While fuel-saving remained ever-present, the new rules package seemed to improve the racing product at Daytona International Speedway, as drivers were able to make moves all throughout the field and it never felt truly gridlocked.
At the end of the day, it was Ryan Preece ending his 0-248 streak with a huge win at Daytona, one that vaulted him up into the Chase for the first time in his entire Cup career. It was also RFK Racing’s first victory of the 2026 season.
Saturday also had lots of interesting news off the track, including the unveiling of Jimmie Johnson’s throwback No. 48 Lowe’s/Carvana/Ally car he will race in his final Daytona 500 in 2027, as well as the exciting news that Days of Thunder 2 is coming to theaters in June of 2028.
As Preece celebrates his well-earned victory, all eyes turn to the battle for the title as The Chase begins. But before then, here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona:
WINNER: Ryan Preece calls his shot and delivers a season-altering win
Watch: Preece on Daytona win, Chase berth: ‘This is redemption’
In his 249th NASCAR Cup race as a driver, Ryan Preece made it loud and clear that he was not going down without a fight. Even as Chase rival SVG won Stage 1 while Preece slid through the infield grass, Preece refused to accept defeat. He quickly made his way back to the front and on the final restart, Preece took the lead while those next to him collided, and held P1 as the race-ending caution flew a few seconds later. He was finally a winner at the top level of NASCAR, and in doing so, punched his way into the Chase field at the last-possible second. He beat SVG by 17 points in the end, making up a total of 48 points in a single race.
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LOSER: Shane van Gisbergen and all of Trackhouse Racing fail to make the cut
Watch: SVG after missing The Chase: ‘One night doesn’t sum up our year’
For the first time since expanding into a multi-car team in 2022, Trackhouse Racing failed to get any of their cars into the Chase field. Connor Zilisch never really had a chance, Ross Chastain was eliminated before Daytona, but SVG was their one final hope. However, even with a 31-point buffer and a Stage 1 win, it wasn’t enough as Preece bumped SVG from the Chase field, ensuring no Trackhouse driver will take part in the postseason. The weekend started with so much promise, as all three cars qualified inside the top seven with Chastain even snagging the pole, only for none of their drivers to finish higher than 24th, and Van Gisbergen fell out of the top 16 right as the Chase grid was locked in.
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WINNER: Daniel Suarez jumps two spots in the standings with runner-up finish
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford wins under caution with Daniel Suarez second, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Photo by: Michael Bush – Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Suarez finished second in the Daytona summer for the second consecutive year, and while it wasn’t a win, Suarez’s runner-up finish was enough to jump him two positions in the standings from 13th to 11th. With the Chase reset, that effort netted Suarez an additional ten bonus points, which could be huge with only 100 points covering 16 drivers now. He now leads the way for Spire into the postseason while the team that cut him loose (Trackhouse) failed to get a single car into the top 16.
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LOSER: Zane Smith and an especially frustrating loss
Watch: Preece wins in chaotic Daytona finish for first points-paying victory
Another win slipped through Smith’s fingertips on Saturday night at Daytona. Making his 107th career start, Smith has been close to Victory Lane a few times before. But this time, he was leading at the white flag with the field three-wide behind him. It seemed like a perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, his late attempt to block Tyler Reddick through Turns 1 and 2 proved costly, as contact was made and Smith crashed into the wall. He never made it back to the finish line and was scored in 32nd place. He later expressed frustration with Reddick for not giving him a chance to save his No. 38.
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WINNER: Harrison Burton does a solid job in 23XI fill-in role
Harrison Burton, Sam Hunt Racing Toyota
Photo by: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Just hours before the Cup Series race, Harrison Burton got the call to make his first NASCAR Cup Series start since the end of the 2024 season. Riley Herbst was suffering from “lingering effects” from a violent crash at New Hampshire and stepped aside. Burton, who scored a top ten finish in Friday’s NASCAR O’Reilly race, drove it with relative ease and no drama. He kept the car clean and finished 12th in the No. 35 Toyota, beating two of his three 23XI teammates.
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LOSER: Carson Hocevar wrecks himself, continuing rough streak
Hocevar appeared at the front of the field during the final run and immediately challenged for the race lead. Unfortunately, after leading his first lap of the day on Lap 153, his night came to an abrupt end on Lap 154. He made a daring move to the inside at the entrance of Turn 3, but suddenly lost control and slid sideways. After hitting the apron, the car shot back up the track, crashing heavily and colliding with Erik Jones. Neither car managed to continue. Hocevar slipped from fifth to 12th in the standings in a little over a month before the Chase reset, recording finishes of 31st, 37th, 19th, and 38th.
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BONUS LOSER: Chris Buescher’s good night goes bad in a hurry
Chris Buescher, RFK Racing
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
What an unfortunate way for the race to go for Chris Buescher. He was moments away from a Stage 1 win, only to then find himself crashing in front of the field due to an awkward bump. After losing over ten laps in the garage for repairs, Buescher did ultimately rejoin the race, but he never gained any positions. The wrecks that did eventually occur took place far too late in the race, leaving him with a 40th-place finish even without a DNF — his worst finish in five years, and that last one was due to a disqualification. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 2016, and all three of those 40th-place finishes took place at the summer Daytona race. The only positive from Buescher’s Daytona experience is the fact that the car sat back down after the rear-end began to lift up off the ground…
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