NASCAR at Daytona for Coke Zero Sugar 400, Wawa 250 as regular season winds down

DAYTONA BEACH — It never approaches the hype of Daytona’s marquee event — February’s Daytona 500.

This year, it doesn’t even have the status of final race of the regular season.

But it’s NASCAR at Daytona, which means heavy traffic at high speeds and the constant flirtation with what’s become known as “The Big One,” one of those multi-car crashes that ruin the night for some while occasionally spitting out a surprise winner on the back end.

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Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 highlights two nights of NASCAR racing at the organization’s home track, Daytona International Speedway. But first, there’s Friday qualifying to set the starting lineup, and then the usually eventful Xfinity Series race — the Wawa 250 — Friday night.

NASCAR’s second Daytona race was born on the Fourth of July in 1959 and stayed there until the late-’80s, when it was officially planted on the first Saturday of July — the July 4 themes, including heavy doses of patriotic flair, remained, regardless of where the race fell between July 1-7.

Beginning with 2020, however, a round of fairly dramatic scheduling changes moved the 400-miler to late August, where it would serve as the final race of the Cup Series’ 26-race regular season, with the 10-race playoffs beginning the following week.

This year brought scheduling maneuvers due to the Summer Olympics, televised by the same network (NBC) that broadcasts this part of the NASCAR season. When it all shook out, Daytona got the 25th race and Darlington gets the 26th next week, a move that allows its Southern 500 to remain in its traditional Labor Day weekend slot.

Even without the Coke Zero Sugar 400 officially serving as the last chance for “outside” drivers to get a win and earn the playoff berth that comes with victory, Daytona and its style of racing remains the last realistic shot for many teams and drivers.

Twelve drivers have automatically qualified for the playoffs by winning at least one race so far this season. Two more might join that list over the next two weekends. The remainder of the 16-team playoff field is determined by season-long point standings, and right now, that’s a tight battle.

Ross Chastain sits on the proverbial bubble in 16th place, 15 points behind Chris Buescher in 15th, but just one single point ahead of 17th-place Bubba Wallace.

Every race has the capability of adjusting the playoff picture and disturbing the points race down around the bubble. But with Daytona’s penchant for underdogs getting their day in the sun, and yes, The Big One eliminating many or most contenders without warning, such things are practically a given.