Coke Zero Sugar 400 Preview: Superspeedway High Stakes

The NASCAR Cup Series travels back to where the season started this weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The second Daytona race of the season was historically held July 4th week every year. However, a few seasons ago NASCAR shook up the schedule and has moved this thrilling night race to the ultimate race of NASCAR's regular season. This event will be the cutoff to get into the Chase, NASCAR's postseason. The added urgency to improve one's playoff position or to make it into the field will ratchet the pressure up to 11 on a 10-scale this Saturday night. 

Unlike the Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series races under the lights for this dramatic and entertaining racing event. This will be the third superspeedway race of the 2026 season, so we should now begin to see some trends forming on these larger ovals. With the same aerodynamic package being used for the second time this season at Daytona, we hope to see some the same racing that made the Daytona 500 a competitive and exciting affair. If the drivers can duplicate the action we saw in April at Talladega, we should be in for a thrilling ride this Saturday night. The 500-mile race at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season featured a whopping 52 lead changes among 16 different drivers for a very thrilling event. The Daytona 500 offered a somewhat comparable 65 lead changes, which was the most we've had at Daytona since 2011. We will see if more lead swaps will happen this weekend after two superspeedway races are in the bank with this car and rules package. The pack racing that superspeedways create lead to lots of lead changes and parity in these events. However, we also need to remember the nine cars that DNF'd at Daytona in February is also a season high mark and really illustrates the luck side of the equation in this style of racing too. So, we have to be mindful of the multi-car crashes that the pack racing produces and the luck factor that is associated with this style of racing. We should be in for that same type of fireworks in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 this weekend. With this event at Daytona being held at night it always introduces a new dynamic to this high stakes racing. While there are many parallels, we'll be able to draw from the Daytona 500, we fully expect the action in Saturday night's race to have its own unique characteristics.

Since this is the second race of the season at DIS, we can look back to February's Daytona 500 and even the race at Talladega this spring for some indications on which teams are running at top speed on the superspeedway ovals. This information will form the foundation of our picks for this week's race. We'll also pay close attention to the historical data at Daytona International Speedway. While average finish position is not always a good statistic to rely on at these huge tracks, the loop stats will illustrate the drivers that lead laps, make quality passes and dominate at Daytona on a regular basis. The data shown below covers the last 21 years or 42 races at Daytona International Speedway.

23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick won this year's Daytona 500 and claimed his first-ever victory in the Great American Race. The win made the veteran driver a two-time winner on Superspeedways (Talladega 2024) and was the first of five wins thus far this season for the No. 45 Toyota team. The driver of the No. 45 Toyota pulled off the upset that February afternoon with his brilliant move to take the lead from Chase Elliott on the final lap in order to capture the win. He would hold off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the stripe to collect the thrilling finish. The mayhem and jockeying among the leaders during the final restart and final green flag laps made for a perfect situation for him, and Reddick wasted no time seizing that opportunity to charge from fourth- to first-place after seeing the white flag. When the series traveled to Talladega in late April it was a total free-for-all, but Christopher Bell managed to lead the most laps with 31 before fading back in the field at the finish. Denny Hamlin would also lead 28 laps before fading back at the finish. It would be Carson Hocevar walking away with that victory, thanks to some more last-lap heroics in the midst of mayhem and a battle with Chris Buescher. The theme so far in 2026 on superspeedway ovals has been brilliant moves, late restarts and last lap surprises by the eventual race winners.   

While he didn't win either race, Chase Elliott will be looking to make his mark this Saturday night. The Hendrick Motorsports star qualified on the second row and finished a strong fourth-place in the season-opening Daytona 500. He also qualified well and showed great speed at Talladega in April before also finishing fourth-place in the Jack Link's 500. Elliott was battling for the win in both Daytona and Talladega events, but he'd lack the luck component needed to pull off either of those victories. Aside from Elliott, another driver looking to make headlines coming into Daytona is Carson Hocevar. He was seen battling for the win in the closing laps but would crash out coming to the white flag in the season-opening Daytona 500. The Spire Motorsports youngster would go onto redeem himself and win at Talladega later in the spring. Will the driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet be able to step up his game in the return to Daytona? Those, among many other questions, will be answered this Saturday night. We'll take a look at recent history, and the 2026 Daytona 500 and give you the drivers you need this weekend to win your fantasy racing league.

