Three big questions ahead of Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

Following Ryan Blaney's second straight win at New Hampshire on Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series trek to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway for the regular-season finale on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Here are three big questions before the 16-driver field for the 10-race Chase is officially set.

Who will claim the last three Chase spots?

Denny Hamlin may have locked up the No. 1 seed with a seventh-place finish at New Hampshire, but there are still three spots for the taking before drivers set their sights on a title over the next 10 weeks.

Bubba Wallace (+75), Austin Cindric (+44) and Shane van Gisbergen (+31) currently find themselves on the right side of the bubble ahead of Ryan Preece (-31) and Brad Keselowski (-66). Three of those five drivers will race for a championship while two will have to wait another season.

With the high likelihood of the "Big One" at Daytona and the attrition that typically comes with the closer quarters racing at the "World Center of Racing," it would not be a huge surprise if Preece or Keselowski creep their way in, though Keselowski will need to win and get some additional help on his end.

The "win and in" from the playoff format may not be in play on Saturday night, but there is still some drama around the bubble and a lot to pay attention to for the final three title-eligible spots.

Will new superspeedway package make an impact?

In an effort to combat the fuel saving and a lack of passing throughout the field on drafting-style tracks like Daytona, NASCAR announced a major rule change back in July that will make its debut on Saturday night.

Cars will have their rear spoilers shortened from seven to four inches and a horsepower reduction from 510 to 465, all with the intention of decreasing drag and giving drivers more opportunities to pull out of line and make moves.

The idea is for drivers to be decisive with their moves and not have the fear of losing the draft with one wrong move, which in turn has kept the racing double-file without any jockeying for position under the previous package.

While an adjustment to the stage lengths for the spring Talladega race ultimately did not make much of a difference, the goal is for the new package to deliver better racing from start to finish. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.

Can Josh Berry win a race before the 2026 season ends?

Even though Berry is mired at 29th in points and was in the midst of a career-worst season at one point, he has not looked the part of a driver who will not return to the famed Wood Brothers Racing organization next season.

After a third-place finish at New Hampshire put Berry in exclusive company as the first driver of the Wood Brothers No. 21 to post four consecutive top-10 results since Morgan Shepherd in 1994, it is fair to wonder if a second Cup Series win is in the cards for him before the season is over.

Had it not been for a slow pit stop late in the race at New Hampshire, Berry may have been the one celebrating with the lobster in victory lane instead of Blaney.

While it is difficult to predict superspeedway racing, and the Fords have lacked speed overall at the intermediates, it is not out of the question that Berry contends for a win before the season is over.