NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Saturday night, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series trek to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway for the regular-season finale in the running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Here is what you need to know ahead of the final race before the 10-race Chase officially begins.

Favorite: Joey Logano (+900, per FanDuel)

With seven consecutive finishes of 14th or better and a pair of wins during that stretch, Logano has reasserted himself into the championship conversation and should be among the contenders on Saturday night.

Although Logano has five finishes outside the top 20 in the nine Next Gen races at Daytona (since 2022), he is one of the best superspeedway drivers in the series and has the second-most points scored (288) in those nine races.

Underdog: Zane Smith (+4000, per FanDuel)

There may be other drivers down the oddsboard who either have wins at Daytona or more experience in the draft than Smith does, but don’t be surprised if he is near the front at the “World Center of Racing” on Saturday night.

Smith won Stage 1 in this season’s Daytona 500 before finishing sixth, which was one of his five top-10s in the last seven drafting-style races. When you consider that four of the last six summer Daytona races needed overtime at the finish and a first-time Cup Series winner has emerged in four of the last eight 400-mile contests there, it is entirely reasonable that Smith adds his name to that list this time.

It all comes down to this

Bubba Wallace (+75), Austin Cindric (+44) and Shane van Gisbergen (+31) are currently the last three drivers inside the provisional 16-driver Chase field, but Ryan Preece (-31) and Brad Keselowski (-66) are still mathematically alive at a track known for producing chaos.

That said, the points battle among drivers already locked into the Chase will carry some extra weight, especially considering how important many believe being inside the top six of the standings will be toward those who are actually title contenders over the final 10 weeks.

Regardless, there are still some spots available and a lot of jockeying for position that is going to take place as drivers try to improve their points positions. The “win and in” from the playoff format may be gone, but the intensity will still be just as palpable.

New rules package makes its debut

NASCAR implemented a new rules configuration back in July that will feature a shorter rear spoiler and reduced horsepower, with the ultimate goal being to decrease drag and give drivers more opportunities to pull out of line and be able to complete their passes instead of stalling out.

An adjustment to the stage lengths was made at Talladega earlier this season, but this particular change is one points leader Denny Hamlin believes will lend itself to even more chaos as drivers try to figure out what they can and can’t do in the draft, all without any practice. 

Trackhouse Racing flexes in qualifying

The 2026 season has been a disappointment across the board for Trackhouse, with only one of its drivers, van Gisbergen, in position to make the Chase. That said, they brought plenty of speed to Daytona Beach.

Ross Chastain won his third career pole on Friday with a lap of 48.808 seconds (184.396 mph), while van Gisbergen (sixth) and rookie Connor Zilisch (seventh) joined him inside the top 10. It may not translate to much in the race, but it is certainly a great start.