The Contenders – Drivers in the Hunt for the Win

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 10:30 AM ET Friday

Ryan Blaney (+850) – Blaney won this event in 2021 and again in 2025 for his two Daytona victories and he's a three-time winner at the big oval in Talladega. Over the past three seasons on the big ovals, Blaney has struggled with finishes but he's led 74 laps combined so he's raced up front quite a bit. The reason for our optimism for a resurgence in his superspeedway racing is what he did at Atlanta a few weeks ago. Blaney led 171 laps and won from the pole position in the Quaker State 400. This is a good preview of what we expect from the No.12 Ford team when we visit Daytona. Blaney has led over 260 laps for his career at this facility with two wins and two runner-up finishes and has grabbed a steady 41-percent Top-10 rate.             

Tyler Reddick (+1200) – Now with one Daytona 500 win and two runner-up finishes at the Florida oval since the 2022 season, Reddick is becoming a specialist at this track. He would follow that up solidly with a Top-15 finish in April at Talladega. The driver of the No. 45 Toyota now has two superspeedway wins, one runner-up finish and a steady 40-percent Top-10 rate in the last three seasons of racing on these high-risk ovals. Reddick has never been a big lap leader in these events, but it seems he's perfected the art of timing and how to make your move late in these races. The 23XI Racing veteran is achieving success at the similar oval in Atlanta as well with one win and three Top 10's in his last four starts there.

Christopher Bell (+1200) – He's never won at Daytona but he has finished third-place on three separate occasions here since the 2023 season. Bell has been painfully close to winning at Daytona International Speedway but hasn't broken through yet. The Joe Gibbs Racing star won at Atlanta last season and he finished runner-up at the fast Georgia oval a few weeks ago. Those are good signs heading into the Daytona night race. Over the past three seasons, the driver of the No. 20 Toyota carries that 40-percent Top-10 rate in this style of racing that only the elite can muster. Bell led a whopping 31 laps at Talladega in the spring of this year but didn't come away with the win. However, it shows the incredible speed this driver and team have in this form of NASCAR racing.    

Chase Briscoe (+2000) – Briscoe has two poles and two Top-10 finishes at Daytona since the 2023 season. He qualified on the outside pole of this season's Daytona 500 and led 23 laps in that big event before getting into trouble late in the race. Briscoe grabbed a win at Talladega last fall and that shows the benefit from his move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025. Atlanta has shown similar improvement for Briscoe with 27 laps led and a runner-up finish there in February. He and the No. 19 Toyota team are just beginning to build their resume on superspeedways, so the long-running and big statistics aren't there yet. But make no mistake, Briscoe is a serious threat to win on the big ovals.     

Solid Plays – Near Locks for Top 10 with an Outside Shot to Win

Chase Elliott (+1200) – Elliott has never won at Daytona International Speedway but he's flirted closely with the honor in recent seasons. He was a back-to-back runner-up finisher here in 2020 and 2021 and Elliott has scored two consecutive Top 10's at the track going into Saturday night's action. He's always tended to perform better in the summer race at the track rather than the Daytona 500. Elliott bucked that trend this season by scoring a strong fourth-place finish in the Daytona 500. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet is a two-time winner at the similar oval in Talladega and he cracks the Top 10 at that oval at a strong 48-percent rate. Elliott will be racing among the leaders in the closing laps at Daytona.

Austin Cindric (+1600) – The 2022 Daytona 500 winner also checks in on the solid plays list this week. Cindric scored a strong eighth-place finish in our last superspeedway race at Talladega in the spring. The Penske Racing youngster didn't lead any laps in that event but he used good instincts and strong moves to navigate to a Top 10 that day. We fully believe he's capable of a big performance with high ceiling potential at Daytona this weekend. He's qualified seventh on the grid and led 7 laps in last season's Jack Links 500 to capture the win at Talladega last spring. Cindric hasn't presented much fantasy value this season, but the big ovals are where he shines. This is the opportunity to use him in weekly fantasy lineup leagues.

