The NASCAR Cup Series takes another step toward the playoffs with Saturday's co*ke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
There are two races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. It's going to be the best chance for most outside the playoff picture to earn a season-changing victory.
Michael McDowell is on the pole, with Todd Gilliland on the outside of the front row in Front Row Motorsports sweep on the front row.
Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
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NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona: Live updates, highlights, live leaderboard for the co*ke Zero 400
LIVE LEADERBOARD:Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series co*ke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
NASCAR Daytona news, stories
PLAYOFF PICTURE:NASCAR playoff picture: Cup Series points standings after Daytona
SATURDAY'S RESULTS:Who won NASCAR Cup race in Daytona? Winner is Harrison Burton, plus full results
BIG ONE NO. 1:Corey LaJoie shoves Noah Gragson, creating 'the big one' — a 17-car crash at Daytona
BIG ONE NO. 2:Michael McDowell goes airborne in second 'big one' crash in co*ke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
BIG ONE NO. 3:Josh Berry flips over in harrowing crash late in NASCAR Daytona race
FIRE:Daniel Suarez's car bursts into fire at NASCAR Cup Series co*ke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
What Harrison Burton's win at Daytona means
There's so much to mention following Harrison Burton's win at Daytona tonight. Among them:
- Harrison Burton is in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in his final year with the Wood Brothers.
- That was win No. 100 in the Cup Series for Wood Brothers Racing.
- It is the first win for the Wood Brothers since Ryan Blaney's win in 2017.
- Bubba Wallace (21 points behind) and Ross Chastain (27 points behind) are now well off 16th place Chris Buescher in the playoff picture.
- Kyle Busch will be disappointed, but he records back-to-back top-5 finishes for the first time this season.
- The 34th place driver in the points standings coming into this weekend is now in the playoffs, the lowest standing among full-time drivers.
- Burton's win is his first career Cup victory and only the second career top-5 finish (2022 Indy road course).
- The Southern 500 is difficult enough when not under pressure to make the playoffs. It will be a tall task for Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Buescher, Wallace and Chastain next Sunday.
HARRISON BURTON wins at Daytona!
Parker Retzlaff (!!!) pushes Harrison Burton (!!!!!) to the lead down the backstretch on the final lap past Kyle Busch, then blocks Busch through the tri-oval to win at Daytona and get into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Wow. The Wood Brothers are in the playoffs with Cup win No. 100!
Kyle Busch misses out on a massive opportunity. He'll be pretty crushed by that finish, one would think.
Josh Berry flips over in harrowing crash
Josh Berry and Austin Cindric get together down the backstretch, and Berry ends up flipping once, then spinning on his roof as he hits the inside wall. William Byron, Austin Hill among those also involved.
Berry is out of his car under his own power and is OK. He gives a thumbs up. Kyle Busch is the leader. OT upcoming.
Restart with 3 laps to go
Josh Berry and Austin Cindric will lead the two lines to green with 3 laps to go.
Lap 152: Wreck in the front of the field!
Michael McDowell is airborne through turns 1 and 2 after getting turned by Austin Cindric while leading, collecting several more cars.
Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Justin Haley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher are also involved.
Logano and Haley are for sure done for the day, and one would think McDowell too.
Cindric brushed the wall and should be OK. Josh Berry and Kyle Busch are also OK among those in the lead 10-12 cars. Christopher Bell and Austin Dillon may have slipped by too.
Lap 150: 3-wide for the lead
Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson and Michael McDowell are side-by-side from bottom to top with 10 laps to go. Intensity is raised.
Lap 145: Brad Keselowski pass-through penalty for jumping restart
Brad Keselowski leads on the bottom lane, but he is penalized by NASCAR for jumping the restart. Looked like Austin Cindric struggled to go in the outside lane.
"Has to be one of the worst penalties I've ever seen," someone says on the No. 6 radio.
Barring a caution (actually pretty likely), Keselowski's chances at a win are done.
Lap 140: John Hunter Nemechek spins just before pit stops begin
Just before cars come in to pit, John Hunter Nemechek spins off the bumper of Justin Haley to bring out the caution. Now everyone will pit under yellow.
Lap 125: Justin Haley leads Josh Berry as final pit window opens
Justin Haley leads Josh Berry and John Hunter Nemechek as the field calms before the final pit stop.
Kyle Busch is in fifth and has been lingering all night.
Lap 110: Michael McDowell leads with 50 to go
Michael McDowell leads a line of four cars single file, including Justin Haley, John Hunter Nemechek and Josh Berry.
50 laps to go.
Joey Logano wins Stage 2
Joey Logano vaults to the lead, then throws a block on Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski to hold on to the stage win. That's a key playoff point.
