Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Coke Zero Sugar 400

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 22, 2023) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida going into the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 26 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – the finale race in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season.

2023 Playoff Clinch Scenarios – Daytona International Speedway

Already Clinched

The following 15 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell.

Can Clinch Via Points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 4th winless driver in the standings.  The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Brad Keselowski or Kevin Harvick.

·       Bubba Wallace: Would clinch with 24 points

·       Ty Gibbs: Could only clinch with help

·       Daniel Suarez: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola, Todd Gilliland, Corey LaJoie, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe, Ty Dillon

Can Clinch Regular Season Championship

Additionally, the Regular Season Championship could be clinched by the following drivers:

·       Martin Truex Jr.: Would clinch with 22 points

·       Denny Hamlin: Could only clinch with help

Clinch History: Last Four Regular Season Finales

2022 Season – Heading into the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway, the 2022 season had produced 15 different winners clinching their spots leaving just one position still available to make the Playoffs, and it was Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in 16th and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. in 17th battling it out for the final postseason position. The two drivers were separated by 25 points heading into the race. It was also announced Kurt Buschwould forgo his Playoff position as he was still recovering from injury. Ultimately, Truex would finish eighth and Blaney would finish 15th, the Team Penske driver earned enough points to hold onto one of the two open Playoff spots on points. But it was Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, who came into the Daytona weekend ranked 20th in the Playoff outlook standings (-255 points behind the postseason cutline), that won the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, clinching the final spot in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on wins – the second driver to win his way into the Playoffs in the regular season finale; joining William Byron (2020). Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Chase Elliott clinched the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship. 

2021 Season – Heading into the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway, the 2021 season had produced 14 different winners with two additional drivers clinching their spots on points leaving just one spot still available to make the Playoffs, and it was Richard Childress Racing teammates Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick battling it out for the final postseason position. Ultimately, Ryan Blaney won the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, but he had already clinched his spot in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs earlier in the season. Because of the repeat winner, the 16th and final Playoff spot was earned by points, and it was Tyler Reddick’s fifth-place finish to Austin Dillon’s 17th at Daytona that earned him enough points to advance for the first-time in his career to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Kyle Larson clinched the Regular Season Championship in 2021. 

2020 Season – Heading into the last race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway in 2020, six spots were still up for grabs in the Playoffs. Ultimately, William Byron won the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway to clinch his spot in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – the first driver since ‘Win & You’re In’ was introduced in the series to win his way into the postseason in the final race. The other five Playoff spots were clinched on points. Kevin Harvick clinched the Regular Season Championship in 2020. 

2019 Season – Heading into the last race of the regular season at Indianapolis in 2019, just two spots were still up for grabs in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and three drivers were vying for the spots – Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman. Ultimately, Kevin Harvick won the regular season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he had already clinched his spot in the Playoffs earlier in the season. Clint Bowyer (fifth-place finish) and Ryan Newman (eighth-place) raced their way into the postseason clinching the last two spots on points. Kyle Busch clinched the Regular Season Championship in 2019 for the second-time in his career (2018, 2019).

DAYTONA-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

(Driver loop stats in the below section are from 2005-Present)

Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

·       One top five, one top 10

·       Average Finish of 22.286, 12th-best

·       Average Running Position of 18.117, 16th-best

·       Driver Rating of 77.4, 13th-best

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·       32 Fastest Laps Run, 25th-best

·       642 Laps in the Top 15 (49.0%), 23rd-most

·       941 Quality Passes, 24th-most

Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford)

·       One win, four top fives, seven top 10s

·       Average Finish of 17.500, fifth-best

·       Average Running Position of 15.504, sixth-best

·       Driver Rating of 84.0, sixth-best

·       39 Fastest Laps Run, 20th-best

·       1,771 Laps in the Top 15 (60.1%), 10th-most

·       2,646 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)

·       One win, eight top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole

·       Average Finish of 19.056, seventh-best

·       Average Running Position of 13.715, second-best

·       Driver Rating of 90.9, second-best

·       135 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best

·       4,238 Laps in the Top 15 (65.7%), series-most

·       4,947 Quality Passes, second-most

Austin Cindric (No. 2 Team Penske Ford)

·       One win, two top fives, two top 10s

·       Average Finish of 10.500, series-best

·       Average Running Position of 10.956, series-best

·       Driver Rating of 94.4, series-best

·       11 Fastest Laps Run, 36th-best

·       576 Laps in the Top 15 (74.5%), 24th-most

·       557 Quality Passes, 28th-most

Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

·       Two top fives, four top 10s; three poles

·       Average Finish of 22.067, 11th-best

·       Average Running Position of 16.529, seventh-best

·       Driver Rating of 79.6, eighth-best

·       68 Fastest Laps Run, 14th-best

·       1,524 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), 13th-most

·       2,211 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

·       Three wins, 11 top fives, 12 top 10s

·       Average Finish of 16.800, third-best

·       Average Running Position of 14.601, third-best

·       Driver Rating of 89.2, third-best

·       136 Fastest Laps Run, second-best

·       3,791 Laps in the Top 15 (60.2%), second-most

·       4,986 Quality Passes, series-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)