Bubba Wallace (+1700) – Wallace owns an amazing three runner-up and five Top-5 finishes in his 18-career starts at Daytona International Speedway. He's always fared better at this oval than the similar oval in Talladega, despite having won at Talladega. Wallace's 14.2 average finish across those 18 starts and 106 laps led speak to his excellence in superspeedway racing. The 23XI Racing veteran has been very productive on the big tracks with six Top 10's over the past three seasons (60-percent) and 94 combined laps led on these ovals. He led 40 laps in the Daytona 500 and was challenging to win before late-race chaotic action would shuffle him back to 10th-place at the checkered flag. Wallace has homerun potential in the Coke Zero 400 with his strong No. 23 Toyota.

Chris Buescher (+2200) – The Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing veteran has been a good superspeedway performer in recent seasons. A victory at Daytona in 2023 and his Top-10 finishes in recent Talladega races are the highlights. As to his career at Daytona, Buescher is a 52-percent Top-10 finisher at this high stakes track and that percentage has even been higher in his most recent visits. He rides a four-race Daytona Top-10 streak into this Saturday night's action. This driver and team have battled some consistency issues of late, so we've slotted Buescher in the solid plays list this week due to this being one of his better ovals. However, he brings a very high ceiling for performance to Daytona.      

Sleepers – Drivers with Good History at Daytona & Solid Upside

Carson Hocevar (+1600) – Our last superspeedway victor has been the definition of "wreckers or checkers" in this form of NASCAR racing. But you have to love his aggressiveness and killer instinct to go for it on these big ovals. Hocevar pulled off the convincing win at Talladega this spring and he has three Top-10 finishes in his last five superspeedway starts (60-percent). The Spire Motorsports youngster has been equally impressive at the Atlanta oval the last two seasons. It also races like a superspeedway despite it's smaller size. Hocevar has fetched a runner-up finish there and three Top 5's in his last four Atlanta starts. He really seems to be catching on to the momentum swings and timing of superspeedway racing, and that gives him big potential in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.   

Joey Logano (+1100) – The Penske Racing star is a one-time Daytona winner and three-time Talladega winner. Logano has led 413 laps at Daytona with most of those coming since the 2019 season, so we're quite used to seeing the No. 22 Ford up front here. The veteran driver has been inconsistent this season, but Logano has performed well on his best tracks. Logano qualified third and finished third in this season's Daytona 500. That broke a bit of a Daytona dry spell for him and lifted his career Top 10 rate to 34-percent at the Florida oval. He'll for certain bring a fast No. 22 Ford this weekend and have the potential for big things. The risk is high but the potential fantasy racing rewards are as well.

William Byron (+850) – The three-time Daytona winner was the most impressive superspeedway performer of the 2024 and 2025 seasons, however, he has cooled a bit this year. In addition to Byron's wins at Daytona, he has five Top-10 finishes in the last 10 big oval events and a steady 13.3 average finish across the span. There's no denying Byron's potential at Daytona, he just needs to step up his performance this weekend. There are other drivers with more career-long accomplishments in superspeedway racing, but Byron has great potential. He claimed a 16th-place finish at Atlanta a few weeks ago, but he's capable of so much more. We believe Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet team can deliver in Saturday night's superspeedway battle under the lights.  

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2800) – The 2023 Daytona 500 winner is a sneaky good fantasy racing play for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Stenhouse snagged a runner-up finish in this season's Daytona 500 and snapped a five-race dry spell here. He's a two-time Daytona winner and he won at Talladega in the fall of 2024. He also registered a strong sixth-place finish at Talladega this spring. Stenhouse brings that type of homerun upside to every superspeedway race he enters. The driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet has a steady 40-percent Top-10 rate on the superspeedways the last three seasons. Stenhouse is a guy not to sleep on for this 400-mile battle under the lights at Daytona.         

