Welcome to Racing America On SI’s live NASCAR race updates post for Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. This post will be updated throughout the day and night on Saturday with key updates leading into and through the final race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season.
Video highlights of crashes or incidents will be populated along with lead changes, stage and race results, and more. Continue checking back for additional updates on the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway throughout the day.
Lap 142: New Leader!
Erik Jones forces his way past Joey Logano for the race lead and he has Justin Haley pushing him.
Lap 137: McLeod Gets Wall
BJ McLeod received a bump from behind from Todd Gilliland, and he pounded the outside wall. We are still under green. Incredible there wasn’t a caution thrown there, that looked like a decent pop into the outside wall.
Lap 129: Business Has Picked Up!
We are three-by-three all through the pack and drivers are pushing extremely hard to put themselves in a position to win this race. Any wrong move, and we are going to have a big crash.
Lap 114: Back to Green!
Austin Dillon leads the field back to green as Cody Ware came to pit road at the end of that caution flag period to help him maximize his fuel load.
Lap 112: Cody Ware Reclaims the Lead
Cody Ware is up to 23 laps led on the night as he took the lead by staying out under caution while the majority of the field pitted.
Lap 107: Hamlin Cuts Tire
Denny Hamlin has suffered a cut right front tire, and we are under caution.
Lap 101: Back to Green!
We’re back to green, and Christopher Bell has Chris Buescher behind him and they are battling John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones, the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammates, for the lead of the race.
Lap 99: Christopher Bell Wins Race Off Pit Road
Christopher Bell will lead the field into the final Stage of this race as he won the race off pit road in the Stage Break following the end of Stage 2. Ross Chastain, who won Stage 2, overshot his pit stall, and fell to 16th, and to add insult to injury, Chastain collected a pit road penalty, so he’ll have to drop to the rear.
Daniel Suarez also got a pit road penalty and will join Chastain at the rear.
Lap 95: Ross Chastain Takes Stage 2 Win
After a wild bit of shuffling around at the front of the pack in the closing laps of Stage 2, it was Ross Chastain, who narrowly took the Stage 2 win over Christopher Bell and Joey Logano.
Stage 2 Results
Fin
Car
Driver
Stage Points
Playoff Points
1
1
Ross Chastain
10
1
2
20
Christopher Bell
9
—
3
22
Joey Logano
8
—
4
24
William Byron
7
—
5
42
John Hunter Nemechek
6
—
6
12
Ryan Blaney
5
—
7
19
Chase Briscoe
4
—
8
60
Ryan Preece
3
—
9
54
Ty Gibbs
2
—
10
5
Kyle Larson
1
—
Lap 89: McDowell Shuffled, Logano Fighting Byron
William Byron has a new challenge for the lead in Joey Logano, who got aside him after Michael McDowell was hung out to the outside. And Logano moves to the race lead with help from Chase Briscoe on Lap 90, but on Lap 91, Briscoe goes back by him for the lead. It’s now Briscoe and Byron up front.
Lap 88: Back to Green!
We’re back to green, and William Byron, who was dinged with pre-race penalties and lost a lap serving a penalty early in the race, is the leader. He has Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson up there with him.
Michael McDowell, who is tucked in behind Byron, got Byron loose with a bump draft.
Lap 83: Caution!
Carson Hocevar seemingly experienced a blown engine as his car went up in smoke, and he slowed on track. As Hocevar attempted to get back around the track, his car came to a stop on the backstretch.
Lap 78: Cody Ware Hung to Middle
Cody Ware was sent dropping through the middle of the field as he was passed by Cole Custer and Ryan Preece. Ware was going to pit that lap, but is now trying to work his way to the low line.
Lap 73: SVG, McDowell Drop Back After SVG’s Aggressive Move
Michael McDowell got by Shane van Gisbergen for the race lead on Lap 73, but SVG immediately knifed his way back by, which put McDowell in the middle, which sent him dropping back. SVG got put in the middle himself, and dropped back as well.
Cody Ware benefitted and took the race lead again. McDowell is back to 6th, while SVG fell to 13th.
Lap 70: Intensity Picking Up at Front of Pack
Shane van Gisbergen, and Michael McDowell have been trading off the race lead, and there are others now starting to look like they want a piece of the lead. We could be nearing another crash with how they’re racing on Lap 70.
Lap 65: Ross Chastain to the Lead
Ross Chastain has gone to the lead of the race with help from teammate Shane van Gisbergen. Initially, Ryan Preece was running behind Chastain, but Chastain was able to pick up SVG, and the Trackhouse drivers now run 1-2.
Lap 53: Ware and Dillon — Ty Dillon Battling
Cody Ware and Ty Dillon are both looking to play Playoff spoiler tonight as the two drivers are side-by-side for the race lead on Lap 53. Ty Dillon takes the lead with help from Justin Haley, and Ware will fade to fourth.
Cody Ware is the new leader of this race as we go back to green on Lap 41. Could he pull off a massive Cinderella Story finish tonight? Harrison Burton won this race to make the Playoffs last season.
