Coke Zero Sugar 400 takeaways: Ryan Preece wins in insane Daytona race finish
· Yahoo Sports
DAYTONA BEACH — It was an illusion.
For the first two and a half stages, Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 stayed calm — at least for a NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
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But everyone should know better. Tranquility doesn’t exist at Daytona.
Ryan Preece not only claimed his first career points-paying victory but did so to absolutely steal the final spot in the 16-driver Chase.
He resided in front of Daniel Suarez when the caution flag flew for multiple crashes during the second overtime lap.
“I’m just speechless right now,” Preece said. “Those guys, that 60 group, we’re fighters. When you put our backs against the wall, we swing hard.”
Here are three takeaways.
1. Ryan Preece hits back at Daytona
So how close to the wall was Preece entering the Coke Zero Sugar 400?
The 35-year-old sat 31 points back of the cutline before the green flag.
He ran with urgency from the beginning, residing at the front of the pack when he wrecked while coming to the stripe at the end of Stage 1. That allowed SVG to capture the stage.
It also came at a place where Preece already possessed bad history, harkening back to his scary flips down the backstretch in 2023 and 2025.
But he worked his way through the field. He put himself in contending position and entered overtime in the lead after Carson Hocevar and Erik Jones collided with six laps to go.
“It’s just a testament to how prepared these racecars are,” Preece said.
Zane Smith jumped out front in OT, but he spun following a bump from Tyler Reddick, leaving Preece ahead of everyone.
Now in his seventh full-time Cup Series season, he’s a winner.
2. Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric secure Chase berths
Bubba Wallace had an easy night, all things considered. His ho-hum 20th-place finish was all he needed to wrap up 14th in the standings.
Austin Cindric had to work for it more.
At one point in the closing laps, he, Preece and van Gisbergen all squeezed within one point of each other. Cindric locked down the 15th Chase spot, the same one he held when he arrived at Daytona, with a sixth-place finish.
Preece ultimately ended up 17 points ahead of van Gisbergen. Wallace is 46 points ahead and Cindric is 26.
3. Up next: Things get serious as championship Chase begins
The top 16 drivers open their championship run next week. It'll be a new format starting at one of the oldest tracks: Darlington Raceway, "The Lady in Black."
The points have been reset, with top seed Denny Hamlin taking aim at a long-awaited championship, and he begins the Chase with a 25-point edge, which could grow bigger or smaller in a hurry after the green flies next Sunday afternoon at 5 (USA Network).
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series also begins its Chase next weekend with a Saturday night race at 7:30 on the CW.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Coke Zero Sugar 400 takeaways: Ryan Preece wins in insane Daytona race finish