2024-08-25 18:35:02
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season was down to the penultimate regular season race at the Daytona International Speedway. Multiple playoff positions were up for grabs entering the first Saturday race of the year.
Daytona did not disappoint.
Seven caution periods saw nearly half of the field taken out of contention, including championship leaders Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson. Kyle Busch, searching for his first win of the year, led the thinned-out field in overtime for the final restart. But Harrison Burton made his way past the two-time champion on the final lap to earn his first career Cup Series win and punch his ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
The big one:NASCAR driver Josh Berry OK after scary, upside down collision with wall during Daytona race
“It’s been the hardest three years of my life and some of these guys’ lives,” Burton said after the race, gesturing to his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford crew. “To win in the way that we just did and beat the best in the business, Kyle Busch, across the line, it’s pretty fantastic.”
Wood Brothers Racing announced Josh Berry will be racing the No. 21 Ford starting next year, leaving Burton without a seat. He now gets to see out his final season with the team in the playoffs after earning their 100th win in team history.
“To get them [win number] 100 on my way out is amazing,” Burton said post-race. “We’re in the playoffs now, let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.”
Busch finished second with Christopher Bell in third. Burton became the 14th winner this season and 13th driver to qualify for the playoffs. Three spots still remain in contention next weekend in the regular season finale in Darlington.
Penalty stands:Appeals panel upholds NASCAR penalty to Austin Dillon after crash-filled win
A relatively calm early opening part of the race saw Josh Berry win Stage 1. Daniel Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet had the biggest early surprise when fuel caught fire during the first pit stops and spread to his rear bumper.
Lap 60 saw the first crash of the race when Corey Lajoie and Noah Gragson made contact and collected 18 cars.
Joey Logano won Stage 2 on as Ford drivers spent most of the race in control at the front. Things stayed relatively uneventful until Lap 150 when polesitter Michael McDowell spun and caused another big wreck.
Seven laps later, leaders Austin Cindric and Berry made contact, causing the latter to flip onto the roof of the No. 4 Ford.
That led to an overtime restart with Burton grabbing the win from a late pass on Busch.
A final-lap pass gave Harrison Burton the lead and he’d hold on for his first career Cup Series win.
Kyle Busch is in the lead with Christopher Bell close behind and pushing him.
Seven caution periods have thinned out the field. Kyle Busch, Harrison Burton, Christopher Bell, and Parker Retzlaff fill out the first two rows with nearly half the field out of the race.
Contact at the front between Josh Berry and Austin Cindric caused another big wreck. Berry flipped the No. 4 Ford but he later exited the car and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd.
The restart sees Cindric leading the way with three laps to go.
Austin Cindric had too much speed from Josh Berry pushing him from behind and went to move down the lane but clipped McDowell, sending him around and up while collecting another dozen cars.
The leaders made contact in turn 3 with the likes of Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson involved.
The RFK Racing driver launched too early and passed Cindric before the start-finish line on the restart. He went through the pits on Lap 148 to serve his penalty.
Austin Cindric leads Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson after the caution period and final pit stops.
NASCAR wants to finish races under green as much as possible. Because of that, overtime is allowed if there’s a late caution period (within the final two laps of the finish). The race will be extended through the caution period if it goes past the original lap allotment. Once it ends, there will be at least two laps of racing.
The leaders made contact when Nemechek moved down to the bottom lane after a tap from Kyle Larson. Nemechek spun but maintained control and is back up to speed.
Nemechek’s joined by Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace in the top five. Justin Haley leads ahead of Josh Berry, Bell, Nemechek, and Wallace.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is having a rough day in Daytona and now sits four laps down.
The 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 winner swept into the bottom lane to take the lead from McDowell.
Cindric had a small snap of steering and nearly hit Berry in the top lane.
The lone Legacy Motor Club driver left in the race is up to third after starting 31st. He’s behind Michael McDowell and Justin Haley at the front of the field.
Polesitter Michael McDowell was big climber during the pit stops and leads the way to start the final stage ofthe Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stayed out as the rest of the field pitted to save an extra lap of fuel. Kyle Busch and Harrison Burton benefitted from the stops and are now third and sixth, respectively.
Kyle Larson and Joey Logano lead the field with seven laps to go in Stage 2.
The No. 43 car suffered a puncture and used the yellow flag period from van Gisbergen’s engine failure to stay on the lead lap.
The full-time Xfinity Series driver was in good position near the top 10 before the engine gave out in spectacular fashion. This was his first race in the Cup Series since the Grant Park 165.