·       Two wins, 11 top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole

·       Average Finish of 17.946, sixth-best

·       Average Running Position of 18.039, 14th-best

·       Driver Rating of 82.2, seventh-best

·       136 Fastest Laps Run, third-best

·       3,431 Laps in the Top 15 (51.5%), fourth-most

·       4,489 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 6 RFK Racing Ford)

·       One win, three top fives, six top 10s

·       Average Finish of 23.107, 13th-best

·       Average Running Position of 17.233, 10th-best

·       Driver Rating of 79.2, 11th-best

·       95 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best

·       2,734 Laps in the Top 15 (54.1%), seventh-most

·       3,878 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)

·       One win, seven top fives, 10 top 10s

·       Average Finish of 17.483, fourth-best

·       Average Running Position of 14.912, fourth-best

·       Driver Rating of 88.8, fourth-best

·       114 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best

·       3,199 Laps in the Top 15 (61.4%), sixth-most

·       4,610 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Ricky Stenhouse Jr (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet)

·       Two wins, three top fives, four top 10s; one pole

·       Average Finish of 19.318, eighth-best

·       Average Running Position of 16.741, ninth-best

·       Driver Rating of 79.5, 10th-best

·       97 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best

·       1,883 Laps in the Top 15 (47.3%), ninth-most

·       2,906 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Martin Truex Jr (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

·       Three top fives, six top 10s; one pole

·       Average Finish of 21.361, 10th-best

·       Average Running Position of 17.288, 11th-best

·       Driver Rating of 77.6, 12th-best

·       151 Fastest Laps Run, series-best

·       3,325 Laps in the Top 15 (51.2%), fifth-most

·       4,484 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Bubba Wallace (No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota)

·       Four top fives, four top 10s

·       Average Finish of 13.083, second-best

·       Average Running Position of 17.459, 12th-best

·       Driver Rating of 79.5, ninth-best

·       64 Fastest Laps Run, 16th-best

·       1,008 Laps in the Top 15 (46.2%), 18th-most

·       1,472 Quality Passes, 18th-most

NASCAR Cup Series 2023 Top 16 in the Driver Standings at Daytona 

* – Based on last 36 races at Daytona International Speedway (2005 – 2023).

Daytona International Speedway Stats & Tidbits:

EVENT SPECIFICS

Season Race #: 26 of 36 (08-26-23)

The Purse: $8,778,583

Track Size: 2.5-mile

Banking/Turns: 31 degrees

Banking/Straights: 3 degrees

Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  3,800 feet

Backstretch Length:  3,000 feet

Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles

Stage 1 Length: 35 laps (Ends on Lap 35)

Stage 2 Length: 60 laps (Ends on Lap 95)

Final Stage Length: 65 laps (Ends on Lap 160)

QUALIFYING & RACE RECORDS

Track qualifying record (Summer race): Cale Yarborough, Ford, 203.519 mph, 44.222 secs., July 2, 1986

Track race record (Summer race): Bobby Allison, Mercury, 173.473 mph, (02:18:21), July 4, 1980

2022 Summer Daytona pole winner: Qualifying was cancelled due to weather. Starting Lineups were determined by Metric Qualifying and as a result Kyle Larson started in the first position (August 26, 2022).

2022 Summer Daytona race winner: Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 138.942 mph, (02:52:44), August 27, 2022

HISTORY

·       Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was November 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd. 

·       The track is located in the heart of Daytona Beach, Florida and stretches a total 2.5-miles with 31 degrees of banking in the four turns and 18 degrees of banking in the tri-oval where the start/finish line is located. 

·       The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on February 20, 1959 – the race was won by Bob Welborn.

·       The first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was held on July 4, 1959 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts (140.581 mph) driving a 1959 Pontiac for car owner Jim Stephens. The race was just 250 miles in length. The first 400-mile summer Daytona event was on July 4, 1963, also won by Fireball Roberts. 

·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona International Speedway – a record for wins in the NASCAR Cup Series to this day.

·       Lights were installed in the spring of 1998 at the track. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under the lights ever since.

·       The Daytona International Speedway underwent a repave in 2010. 

·       The 2016 season marked the next phase in the existence of Daytona International Speedway as the DAYTONA Rising project was completed, ushering in the first ‘motorsports stadium,’ a 400-million-dollar project. 

·       There have been 152 NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway since the track hosted its first race in 1959:  65 have been 500 miles, 60 were 400 miles and four were 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.

STARTS

·       A total of 704 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway; 538 have competed in more than one. 

·       A total of 491 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series summer race at Daytona International Speedway; 311 have competed in more than one. 

·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Daytona International Speedway with 74 starts. 

·       Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in Daytona starts with 44 starts each. 

·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in summer race starts at Daytona with 32.

·       Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in summer Daytona starts with 22 starts each. 

·       A total of 187 different drivers have made their first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona International Speedway – the most recent are Riley Herbst (2/19/2023) and Travis Pastrana (2/19/2023). 

·       Of the 187 drivers that made their first start at Daytona, 19 made it during the summer Daytona races.

-NASCAR