NASCAR got rid of “win and you’re in” for postseason qualification this year, but that’s exactly what Ryan Preece did at Daytona.
The RFK Racing driver won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in an overtime finish to vault ahead of Shane van Gisbergen to grab the spot in The Chase by three points. Had he come in second, he would’ve lost the 20-point bonus a win gets this season and fallen below the cut line.
Preece, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric all qualified for the final three spots in The Chase, while Van Gisbergen came up short.
NASCAR implemented a new superspeedway package for the race that removed drag and downforce in the hopes of improving the racing, and it paid off. Cars were able to pull out and make runs and there was plenty of three-wide and four-wide racing throughout the evening.
The car setup also contributed to the final yellow flag with five laps to go, when Carson Hocevar went for a pass and spun out unexpectedly, due to the new way the cars handle.
Van Gisbergen was in a position to advance to The Chase ahead of Preece near the end, but had to pit during the final yellow to get enough fuel to make it to the finish.
It was Preece’s first win in the Cup Series in 249 starts, which included two at Daytona that ended in dramatic rollover crashes in 2023 and 2025.
“Daytona almost took my life,” Preece said on NBC after the race. “To be standing here in victory lane and saying I won at Daytona, a place that every kid taht races, they dream of winning here. I’m just happy I had a rocket ship to go to the moon tonight.”
