Cody Ware Matches Best Finish for Father's Team

Rick Ware Racing has rarely had the speed to compete for top ten finishes (although Justin Haley is beginning to change that this year), but they have had a consistent knack for staying out of trouble in Daytona wreckfests and getting good finishes particularly at Daytona, where they have at least placed one car in […]

Harrison Burton's Win Renders Ross Chastain's Playoff Hopes Unlikely

Despite finishing 12th at Daytona, Ross Chastain's worst nightmare came true from a playoffs perspective as not only did he lose points to both Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace, Harrison Burton's shock win made it far more difficult for Chastain and Wallace to advance to the playoffs as Chastain now sits 27 points behind Buescher […]

Kyle Busch Loses Overtime Duel, Likely Ending Playoff Bid

Kyle Busch's playoff bid effectively ended in Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 despite a second-place finish, his best finish of the season and best at Daytona since 2019. Busch was in position to win and led at the end of regulation but got out to too large a lead on the final overtime restart, which […]

Chris Buescher's Playoff Bid Now Likely Safe

Chris Buescher did what he needed to do at Daytona. Although he failed to defend last year's victory, the driver who is arguably the least crash-prone driver in the NASCAR Cup Series was unable to avoid the second Big One but still rallied to a tenth place finish after being the only one of the […]

Christopher Bell Avoids Wrecks to Finish Third

Christopher Bell finished third at Daytona for the third time in the last four races in Saturday night's race, but unlike his previous third-place finishes in the 2023 and 2024 Daytona 500s, he wasn't much of a factor in the race as he and surprisingly the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team failed to lead a […]

Bubba Wallace Probably Likeliest To Win Himself Into The Playoffs

Bubba Wallace is generally regarded as one of the best drafters in the NASCAR Cup Series and not without reason. Although he has never won at Daytona, he has finished second three times and has led almost every Daytona race with the Next Gen chassis. Additionally, 23XI Racing seems to have consistently fast cars on […]

Zane Smith Eager To Prove Himself After Release From Trackhouse Racing

It was just announced Friday that Trackhouse Racing has released Zane Smith from their satellite Spire Racing operation for 2025. Although Smith is expected to reunite with Front Row Motorsports in an effective ride swap with Michael McDowell, his release likely means he will be eager to prove himself, and Daytona may be one of […]

Tyler Reddick Likely To Play It Safe To Protect Points Lead

Tyler Reddick took his first-ever lead in the NASCAR Cup Series championship with his win at Michigan. This season has marked a sudden change in style for Reddick as in 2022 and 2023 he had a more hotheaded aggressive style with more electrifying performances than this year but also more bad results. He is clearly […]

Daytona Might Be Ryan Preece's Last Chance to Save His Career

Ryan Preece's NASCAR Cup Series career is probably winding down after Stewart-Haas Racing's shutdown coupled with a dismal season where he is regularly being outrun by his less-experienced teammates. He has not led a single lap this year or posted an average running position better than 15th. As a result, Daytona is not merely a […]

Brad Keselowski's Extremely High Daytona Crash Rate Does Not Inspire Confidence

While Brad Keselowski has a reputation as one of the best drivers on drafting tracks, that's more because of his Talladega record than his more hit-or-miss Daytona record. Although he pushed his teammate Chris Buescher to victory in last year's race, he has crashed out of a staggering 11 of the last 15 races at […]

Carson Hocevar's Momentum Should Override Weak Daytona Record

Although Carson Hocevar has been the best rookie this year and is on something of a hot streak (especially considering the caliber of Spire Motorsports equipment), Daytona remains a big question mark for him since he crashed five laps into the Daytona 500 for his only DNF of the year in his only previous start […]

Daniel Hemric's Crash Avoidance Could Suit Him At Daytona

Although Daniel Hemric has been very slow in the NASCAR Cup Series this year, he has been smooth and polished and good at crash avoidance; his racecraft certainly exceeds his raw talent. That definitely suits him well for a track like Daytona, where half the field regularly crashes. Hemric's steady hand has given him three […]

Denny Hamlin's Race Strategy Likely Shifts After 75-Point Penalty

Denny Hamlin received a 75-point penalty for his team disassembling an engine before NASCAR could inspect it after his win at Bristol. Although the playoff point penalty he received was relatively minor in comparison, the 75-point penalty does effectively eliminate him from the regular-season championship. Counterintuitively, that will actually allow Hamlin to take more risks […]

Noah Gragson Becoming A Drafting Specialist With Nothing To Lose

While Noah Gragson hasn't really embarrassed himself in 2024 like he did the previous year, he hasn't really done much either and has been a very anonymous performer. The one exception came at Talladega, where he finished third and actually posted the best driver rating. Since he finished ninth in the Daytona 500 and also […]

Chase Elliott Likelier To Focus On Crash Avoidance Than Winning

Chase Elliott sits 10 points behind Tyler Reddick for the regular-season points lead with two races before the playoffs as he seeks to win his second regular-season championship. Although he has never yet won at Daytona unlike his father Bill, he has been consistently competitive, winning three poles and leading at some point in almost […]