Cindric nearly lost control of his No. 2 Ford after contact with Kyle Larson. Cindric dropped down below the three racing lines to gather himself and stay in it. He’s down to 19th on Lap 80 from second prior to the contact.
The Team Penske driver has led the most laps so far tonight and is out front once again ahead of teammates Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver was in contention for the regular season championship but the Lap 60 wreck took him out. This marks his first DNF of 2024.
Buescher and RFK Racing teammate Brad Keselowski lead the field as the track goes green.
Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and more than a dozen others are assessing the damage to see if they can return to the race.
Buescher takes the lead after a round of pit stops following Gragson’s wreck. Blaney is up five spots and into the top 10 of the order.
The first contact finally happened as chaos breaks out outside the top 10. Noah Gragson made contact after a big push from Corey Lajoie and Kyle Larson and collected multiple cars. Denny Hamlin is one of the most notable names to be knocked out of the race as the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is now under caution.
After biding his time much through Stage 1, Wallace made a late push to be near the top 10 prior to pitting. He’s now in the lead after the first round of pit stops and using the higher lanes to stay in front.
Joey Logano gets a push from Austin Cindric into the lead in the higher lane of the field.
Suárez returned back to pit road after his stop when the No. 99 car caught on fire. Suárez safely exited the car and the Trackhouse Racing crew put the fire out quickly in pit road. Replay showed spilled fuel from Suárez’s pit stop caught fire from Denny Hamlin, ultimately burning the No. 99 car.
After 35 laps, here’s how the top 10 looked at the end of Stage 1:
The Team Penske driver used the high line to move to the front before dropping back a few places in the closing laps of Stage 1.
The Legacy Motor Club driver is up 22 positions from the start as the top passer so far through lap 22.
The Ally 400 winner is using the top two lines to lead the field, moving between the two on the straights.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s now up in the front of the bottom lane before Berry went high to get the lead as they cross the start-finish line.
McDowell’s moved up the track to the highest lane, leaving the lower spots open for Brad Keselowski and Josh Berry. Keselowski’s now up to the lead in the lowest lane.
Austin Cindric’s leading a third line highest on the oval. McDowell and Todd Gilliland lead the bottom and middle lanes, respectivel.y
The green flag flies as Michael McDowell leads an all-RFK Racing front row to start the race.
NASCAR Cup Series:Catch all the action from the 2024 Cup Series playoffs with a Peacock subscription
Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. was spotted pre-race with 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace.
RFK Racing’s Michael McDowell is starting on pole position for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford
2. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford
3. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
4. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford
5. (4) Josh Berry, Ford
6. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford
7. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
8. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
9. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
10. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
11. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
12. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
13. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
14. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
15. (10) Noah Gragson, Ford
16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
17. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
18. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
19. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
20. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford
21. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
22. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
23. (33) Austin Hill, Chevrolet
24. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
25. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
26. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
27. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
28. (31) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet
29. (62) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet
30. (71) Zane Smith, Chevrolet
31. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
32. (16) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
33. (15) Cody Ware, Ford
34. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet
35. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
36. (51) Justin Haley, Ford
37. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
38. (78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet
39. (44) Joey Gase, Chevrolet
40. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Chris Buescher are separated by just 16 points. Only two will be able to make the playoffs unless there’s a new winner for 2024 who is currently behind them on points.
The Cup Series playoffs begin on Sunday, Sept. 8 with the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Here’s the full playoff schedule:
Round of 16
Round of 12
Round of 8
Championship 4
After the Coke Zero Sugar 400, there’s just one race left in the regular season: the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Round 26 of the Cup Series schedule is the final push for the playoffs.
William Byron won the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 19, 2024, taking the lead on a restart with four laps remaining before edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman as a crash broke out just as Byron took the white flag for the final lap.
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher won the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Through 25 championship races in 2024, 13 different drivers have won a NASCAR Cup race, including:
*= Dillon won the race but had playoff eligibility removed for it.
Logano and Ty Gibbs won the NASCAR All-Star Race and NASCAR All-Star Open, respectively, but neither race counts towards the championship.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race will feature three segments (laps per stage) – Stage 1: 35 laps; Stage 2: 60 laps; Stage 3: 65 laps.
The NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be broadcast on NBC.
You can watch a live stream of the NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Peacock and fuboTV.
Today’s forecast from AccuWeather predicts temperatures in the mid-80s with a 49% chance of rain at 7 p.m. ET.
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