We end the regular season back where it began, on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway. It is the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and there is one spot in the playoff field of 16 up for grabs.
It happened last year for Austin Dillon. He qualified for the playoffs in this very race after a wreck took out most of his competitors. The same type of thing would need to happen here, with Bubba Wallace comfortably in the final playoff spot, barring a win from a driver behind him.
Also at stake in the race is the regular season points champion. Martin Truex Jr. has the lead on the strength of six straight finishes in the top 10, along with wins this season at Dover, Sonoma, and New Hampshire. Trailing him by 39 points is Denny Hamlin.
The only result that will really change things for the drivers trying to get into the playoffs, or the drivers jockeying for playoff position, is a win. That means that chaos will reign supreme at Daytona, as there are no consolation prizes for second place.
Favorites to win Coke Zero Sugar 400
- Chase Elliott (+1100)
- Ryan Blaney (+1200)
- Kyle Busch (+1200)
- Joey Logano (+1200)
- Denny Hamlin (+1200)
- Brad Keselowski (+1200)
- William Byron (+1400)
- Chris Buescher (+1600)
- Bubba Wallace (+1800)
- Kyle Larson (+2000)
- Ross Chastain (+2000)
Chase Elliott is not one of the 15 drivers that is already in the playoff field. That means that anything short of a win on Sunday, and he is out. Elliott was the runner-up two weeks ago in Indy, but he was just 32nd last week at Watkins Glen.
A host of drivers sit at +1200, and all of them have secured their spot in the playoffs. Hamlin, with an opportunity to win the regular season points title, is the one with the most to drive for. He has struggled on the superspeedways this season, finishing 17th, sixth, 17th, and 14th. His last win at Daytona came in 2020.
At +1400, you have William Byron, who hasn’t been very good at the Daytona 500, but here at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, he won in 2020 after finishing second in 2019. Byron won last week at Watkins Glen, and he won in July at the superspeedway in Atlanta.
Bubba Wallace doesn’t necessarily have to win to clinch the final playoff spot, but it would guarantee it. He’s never won at Daytona, but he does have four top-five finishes at Coke Zero Sugar 400, including a runner-up last year.
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