The top 10:
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Blaney
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Todd Gilliland
- Justin Haley
- Kyle Busch
- William Byron
- Chris Buescher
- Bubba Wallace
Lap 82: SVG engine expires as Erik Jones has a simultaneous issue
Shane van Gisbergen's car is up in smoke through turns 3 and 4 as he has a terminal issue. He'll be done for the day. Close by, Erik Jones has an apparent tire issue on the right-rear. Caution is out.
Martin Truex Jr. also had a tire issue well back in the pack. Weird sequence altogether.
Lap 78: Austin Cindric saves his car from second
Kyle Larson shoves Austin Cindric from the side down the backstretch, and Cindric saves the field from another big one by re-collecting the car on the apron. He was in second behind Joey Logano on the bottom lane before that shunt. What a save.
Lap 75: No rest for the remaining drivers
They are 3-wide pretty quickly after the green flag flies again. Todd Gilliland makes a move to pass Bubba Wallace for the lead, but Joey Logano surges through the middle via Austin Cindric's push to take the lead.
Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott are out for the race
At least five cars are done for the day as a result of the wreck, including Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott.
Those drivers out:
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Corey Lajoie
- Ryan Preece
- Noah Gragson
Lap 60: Big one!
Trouble down the backstretch, as a Corey Lajoie bump of Noah Gragson goes poorly and causes a multi-car crash.
Several cars involved. It appears Noah Gragson and Corey Lajoie may be done for the day. Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece and Daniel Hemric are all involved. There are others. Could be 15-20 cars, though a handful didn't hit much.
Hamlin and Elliott are done for the day.
The official list of drivers involved, per NASCAR:
- Ross Chastain
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Larson
- Corey Lajoie
- Chase Elliott
- Noah Gragson
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Blaney
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Christopher Bell
- William Byron
- Daniel Hemric
- Ryan Preece
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Erik Jones
- Tyler Reddick
Not sure that Dillon or Blaney hit much of anything, but they were among the spinning race cars.
Lap 45: Bubba Wallace to the lead as the pace slows to save fuel
Bubba Wallace leads the field, with Chris Buescher leading the bottom lane. The pace is about 1.5-2 seconds slower than the first stage as the field attempts to save fuel. This is a 60-lap stage, so that would be quite the stretch on a tank of fuel.
Daniel Suarez day ends in flames
Daniel Suarez's race is done after the rear end of his car catches on fire on his initial stop, then eventually overtakes the back of the car by the time he returns down pit road. Wow. Suarez is out of the car and OK, but the rear of the car is singed.
It appears the exhaust of Denny Hamlin's car helped catch Suarez's car on fire initially. That is unusual.
Josh Berry wins Stage 1
Hendersonville's Josh Berry wins Stage 1 with a good push from Chris Buescher on the final lap of the stage.
The top 10:
- Josh Berry
- Joey Logano
- Chris Buescher
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Blaney
- Todd Gilliland
- Michael McDowell
- Brad Keselowski
- William Byron
- Kyle Larson
The top eight cars were Fords.
Whew. That was intense in the final few laps of the stage.
Lap 25: Front Row Motorsports continuing to lead the pack
The storm in the lead pack has calmed a bit with 10 laps to go in Stage 1, with Todd Gilliland leading on the highline.
A short Stage 1 means the intensity could increase momentarily.
Lap 7: 3-wide throughout as Josh Berry and Michael McDowell trade the lead
No fuel saving in Stage 1, unlike the 500 in February. There are three strong lanes throughout. with Josh Berry and Michael McDowell trading the lead.
Lap 1: Green flag!
The green flag is out, and off they go at Daytona. Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland are side-by-side throughout the first couple laps.
Pace laps underway
The Petty family says the command, led by Richard and Kyle Petty, so the engines have fired. Green flag coming soon at Daytona.
Michael McDowell on the pole; full NASCAR Cup Series in Daytona starting lineup
Michael McDowell won his third pole of the season in Friday's qualifying session, with teammate Todd Gilliland in second.
The top 10:
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
- Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Austin Cindric, No. 2Team Penske Ford
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Find thefull starting lineuphere.
NASCAR race radio coverage: How to listen to NASCAR Cup race at Daytona
The co*ke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway will be aired on the radio by the Motor Racing Network. MRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed onNASCAR.comas well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
NASCAR Cup Series Daytona race TV schedule, start time
- Green Flag Time:Approx. 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 24
- TV coverage: NBC (watch FREE on Fubo)
- Radio: Motor Racing Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
- Streaming:FUBO(free trial available); Peaco*ck and the NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).
The co*ke Zero Sugar 400 will be broadcast nationally on NBC. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app andFUBO, which offers afree trialto potential subscribers.
Recent NASCAR Cup Series winners at Daytona
- 2024 Daytona 500: William Byron
- 2023 summer: Chris Buescher
- 2023 Daytona 500: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- 2022 summer: Austin Dillon
- 2022 Daytona 500: Austin Cindric
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