also in the mix for the final spots. A strong (or poor) result here can lock in or eliminate drivers.
Key Driver Matchups & Recent Form
Denny Hamlin enters as points leader with strong consistency and multiple wins this season. He seeks a good finish to maximize his Chase seeding advantage.
Ryan Blaney is in excellent form (recent winner at New Hampshire) and a proven Daytona threat as defending race winner. Penske teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric give him strong drafting partners.
Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs bring speed and recent success.
Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron (Hendrick) and the JGR contingent (Bell, Briscoe, Gibbs, Hamlin) offer organizational depth for pack racing.
Bubble drivers (van Gisbergen, Wallace, Cindric, Preece, Keselowski) will race aggressively.
Superspeedway specialists and plate-racing veterans (Logano, Blaney, Wallace, Cindric, Buescher, etc.) historically perform well here.
Recent form favors drivers with strong results on intermediate and short tracks heading into the high-stakes superspeedway finale. No practice is typical, elevating the importance of qualifying and in-race strategy/teamwork.
Entry Notes
Approximately 41 cars entered (36 chartered + open entries). One open car is expected to miss the field. Notable open entries include Corey Heim, Daniel Dye, and others.
Betting Trends
Superspeedway races carry high variance—favorites often struggle to convert due to wrecks, while longshots frequently contend. Team Penske and Hendrick cars often run strong at Daytona. Proven plate racers and drivers with good recent form (Blaney, Logano) draw action. Value frequently appears on mid-range or bubble drivers who must be aggressive. Over on total cautions/lead changes is a common prop due to the chaotic nature of the racing.
DRIVER ODDS
William Byron + 850
Ryan Blaney + 850
Joey Logano + 1100
Tyler Reddick + 1200
Christopher Bell + 1200
Chase Elliott + 1200
Kyle Larson + 1600
Carson Hocevar + 1600
Austin Cindric + 1600
Bubba Wallace + 1700
Denny Hamlin + 2000
Chase Briscoe + 2000
Chris Buescher + 2200
Brad Keselowski + 2200
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. + 2800
Ty Gibbs + 2800
Austin Dillon + 2800
Ryan Preece + 3000
Josh Berry + 3000
Corey Heim + 3000
Ross Chastain + 3500
Erik Jones + 3500
Daniel Suarez + 3500
Alex Bowman + 3500
Todd Gilliland + 4500
Zane Smith + 5500
Michael McDowell + 5500
Shane Van Gisbergen + 5500
Austin Hill + 6000
Riley Herbst + 7000
Noah Gragson + 7000
Connor Zilisch + 7000
John Hunter Nemechek + 8000
AJ Allmendinger + 8000
Ty Dillon + 9000
Cole Custer + 9000
Casey Mears + 10000
Cody Ware + 13000
Joey Gase + 20000
Gray Gaulding + 20000
Daniel Dye + 20000
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Saturday, August 29, 2026
