Coke Zero Sugar 400
Location: Daytona, Fla.
Course: Daytona International Speedway
Format: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Laps: 160
NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 Race Preview
The NASCAR Cup Series regular season draws to a close at Daytona International Speedway in this week's Coke Zero Sugar 400. While the last visit to Daytona set off an early-season streak of domination from Tyler Reddick, and Toyota-powered teams in general, Ford and Team Penske are now closing the gap with four wins from the last six races including Ryan Blaney's statement victory at week ago at New Hampshire. With many of the spots locked up for The Chase, focus shifts to the final three spots still available with five drivers in the running. Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, and Shane van Gisbergen currently occupy those transfer positions, but the margin for error is a thin one at this unpredictable superspeedway. Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski are the teammates hoping to pull off the upset to break their way into the championship battle, but it will take some heroics to do so on NASCAR's most famous 2.5-mile oval.
Key Stats at Daytona International Speedway
- Number of races: 158
- Winners from pole: 27
- Winners from top-5 starters: 77
- Winners from top-10 starters: 116
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 15
- Fastest race: 183.295 mph
Previous 10 Daytona Winners
2026 spring - Tyler Reddick
2025 fall - Ryan Blaney
2025 spring - William Byron
2024 fall - Harrison Burton
2024 spring - William Byron
2023 fall - Chris Buescher
2023 spring - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2022 fall - Austin Dillon
2022 spring - Austin Cindric
2021 fall - Ryan Blaney
Daytona International Speedway's 2.5-mile length and high-banked superspeedway produces the type of drafting-style racing that has contributed to NASCAR's identity. The current rules package tends to level the playing field, and cars move fastest when lined up end to end, though some tweaks to rules for this week's race are aimed at eliminating the processional fuel-mileage races we've seen at the circuit recently. Despite those changes, tams and drivers will still focus on finding a setup that handles well in the draft, can take advantage of momentum, and can make passes in traffic. Those moves often require help, making teammates and trusted drafting partners critical for getting to the front, staying there through the final laps, and coordinating pit stops so they can quickly draft back up to maximum speed.
Mistakes on pit road or crashes can ruin that coordination, though. Daytona is also more of a handling track than Talladega because it is narrower and smaller, leaving less room for cars to move around and increasing the potential for mistakes and accidents. Qualifying is less important here than at most tracks, as six of the last eight Daytona races were won by drivers starting outside the top 10. Having a car that handles well in the draft and can make passes matters more than starting up front.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400
Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ryan Blaney - $10,500
William Byron - $10,400
Christopher Bell - $10,200
Joey Logano - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Chase Elliott - $9,900
Austin Cindric - $9,300
Denny Hamlin - $9,100
Bubba Wallace - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Chase Briscoe - $8,900
Carson Hocevar - $8,700
Chris Buescher - $8,500
Brad Keselowski - $8,300
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Ty Gibbs - $7,900
Josh Berry - $7,100
Austin Hill - $6,300
Zane Smith - $5,900
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400
Ryan Blaney - $10,500
Joey Logano - $10,000
Chris Buescher - $8,500
Ty Gibbs - $7,900
Josh Berry - $7,100
Zane Smith - $5,900
Not only is Team Penske surging in recent races, but Ryan Blaney (DK $10,500, FD $14,000) also happens to be one of the best superspeedway racers in the series. Blaney is a two-time winner at Daytona and is defending winner of this week's race. Last week, he successfully defended his win at New Hampshire from a season ago, and he is hoping to repeat that feat again this week. He crashed out of this year's Daytona 500 after starting fifth and leading two laps. He also has led laps in six of his last seven Daytona appearances. Given the strength we saw from Ford at this track in February, coupled with their current surge, fantasy players should expect Blaney to be out front again this week with a shot at another win if he avoid trouble.
Teammate Joey Logano (DK $10,000, FD $13,500) is likely to be one of Blaney's best drafting partners. Logano has been sharing in the spoils of Penske's uptick in performance, and he is another driver that is frequently leading the field at this track. Logano has only won one Daytona race, but he hasn't failed to lead a lap in his last 15 races at the track. He also started and finished third in February's Daytona 500. This is another week to lean heavily on the Penske Ford teammates.