Corey Heim (+3000) – The real bolt from the blue to watch for this weekend at Daytona is part-time driver Heim. He's already snagged two victories this season in just eight Cup Series starts. He and the No. 67 Toyota team are quite dangerous when they show up on the entry list. Heim's last time out was a dominant 58 laps led and victory at the Indianapolis oval in late-July. He has four-career truck series starts at Daytona International Speedway, and his last two efforts in that division of NASCAR netted a win and runner-up finish. That's proof positive he can execute in superspeedway racing. Heim led 8 laps in the season-opening Daytona 500 and although he didn't get the finish he deserved, he showed real ability.        

Zane Smith (+5500) – Among the lower tier drivers, Smith has provided really good returns in superspeedway racing the last couple seasons. The Front Row Motorsports driver rides a three-race superspeedway Top-10 streak into this weekend's action. That includes Smith's strong 9 laps led and sixth-place finish in this season's Daytona 500. His success has also translated to Atlanta which now boasts a similar racing style. Smith has grabbed two Top-10 and three Top-15 finishes for a strong 13.8 average finish at the Atalanta oval the past two years. The driver of the No. 38 Ford's career numbers at Daytona don't look terribly impressive, but don't let that fool you. It's all about what have you done for me lately.

Slow Down - Drivers to Avoid This Week

Denny Hamlin (+2000) – Hamlin has three Daytona 500 victories dating back to 2016 and he boasts a pedestrian 29-percent Top-10 rate at this high stakes track. With over 685-career laps led at the Florida speedway, he knows all too well what it takes to race up front here and win. However, since the introduction of the newest generation stock car, the Joe Gibbs Racing star's superspeedway prowess has taken a big hit. Hamlin has failed to crack the Top 10 at Daytona since 2021 (10-race Top-10 drought) and has seen his average finish at the oval balloon to 18.3. Superspeedway racing used to be Hamlin's best craft, but it has taken several steps back in recent seasons.        

Kyle Larson (+1600) – The Hendrick Motorsports star has enjoyed success on many tracks, but superspeedway racing simply isn't his cup of tea. Larson's 24-career starts at Daytona have only netted six Top-10 finishes (25-percent) and his 21.0 average finish is more inflated than we'd like to see in a top tier fantasy racing driver. His nine DNF's at Daytona tell the tale and have led to that inflated average finish. The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet has tended to perform better on the Talladega oval than the one in Daytona and the statistics bear this out. He's a 30-percent Top-10 finisher on the superspeedway ovals the last three seasons with a subpar 16.7 average finish. Larson is too high risk of a pick for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.    

Ryan Preece (+3000) – Of the full-time active drivers in the field, Preece has had perhaps the worst luck at Daytona over the recent seasons. The journeyman Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver has crashed out of seven of his 14-career starts at Daytona International Speedway and has just three Top-10 finishes during that stretch. The 23-percent Top-10 rate is lower than we'd like to see and the DNF's have contributed to his inflated 24.3 average finish at this oval. It's been a similar story at the Talladega oval as well. Preece has a 23-percent Top-10 rate at that track and only a slightly better 19.5 average finish. Superspeedway racing just doesn't seem to be a strength of the driver of the No. 60 Ford.    

Josh Berry (+3000) – Despite his recent "heater" of four-straight Top 10's, mostly on short tracks, we're calling for the fade this weekend for the driver of the No. 21 Ford. Berry has been stellar the last month but it's been mostly in a form of racing that he excels at which is small ovals. The return to Daytona could be a bumpy one for Berry and his Wood Brothers Racing team. He's been a 20-percent Top-10 finisher on the superspeedway ovals the past three seasons and his 25.0 average finish during that span is much higher than we like to see. Berry has had some recent success at Daytona but is still a 21.3 average finisher at this track over six-career starts. We believe he and this team comes back to Earth in this Coke Zero Sugar 400.