NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 takeaways: Ryan Preece clinches final Chase spot with dramatic breakthrough win at Daytona

The win is Preece's first in the series in his 249th career start, and it clinches him a spot in the Chase. Furthermore, it is some vindication for Preece, who has experienced multiple flips at Daytona, one of which nearly took his life in 2023.

While he won the exhibition Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium earlier this season, Preece can now check off a points race for the first time in his Cup Series career as he competes for a championship for the first time as well.

16-driver Chase field officially set

Coming into Daytona, 13 of the 16 title-eligible spots were secured. After a chaotic Stage 1, Bubba Wallace punched his ticket and Brad Keselowski was officially eliminated, leaving Austin Cindric, van Gisbergen and Preece to fight for the final two spots.

A sixth-place finish was enough for Cindric to clinch, and Preece dramatically added his name to the list with the win, leaving van Gisbergen as the first driver out despite making immense strides on the ovals this season.

Of the drivers who were already locked into the Chase, Suarez moved up two spots to 11th in the standings, while William Byron (22nd) and Carson Hocevar (38th) dropped another spot to 12th and 13th, respectively, all of which could be impactful considering the overall importance of points under this revamped Chase format.

New rules package a major step in the right direction

There were many unknowns entering the weekend after a newly implemented rules package was announced back in July, all with the intention of helping drivers pull out of line and make passes with a shorter rear spoiler and reduced horsepower.

While there are some more tweaks that could still be made going forward, there is a lot to be pleased with after the debut of the new package. It allowed drivers to make moves and complete their passing attempts for the lead, which is what you want to see in the draft after the stagnant two- and three-wide racing that has plagued recent races at Daytona and Talladega.

Handling issues prevalent throughout the race

The Daytona summer race has historically been known for producing ill-handling cars and putting it more in the drivers' hands. That was certainly the case on Saturday night as they learned the new package on the fly as well.

There were multiple instances of cars pushing up the track or just coming around on their own. That was especially evident when Hocevar dove inside Preece for second in Turn 3, only to lose control and make heavy contact with the outside wall to send the race into the OT finish.