Ryan Preece Wins Wild Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, Races His Way Into The Chase

Ryan Preece entered Daytona 31 points below the cutline. He left as a NASCAR Cup Series winner with a spot in The Chase.

Ryan Preece arrived at Daytona International Speedway facing one of the toughest situations in the field. Sitting 31 points behind Shane van Gisbergen for the final spot in The Chase, Preece needed almost everything to go his way in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Instead, his night initially went in the opposite direction. By the time the checkered flag fell after an overtime finish, none of it mattered. Preece had survived Daytona, earned his first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victory and taken the final Chase position away from SVG.

Early in the race, it looked like van Gisbergen might put the battle out of reach. SVG won Stage 1 and collected 10 valuable stage points while Preece was caught up in an incident involving Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson. All three cars went spinning through the Daytona grass, leaving Preece trying to recover while the driver he was chasing had just maximized his points in the opening stage. For a driver who entered the night already 31 points below the cutline, it was about as bad of a start as the No. 60 team could afford.

Preece and RFK Racing didn't go away. He worked his way back through the field and finished second to Ryan Blaney in Stage 2, keeping himself within striking distance as the race moved toward its closing laps. What followed was the usual combination of Daytona strategy, fuel mileage and trying to position yourself near the front before everything inevitably breaks loose. A late caution involving Carson Hocevar and Erik Jones changed the complexion of the race again, and SVG eventually came to pit road to ensure he had enough fuel to reach the finish. Preece remained in position to fight at the front.

Suddenly, the points battle became much simpler. Preece didn't have to worry about calculating every position between himself and SVG. If he could win the race, he was in.

Overtime provided exactly the kind of finish you'd expect at Daytona. Zane Smith found himself leading on the final lap before contact with Tyler Reddick sent Smith spinning and triggered a multi-car crash on the backstretch. Preece escaped the chaos and was ahead of Daniel Suárez when NASCAR displayed the caution. That was enough. After 249 Cup Series starts, Ryan Preece finally had his first points-paying victory, and the 31-point deficit he carried into Daytona had turned into a 17-point advantage over SVG for the final Chase position.

The story was made even better by Preece's history at Daytona. This is a track that hasn't always treated him kindly. His violent crash during the 2023 summer race sent his car tumbling through the grass in one of the more frightening NASCAR accidents in recent memory. Three years later, he walked away from Daytona with a trophy and a chance to race for a championship. During our post-race show, that was one of the things that stood out most. This wasn't simply another first-time points-paying winner. There was something fitting about Preece finally getting his breakthrough at the same place that had beaten him up so badly in the past.

The race itself also gave NASCAR something encouraging to build on. The new Daytona superspeedway package appeared to give drivers more ability to move around the field, and from our view at the track, the difference was noticeable. Cars were moving around more in the draft, drivers were aggressively grabbing quarter panels to side draft, and there seemed to be more opportunities to make something happen rather than simply sitting in line and protecting track position. The race ultimately produced 41 lead changes among 22 drivers, but the numbers weren't as important as what the cars looked like. They looked difficult to drive, and at a place like Daytona, that's something we consider a positive.

It wasn't perfect. Fuel saving remained a major part of the race, and there were stretches where teams seemed more interested in hitting a fuel number than fighting for positions. That was the biggest criticism from the Here For The Speed crew afterward. Strategy belongs in NASCAR, but there comes a point where saving fuel starts replacing racing rather than adding another layer to it. NASCAR still has work to do there, and Talladega should provide a much better indication of whether this new package is a long-term improvement or simply produced an entertaining first race.

Still, most of us came away impressed. We use a flag system on the Here For The Speed Podcast to rate races: black, yellow, green and checkered. Daytona earned plenty of checkered flags from our crew. The new package showed promise, the racing was unpredictable without relying entirely on one enormous wreck, and the battle for the final Chase position delivered one of the best stories of the night.

Daniel Suárez ultimately finished second behind Preece, with Tyler Reddick third, Michael McDowell fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth. But Saturday night belonged to the No. 60 team. Preece entered Daytona needing something extraordinary to keep his championship hopes alive. He got exactly that.

Ryan Preece came to Daytona 31 points below the cutline. He left with a trophy, his first points-paying Cup Series victory and a place in The Chase.

Sometimes the easiest way to solve a points problem is just to win the damn race.