Austin Dillon Probably Not Fast Enough To Deliver Another Cheap Shot

After Richard Childress's appeal of Austin Dillon's rough driving penalty at Richmond was denied, Dillon is once again in a must-win situation for the playoffs. He already proved twice on drafting tracks even before Richmond that he would wreck anyone for a playoff spot, wrecking Aric Almirola in the 2018 Daytona 500 and Austin Cindric […]

Ross Chastain Likelier To Try To Maximize Points Than Win

Ross Chastain qualified 24th at Daytona. He holds a one-point advantage over Bubba Wallace for the final spot in the playoffs after passing him on track on the final restart at Michigan to salvage a pyrrhic victory. Although he has never scored a top five finish at Daytona, he came very close in the Daytona […]

William Byron's Strong Passing May Bode Well At Daytona If He Doesn't Crash

William Byron starts seventh for Saturday night's Daytona race, higher than all other non-Ford drivers, and he's had a strong record there historically. In addition to winning the season-opening Daytona 500 in a tight duel with his teammate Alex Bowman, he also won his first race there four years ago in this race and also […]

Chris Buescher Likely To Play It Safe To Ensure A Finish

Chris Buescher led his teammate and car owner Brad Keselowski to a 1-2 finish in last year's Daytona night race, but this year he's in a much more precarious situation, as he is winless and sits only 16 points above the playoff cut line. Since he has a cushion over both Ross Chastain and Bubba […]

Alex Bowman Stronger In Daytona Qualifying Than In The Race

Despite his impressive streak of six consecutive front-row starts in the Daytona 500 from 2018 to 2023, Daytona hasn't been one of Alex Bowman's best tracks, as he has only led 42 laps there despite his qualifying dominance and has seldom factored in for a win on any drafting oval. This year's Daytona 500 was […]

Daniel Suarez Returns to Form After Mid-Season Slump

After a lackluster middle portion of the season, Daniel Suarez has begun to rebound as his eighth-place finish at Michigan was his third straight top ten, giving him a lot of momentum entering the playoffs. Although he ran nowhere near as well as he did at Richmond, those two races back-to-back actually mark the first […]

Carson Hocevar Overtakes Josh Berry for Rookie Points Lead

Despite his hotheaded driving style, rookie Carson Hocevar is surprisingly proving to be one of this year's most consistent drivers. His tenth-place finish at Michigan gave him his second straight top ten and his ninth finish of 17th or better in the last ten races. Despite his 25-point rough driving penalty at Nashville and not […]

Denny Hamlin Recovers to Ninth After Sunday Spinout

Despite starting on the pole according to the scoring metric after qualifying was rained out, Kyle Larson made a three-wide pass on Hamlin, and eventual winner Tyler Reddick and Hamlin never led at the line. He certainly came close as he was running second directly behind Bubba Wallace late in Stage 1 when he spun […]

Ross Chastain Back Over Cut Line, but Michigan Still a Wasted Opportunity

Once again, Ross Chastain snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as his 25th-place finish marks yet another instance this year where he finished much worse than he ran, but in a race where all three of the principal bubble drivers spun out, he did overtake Bubba Wallace by a single point for the final […]

William Byron Comes up Short in Late-Race Duel at Michigan

William Byron finished second in yesterday's FireKeepers Casino 400. In a race where nobody dominated, Byron set the fastest average speed for the first time this season even though he failed to win. While Byron consistently ran in the top 10, he didn't seem to have potentially race-winning pace until the closing stint of the […]

Chris Buescher the Only Bubble Driver to Recover From His Spin at Michigan

Chris Buescher entered this weekend's Michigan race holding the tiebreaker over Ross Chastain for the last playoff spot, but in a race where all three bubble drivers spun out, Buescher managed to recover from his spin while Chastain and Bubba Wallace could not. Buescher drove from 18th to eighth and looked to have one of […]

Ricky Stenhouse Jr's Speed Decline Has Received Little Notice

Ricky Stenhouse's significant decline in speed has somewhat flown under the radar for most of the year because fans tend to be harsher towards the drivers who crash most often than drivers who are merely slow even if their actual performance is worse. However, the spotlight did switch to Stenhouse in a big way in […]

Intermediate Tracks Still Don't Suit Ryan Preece

It's unclear whether Ryan Preece will be back in the NASCAR Cup Series again after this year with his team owner and biggest advocate Tony Stewart leaving the ownership ranks at the end of 2024. Preece has become an afterthought in the NASCAR Cup Series as his fellow Stewart-Haas teammates have not given him as […]

John Hunter Nemechek Still Struggling to Learn Next Gen Car

Although John Hunter Nemechek did win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan last year and finished third in yesterday's edition of that race, the prospects of him having a good run in today's Cup Series race seem dim. He still does not seem to have fully figured out the nuances of the Next Gen […]

Joey Logano Likely Ignoring Michigan to Focus on Playoffs

A week after Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano to win at Richmond and Logano retaliated by driving dangerously in a crowded pit lane, today's FireKeepers Casino 400 feels almost like an afterthought for both drivers. Logano's quite flukish win at Nashville locked him into the playoffs even though he has hardly had winning speed all […]