Lap 35: Larson Wins Stage 1
Kyle Larson, who notably struggles on superspeedways, took the Stage 1 win of Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.
Fin
Car
Driver
Stage Points
Playoff Points
1
5
Kyle Larson
10
1
2
1
Ross Chastain
9
—
3
12
Ryan Blaney
8
—
4
71
Michael McDowell
7
—
5
7
Justin Haley
6
—
6
22
Joey Logano
5
—
7
34
Todd Gilliland
4
—
8
60
Ryan Preece
3
—
9
19
Chase Briscoe
2
—
10
20
Christopher Bell
1
—
Lap 34: Back to Green!
After a red flag for the big crash, which ended the night for Playoff hopeful Alex Bowman, we are back to green, and Michael McDowell is out front.
Lap 28: Big Crash!
Bubba Wallace got turned in front of the field after contact from Joey Logano. As Wallace spun into the infield grass on Lap 28, he skidded back across the track and slammed directly into Austin Cindric. Alex Bowman was also nailed in the crash and several others piled in.
Bowman is likely done for the night with that one, which means both of the drivers trying to move into the Playoffs on points — Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick — have crashed in the opening laps.
Lap 25: Lead Change 2
Daniel Suarez, who provided the big push which allowed Bubba Wallace to take the lead from Ryan Blaney, has gone to the lead himself and he leads Lap 25. We’re now up to two lead changes.
Lap 24: Back to Green!
Ryan Blaney has led the opening 23 laps of this race, and he continues to lead on this restart, but Bubba Wallace gets a big shove into Turns 1 and 2, and he slides up in front of Blaney to take the lead and as Wallace crosses the stripe on Lap 24, we have our first official lead change of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.
Lap 18: Caution!
Disaster for NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs hopeful Tyler Reddick, who was involved in a Lap 18 crash with Todd Gilliland on the exit of Turn 4. Gilliland and Reddick came together and went spinning off the turn, Reddick’s car would collide nose-first into the inside wall at pit road entrance.
Here’s the early-race incident which could be what keeps Tyler Reddick from advancing to the Playoffs… long way to go though. pic.twitter.com/hRZTLcu53A
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) August 24, 2025Lap 16: Back to Green!
Ryan Blaney continues to lead. He has led the opening 16 laps of the race.
Lap 13: Buescher On Pit Road With Brake Issues
Chris Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing team is addressing brake issues that the driver has experienced early in the race.
Lap 11: Caution!
Casey Mears, who is making his second NASCAR Cup Series start of the season, seemingly suffered a cut right rear tire and went spinning in Turn 4 on Lap 11. Mears clipped the outside wall, and we are under caution.
That’s some heads-up driving by @StenhouseJr! pic.twitter.com/cyZcBYlKRY
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 24, 2025
This will allow William Byron to collect the free pass, which will put him back on the lead lap.
Lap 10 Running Order
1. Ryan Blaney
2. Joey Logano
3. Daniel Suarez
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Brad Keselowski
6 Kyle Busch
7. Bubba Wallace
8. Austin Cindric
9. Carson Hocevar
10. Michael McDowell
Lap 6: Byron Lapped
William Byron, who had to perform a stop and go penalty after the green flag of the race, has been lapped by the leaders on Lap 6. Byron is the free pass driver, and if a caution comes out, he is the only driver a lap down.
Lap 3: Blaney Leads As Outside Lane Shows Strength
The outside lane of cars, led by Ryan Blaney who started from the pole, has surged ahead and has the clear advantage. The top-five or so cars from the top lane are out front by themselves as the rest of the field is three-by-three behind them.
Green Flag!
Ryan Blaney has brought the field to the green flag, and he has Alex Bowman, who is looking to secure his place in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, beside him. The field is cleanly through Turns 1 and 2, and it looks like Blaney has the advantage for now.
Engines Fired
The motors under the hoods of the 40 cars in tonight’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona have roared to life. Cars have driven onto the banking at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, and pace laps have begun!
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Team Penalized for Unapproved Splitter Adjustment
The good news is that William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet passed pre-race inspection for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on the first attempt through the inspection bay.
Unfortunately, after the car passed inspection, NASCAR Officials spotted the No. 24 team making an unapproved adjustment to the splitter on the front of the car. As a result, NASCAR sent the No. 24 team back to the inspection bay, where the car was run on the USS (Underbody Scanning Station) where it failed inspection due to the unapproved adjustment to the splitter.
NASCAR ejected Rudy Fugle, Byron’s crew chief, for the remainder of the weekend. Byron’s team will also lose their pit selection for this weekend, will have to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race, and after the green flag, Byron will have to perform a stop-and-go penalty.
Thankfully, Byron secured the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship a week ago, so the penalties will likely only impact his ability to rack up additional Playoff Points prior to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs next week.
Mother Nature Hands Ryan Blaney Top Starting Spot
Persistent lightning in the area surrounding Daytona International Speedway led to the cancellation of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Friday. As a result, the starting lineup for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona was set by way of the NASCAR Rule Book.
