Updates from today’s NASCAR race in Daytona
Daytona Motor Mouths, August 20: Coke Zero Sugar 400 Preview
The guys talk about rain delays in Michigan, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher and the upcoming weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
While it may not be the final NASCAR Cup Series regular season race of the year, Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 still holds great significance.
First, it takes place at the historic Daytona International Speedway, where chaos reigns. Second, it remains crucial for playoff placement. Twelve drivers have secured spots with victories in 2024, leaving four postseason spots open on points with two races remaining.
The Wawa 250 Xfinity Series race set the stage on Friday night. Tonight’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 is scheduled for 7:53 p.m., weather permitting. Michael McDowell will start from the pole.
Please check back later for updates to this page.
GREAT AMERICAN RACE: Celebrate the fast-paced history of the Daytona 500 with a new book; foreword by Richard Petty
Parker Valby took a two-week break from training after making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. She began running again on Thursday, just before competing in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.
“It’s super cool to learn all about NASCAR and racing,” she said. “Maybe this is my future career.”
The 21-year-old Tampa native will serve as a volunteer official at the event on Saturday.
She has visited Daytona Beach before—as part of a middle school surf camp—but this is her first trip to the speedway.
Valby plans to participate in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Trackhouse Racing announced Saturday that it will have a third full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series next season. His driver: Shane van Gisbergen.
The 35-year-old has competed in six Cup Series races over the past two years, winning the first event he entered, the Chicago Street Race in July 2023.
This year, SVG competed full-time in the Xfinity Series and recorded three wins and five top-five finishes.
And his new Chevrolet car number? No. 88, numbers associated with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other notable NASCAR winners. The charter comes from Stewart-Haas Racing.
Bobby, we know you’ve been busy winning Olympic medals and stuff lately, but have you practiced waving the green flag?
“No, and I’m really nervous about tonight,” said Finke, the honorary starter of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. “I’m afraid of dropping it. Hopefully I don’t screw it up.”
The 24-year-old is from Tampa and attended the University of Florida. At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, he won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle and silver in the 800-meter freestyle.
He brought his medals to Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.
“I’m learning to take them everywhere with me because you never know,” Finke said.
Betting odds for Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
Let’s start with the Hard Rock Bets recap. And remember, these payouts (+1200, +1600, etc.) are based on a $100 bet. Bet $10 and win 10% of that. And yes, do the math.
+1200: Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin
+1300: Ryan Blaney
+1400: Brad Keselowski
+1500: Kyle Bush, Chase Elliott, William Byron
+1600: Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher
+1750: Kyle Larson
+2000: Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell
+2250: Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman
+2500: Austin Cindric
+3000: Ty Gibbs, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
+4000: Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland
+5000: Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley
+6000: Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek
+7500: Zane Smith, Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton
+10000: Shane Van Gisbergen
+20000: Parker Retzlaff, Joey Gase, BJ McLeod, Cody Ware
Notice anything about the numbers above? The payouts at the top are much higher than usual, while those at the bottom are much lower.
Why? It’s a record race, kids, and long story short, practically anyone can win. Well, that explains why the odds for the underdog aren’t as slim as they usually are.
Why are the favorites’ payouts higher? Because while anyone can win, it’s much, much easier to lose on one of these games of chance.
With Coke Zero Sugar 400 the television experience will be a little different.
NBC Sports will not show full-screen advertising during the launch period. The first of three races with the newly introduced strategy will take place at Daytona on Saturday, along with Atlanta on September 8 and Talladega on October 6.
The network plans to use only split-screen advertising under Green.
Speedway President Frank Kelleher stopped by the infield media center and threw a bag of numbers on the table.
Ticket purchases for today’s race are coming from all 50 states, 56 countries, six continents and eight Canadian provinces. Frank says all trackside suites and all reserved campgrounds are sold out.
Bubba on the bladder?
That’s the case even though there are still two regular-season races left. Wallace is one point behind Ross Chastain and the last of 16 postseason spots. Twelve drivers have already secured their tickets with victories this year, leaving four open.
Here are the top 20 drivers in the playoff rankings.
- Kyle Larson, 782 points, four wins
- William Byron, 728, three
- Christopher Bell, 703, three
- Tyler Reddick, 814, two
- Ryan Blaney, 732, two
- Denny Hamlin, 711, three
- Chase Elliott, 804, one
- Brad Keselowski, 677, one
- Alex Bowman, 627, one
- Joey Logano, 561, one
- Daniel Suarez, 526, one
- Austin Cindric, 460, one
- Martin Truex Jr., 682
- Ty Gibbs, 644
- Chris Buescher, 621
- Ross Chastain, 606
- Bubba Wallace, 605
- Kyle Busch, 513
- Chase Briscoe, 491
- Todd Gilliland, 455
This afternoon: 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, high around 80°F. East northeast wind around 10 mph. New precipitation of less than a tenth of an inch, but heavier amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: Slight chance of rain and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of rain and thunderstorms after 3am. Mostly cloudy, low temperature around 24°C. East-northeast wind 8 to 16 km/h. Chance of precipitation 20%.
The green flag for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will fall at 7:53 p.m. on Saturday at the Daytona International Speedway.
NBC will broadcast the race on television and on the radio on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
