By David Morgan, Associate Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In any other year, a return to Daytona International Speedway in the late summer would mark the end of the regular season and cement the field for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Not so much in 2024, as a quirk that comes with the Olympic break that was undertaken a few weeks back making Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 the penultimate race of the regular season, setting things up for a final showdown at Darlington over Labor Day weekend.
But that doesn’t mean this race is any less important as it still provides the best opportunity for those not yet locked into the Playoffs to battle their way in, from those right on the edge of the cut-off line all the way back.
With Austin Dillon’s win at Richmond nullified for Playoff eligibility, four spots still remain up for grabs this weekend with several drivers still vying to capture one of those with a walk-off win on Saturday night.
Martin Truex, Jr. leads the pack among those not yet locked in, with his 77-point advantage over the cut-off line likely enough to carry him across the line and into the Playoffs for his final season behind the wheel.
His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs also carries a double digit points edge into Saturday night, sitting 39-points ahead. Although, a bad race at Daytona could spell trouble for him next weekend.
Then there’s Chris Buescher, who came agonizingly close to racing his way in at Kansas only to lose in the closest photo finish in NASCAR history. As such, he’s only up by 16 points, but did win this race one year ago and was in contention for the win at Darlington earlier this year.
Ross Chastain, a driver who has made the Playoffs the last two seasons and made a run into the Championship 4 in 2022, brings up the tail end of those currently occupying the top-16 spots, with just a one-point lead over being on the outside looking in.
Chastain, a Florida native, would no doubt love nothing more than to win on his home track and punch his ticket to the Playoffs at the same time.
Behind these four are drivers like Bubba Wallace, who is always a threat on the superspeedways, and Kyle Busch, who is looking to keep his streak of winning one race every season alive and turn around his horrendous season with another Daytona win.
The Stewart-Haas Racing four-some of Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece are also still looking for a win to give SHR a…
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