Ryan Blaney, who had the best score in NASCAR’s Performance Metric Formula, was awarded the pole position, which will not count as an official pole on his career stat sheet. Alex Bowman, who heads into this race as the final driver inside of the Playoffs cutline, will start from the outside of the front row.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 Starting Lineup
Pos
Car
Driver
Metric Score
1
12
Ryan Blaney
3.600
2
48
Alex Bowman
4.100
3
5
Kyle Larson
5.400
4
22
Joey Logano
6.400
5
2
Austin Cindric
7.400
6
11
Denny Hamlin
7.600
7
3
Austin Dillon
8.200
8
24
William Byron
8.700
9
19
Chase Briscoe
11.500
10
6
Brad Keselowski
12.000
Click here for the complete Coke Zero Sugar 400 Starting Lineup
RFK Confident of Chances at Daytona Win, Bowman ‘Stressed’ About Daytona
There couldn’t have been any bigger difference in mood between RFK Racing, which heads into this weekend’s race with all three of its cars outside of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs cutline, and Alex Bowman, who is the final driver inside the cutline.
With Daytona International Speedway, the ultimate crapshoot, serving as the final race of the regular season, a win by any Playoff eligible driver, not already locked into the Playoffs, could very well eliminate Bowman.
“It’s just stressful, right? And I’m going to stress myself out about whatever our situation ever is,” Bowman said in a media scrum on Friday afternoon in the Daytona International Speedway media center.
Bowman told Racing America On SI that he kept his mind off the stress of Saturday night’s race with a full schedule of other activities this week.
“Well, it’s been a super busy week. Tested Kershaw on Tuesday, so that was a whole day of testing. Wednesday, we had a production day deal at Hendrick, and then yesterday kind of just had a bunch of regular life s— that I had to do,” Bowman laughed. “Yeah, I mean, I think it being busy, as much as I’ve complained about that all week because I’ve been like running all over the Earth all week, it’s probably a good thing that it was that way. Yeah, took my mind off of it.”
While he’s nervous that he could end up on the bad side of the unpredictability of Daytona, RFK Racing teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece are bullish in their thoughts that an RFK Racing car will reach victory lane on Saturday night.
“If you’re going to try to win this race, I guarantee you’re going to have to go through an RFK car to win,” Preece, the driver of the team’s No. Ford Mustang said during a Friday media availability. “So, I feel like we’re in a strong position to get one of our cars in, and good luck to the other ones that are going to have to get through us.”
Buescher says while the RFK Racing teammates will do everything they can to place all three of their cars at the front of the field in the closing laps, that it will still be a battle amongst them if they are able to occupy the top-three spots on the final lap.
“You know, ultimately, there’s only ever one winner. Every time you come into a superspeedway race and you work with your teammates, you always have the mindset of pushing each other and getting each other as far forward as possible until there are no cars left to pass, and then you work it out amongst yourselves, right,” Buescher, who drives the team’s No. 17 Ford said. “I still say, there’s no doubt in my mind that you come off of Turn 4, and if you’re helping each other all day, then all bets are off at that point. Or maybe earlier, I don’t know. But it’ll be a race.”
Playoff Picture
Heading into Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale, 14 drivers have solidified their slot in NASCAR’s Playoffs by way of winning races during the 2025 season.
William Byron, the regular-season champion, has two wins this season, but would have been locked in regardless as the winner of the regular-season title. Denny Hamlin (4 wins), Shane van Gisbergen (4 wins), Kyle Larson (3 wins), Christophe Bell (3 wins), Ryan Blaney (1 win), Bubba Wallace (1 win), Austin Cindric (1 win), Chase Briscoe (1 win), Joey Logano (1 win), Chase Elliott (1 win), Ross Chastain (1 win), Josh Berry (1 win), and Austin Dillon (1 win) are also ocked in heading into Saturday night’s race.
Two drivers, Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman, head into the Coke Zero Sugar 400 inside the Playoff cutline by way of points, but they’re not safe in any definition of the word.
Reddick holds a 29-point lead over Bowman, but with big crashes lurking around every corner at Daytona, as well as the chance at accruing Playoff Points, there’s a chance that Bowman, who starts second on Saturday night, can work around Reddick’s point total.
Whichever driver of the two ends up with the most points on the season at the end of Saturday night’s race will secure their place in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs regardless, but the driver, who doesn’t win that battle will be required to hope that a driver not currently in the Playoff field doesn’t win the race.
Notable drivers not currently inside the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, who could threaten the Playoff status of Reddick or Bowman include Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 Pre-Race Info
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway will be televised on NBC and can be streamed on the HBO Max streaming platform, as well as the NBC Sports App and Peacock. The race broadcast will begin at 7:30 PM ET.
The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of Sunday’s race. For subscribers of the HBO Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today’s race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday’s race, is a total of $9,797,935.
The race distance is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway, which equates to a 400-mile race distance.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be broken up into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 35. Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 95. And the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 160, barring an Overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff Points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals if the drivers make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
This race is the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, which means the full 16-driver Playoff field will be finalized upon the conclusion of Saturday night’s race.
Harrison Burton, who is not in the field for the event, is the defending winner of this race.
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