Ryan Preece won the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, earning his first points-paying Cup victory and securing a place in The Chase.
The No. 60 RFK Racing Ford came through a dramatic overtime finish after Zane Smith spun from the lead during a multi-car crash. NASCAR froze the field under caution, leaving Daniel SuĂĄrez second, Michael McDowell third, Tyler Reddick fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth.
Who won the NASCAR race today at Daytona?
Preece delivered the breakthrough result in his 249th Cup Series start. He had already won The Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium earlier in 2026, but Daytona marked his first victory in a championship-points event.
The decisive sequence unfolded during overtime. Smith was at the front when contact triggered trouble in the lead group. Preece moved ahead before the caution was displayed, and the race ended without another green-flag restart.
Official stage information and race updates are available through NASCAR’s Daytona race recap.
NASCAR Daytona 2026 top 10 results
- Ryan Preece â No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
- Daniel SuĂĄrez â No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell â No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Tyler Reddick â No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. â No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
- Austin Cindric â No. 2 Team Penske Ford
- Austin Dillon â No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman â No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Cole Custer â No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
- Denny Hamlin â No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Among other prominent drivers, Joey Logano finished 18th, William Byron 22nd, Chase Elliott 23rd, Shane van Gisbergen 27th, Kyle Larson 31st and Ryan Blaney 33rd.
Preece recovered after early Daytona trouble
The eventual winner faced a serious setback near the end of Stage 1. Chris Buescher crashed entering the tri-oval after an errant push from Larson, with Preece also caught in the incident. All three cars went through the grass but were able to continue.
Van Gisbergen won the opening stage while Preece recovered to eighth, keeping valuable points on the board. His pace improved further in Stage 2, when Blaney won the segment and Preece finished second.
That progression gave the No. 60 team track position before the unpredictable closing laps rather than relying solely on the final accident to move forward.
Why Daytona carried extra Chase pressure
Preece reached the regular-season finale 31 points behind van Gisbergen around the final provisional Chase position. His ninth-place run in the New Hampshire Cup Series race had helped reduce the deficit, but Daytona still presented a difficult challenge.
The 2.5-mile superspeedway is particularly volatile because drafting and tightly packed racing can transform the running order in seconds. NASCAR also introduced a revised superspeedway aerodynamic package for the weekend, adding another variable for teams to manage.
Daytona had already hosted the season-opening showcase covered in the 2026 Daytona 500 schedule and race guide, but the August event carried different stakes. As the 26th points-paying race, it closed the regular season and settled the 16-driver Chase field.
What the victory means for Preece
The result turned a difficult cutoff situation into a defining night for Preece and RFK Racing. Surviving the early incident, scoring strongly in both stages and staying near the front put him in position to take advantage when the race changed in overtime.
Daytona therefore represented more than an isolated superspeedway result. It gave Preece the first points-paying Cup win of his career at the exact moment the championship field was being decided.
The Chase begins with a different outlook
Preece now moves into The Chase as a race winner rather than a driver trying to recover a points deficit. The championship phase opens at Darlington Raceway, where the challenge shifts from qualifying for the 16-driver field to surviving NASCAR’s elimination format.
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