NASCAR at Daytona: A culmination of close-but-not-quites, how to watch, starting lineup

Two playoff spots.

One last chance.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which is now slated to begin Sunday morning at 10 a.m. after weather forced officials to postpone the race Saturday night. The regular-season finale’s green flag will drop a little after 10 a.m. barring any more inclement weather and will now be broadcast on CNBC with radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR.

All eyes will be on 15 drivers in particular in the 37-car field. Why 15? Because that’s how many cars — after Kurt Busch exited the Cup Series playoffs because of his lingering head injury — can grab one of two remaining playoff berths up for grabs with a trip to Victory Lane.

And for pretty much all of those 15 drivers, Daytona will be the culmination of a season riddled with close-but-not-quite results. (And what better place to do it than at The Great Equalizer?)

Ryan Blaney, who’s third in the series in points but still without a win, has had his fair share of close calls. He’s notched eight top-five finishes. Twelve top-10s. He’s led a seventh-best 417 laps.

He’s had shots at wins throughout the year, but bad luck was always on time: Take his run on Indy’s road course in July, when he had a fast car and a chance to contend with Tyler Reddick on a late-race restart before being spun out by a rambunctious field of drivers. The driver of the No. 12 car even had an uncharacteristic outburst post-race: “That’s all people do at the end of these things, just dive in there and (expletive) wreck you,” he said. “I don’t know who shoved who and I don’t care.”

The list goes on.

There’s Martin Truex Jr., who’s sixth in the field in points and who has led a fifth-best 455 laps.

There’s Chris Buescher, who took Kevin Harvick to task down the stretch at Richmond before falling just short. (He, and his racing colleague and part-owner, Brad Keselowski, each won duels at Daytona earlier this season.)

There’s Michael McDowell, who led a surprising amount of the road course race at Watkins Glen.

There’s Bubba Wallace, too, who some consider to be a favorite to win at Daytona. The 28-year-old driver who signed an extension with 23XI Racing earlier this month notched four-straight top-10 finishes at one point this season. He’s come remarkably close to a win, too: Take for example his frustrating second-place finish at Michigan — or even his “dejecting” second-place finish at the Daytona 500 earlier this season: “What could’ve been, right?” he said post-Daytona 500 in February 2022. He added with a smile and a shake of the head, “I’m gonna be pissed off at this one for a while.”

Daytona Cup qualifying got washed out by rain, so that means the starting lineup was set by the rule book, per NASCAR.

That puts Kyle Larson, fresh off his win at Watkins Glen last week, at the pole in Daytona. It also places his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott right beside him. (The two raced each other hard on a late-race restart last week. A nudge moved Elliott to the left coming out the first turn that paved the way for a Larson lead and eventual win, which some perceived as a disrepectful move between teammates. The two told reporters earlier this week that any conflict from WGI is behind them.)

Aric Almirola, who’s still in the Cup playoffs chase and who signed a multi-year deal with Stewart-Haas Racing on Friday afternoon, will start 27th. Daniel Suarez, who re-signed with TrackHouse Racing through 2023, will begin fourth.

Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in Cup Series wins at Daytona with three. Kevin Harvick has two. Rookie Austin Cindric won the Daytona 500 earlier this year.

The track features 160 laps around the 2.5-mile trioval track. Stages end on Lap 35, Lap 95 and Lap 160.

What channel is the NASCAR Cup race on?

Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 may have a few preemptions on some stations, but with the postponed event, that is subject to change. The race itself is slated to be on CNBC nationally.

Per NASCAR, the following markets will have the Cup Series air on full power sister stations:

When does the NASCAR race at Daytona start?

• Race: Coke Zero Sugar 400
• Distance: 400 miles (160 laps)
• Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 35, Stage 2 ends on Lap 95 and Stage 3 ends on Lap 160
• Where: Daytona International Speedway
• When: 10 a.m., Sunday
• TV: CNBC, NBC Sports App, Peacock
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
• Purse: $8,312,719

Starting lineup: Coke Zero Sugar 400

This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 8:00 AM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription