NASCAR Preview: Daytona 400
- Ashton Hughes
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
The NASCAR Cup Series takes on the high banks of Daytona for the regular season finale before The Chase begins.
Track Preview
Daytona International Speedway is a 2.5-mile superspeedway located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The track features 31 degrees of banking in the turns, 18 degrees in the trioval and 3 degrees on the backstretch.
Opened in 1959, Daytona is one of the most well-known racing venues in the world. It is famous for the Daytona 500 every February, as well as the 24 Hours of Daytona, an endurance event held on its road course.
The race is scheduled to include 160 laps. Stage 1 will be 35 laps long, Stage 2 will run for 60 laps, and Stage 3 will have 65 laps.
Weather Forecast
The weather report indicates possible rain throughout the evening, although the worst storms should be out of the area before race time. Temperatures will be around 27 degrees Celsius when the race begins and drop slightly as the night goes on.
The race is scheduled to begin on August 29 at 19:30 EST (16:30 PT, 00:30 BST).
The Storylines
Ryan Blaney won this race a year ago. He also won the most recent drafting track race at EchoPark Speedway in July. Additionally, he won last week in New Hampshire. With those statistics in mind, it is easy to assume he will be the favourite for this weekend. Blaney is one of the best drafting track drivers in the series, with seven of his 20 victories being claimed at such circuits. He currently sits second in points. If he avoids disaster, expect him to be near the front.
Despite the chaos and attrition common at Daytona, Chris Buescher has managed to finish in the top 10 in each of the last four events at the track. He won the summer race in 2023 and was seventh in the 2026 Daytona 500. He knows how to move through the pack and will be one to watch this weekend.
It may be hard to believe, but it has been five years since Denny Hamlin last finished inside the top 15 at a Daytona race. Results do not always reflect the performance, especially at Daytona, where large wrecks are almost guaranteed. Even still, Hamlin’s team will be hungry not only for a top-10 finish but a return to victory lane, something they are capable of achieving. Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 winner after all, and with the speed he has shown throughout 2026 so far, he cannot be counted out.
Joey Logano is another veteran driver who has historically run well at superspeedways. He won the Daytona 500 in 2015 and finished third in this year’s edition. In recent seasons, his results have been impacted by accidents, but when it comes down to a clean race, few can manage this style of racing better than Logano. He will be a fierce challenger, likely working with teammate Blaney to move through and lead the pack.
Carson Hocevar captured his first Cup Series win earlier this year at Talladega, a drafting track similar to Daytona. He finished third at EchoPark Speedway last month. While his results at Daytona appear unremarkable, they only tell part of the story. He came home eighteenth in the 2026 Daytona 500 but nearly won, as he was leading the race until a wreck on the final lap. He will be looking for redemption from that incident. Expect to see more of his aggressive driving style this weekend as he seeks to prove his Talladega victory was not just luck.
Edited by Tarun Suresh
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