Another Ford driver worth a spot in lineups this week is Chris Buescher (DK $8,500, FD $8,200). With a spot in The Chase wrapped up, all Buescher is looking to do this weekend is gain some momentum to get his championship effort started on the right foot. Buescher has been reliable and consistent at Daytona with a victory and six top-10 finishes from his last seven starts. This year, in the Daytona 500, he started 41st but still managed to lead four laps and finish the race in seventh position. Buescher's low price point this week makes him a value play for many rosters.
While Ty Gibbs (DK $7,900, FD $7,800) does not boast the Daytona superlatives of the drivers selected above, he brings Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota power into the fold. In addition, he is having the best season of his career and is improving his series averages at this track. It took until his fifth Cup Series Daytona start to finish in the top 10, but that was a fifth-place finish in this race in 2024. He went on to finish eighth in this race last year, too. The trend suggests that Gibbs tends to finish better in the fall race than the Daytona 500, which is why he earns a spot this week.
As his last races with Wood Brothers Racing continue, Josh Berry (DK $7,100, FD $6,000) seems bound and determined to make them count. Berry enters this week's race at Daytona with four consecutive top-10 finishes in the most recent races. Last week at New Hampshire, he delivered a gritty drive to keep that streak alive and finish third, his best result of the season. In February's Daytona 500, he finished ninth, too. Berry is racing for his future and is coming to one of the tracks this particular team excels at. He was ninth in his last two Daytona visits and will be aiming for an upset this week.
Another relatively inexpensive driver capable of springing a surprise at Daytona is Zane Smith (DK $5,900, FD $5,500). The Front Row Motorsports driver has has six top-10 finishes so far this season, including both Daytona and Talladega. Some of Smith's best races this season have been on drafting tracks and that has been the trend throughout his career in the series. At Daytona, he finished 13th in his first three series starts before getting caught in incidents in both races at the track last season, but he bounced back to lead nine laps and finish sixth there this past February. With a 13th-place finish last week at New Hampshire, Smith should be feeling optimistic about his chances this weekend.
NASCAR Cup Series Best Bets for the Coke Zero Sugar 400
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 10:30 AM ET Friday
Race Winner - Joey Logano +1100
Top-Five Finish - Chris Buescher +285
Top-10 Finish - Zane Smith +260
Matchup - Shane van Gisbergen +105 vs. Ryan Preece -140
Any driver could win these superspeedway races, which is why it doesn't often make sense to go with the favorites. However, with Ford's strength earlier this year at Daytona (even though a Toyota won) and Team Penske's recent step up in performance, it feels like a good idea to have some skin in the game with any of their drivers. Given that Ryan Blaney would have to win two races in a row, successfully defending consecutive race wins from last season in doing so, makes his chances feel a little less likely than Joey Logano's this week. Logano has been excellent at Daytona recently with a lot of time spent in the lead, and it feels like a few good breaks his direction this week could land him in Victory Lane again.
Chris Buescher is another likely winner of this race, but his odds for finishing in the top five are also attractive. Buescher's average Daytona finish from his last four starts is 8.5. He has five top-five finishes at the track including a win from his 21 career starts. He was also second at Talladega earlier this summer. With his spot in The Chase already wrapped up, Buescher is free to race for the win. That little extra freedom could help push him even further up the order than normal this week.
Fans shouldn't overlook Zane Smith at Daytona. Smith has top-10 finishes in all drafting-style races run so far this season except one. He was sixth at Daytona in February and then backed that up with a fifth-place finish at Talladega in April. Front Row Motorsports has a long history of fielding superb superspeedway cars, and Smith has proven that he is capable of getting the most out of them in these races. If he avoids the crashes that are bound to affect several drivers Saturday night, Smith is likely to be among the leaders at the finish making him a top choice to finish inside the top 10.
The cutline battle between Shane van Gisbergen and Ryan Preece should also attract betting attention. Daytona has not been the kindest of venues to Preece and SVG is entering the race just needing a clean night to assure his position in The Chase. Ryan Preece's average Daytona finish from 13 series starts is 24.3, while SVG's is 28.5 from four. In the last two races at the track SVG had a best finish of 16th whereas Preece's best was 14th. This is a much closer matchup than the odds seem to be giving it credit for, which is why SVG is the clear choice. Van Gisbergen has more to lose Saturday while Preece needs to be more aggressive. Smooth execution with a somewhat conservative approach could be all SVG needs to come out on top of this matchup.
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