RADIO
Ryan Preece Earns his First Cup Series Victory and A Chase Spot at Daytona
Ryan Preece was the first driver below the cut line who needed enough points to gain a spot in The Chase for 2026, and needed to make up those points in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Preece made the most of this race and won it after starting from fourth position. In the first stage, Preece ran inside the top five throughout the stage and competed for the stage win alongside Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, and Shane Van Gisbergen. At the end of the first stage, Preece was collected in a multicar accident with Buescher and Larson, but was still credited with an eighth-place finish at the end of the stage. In the second stage, he recovered from his damage and made his way back to the front, challenging for the lead against several other drivers, including Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Zane Smith. Preece fell short of winning the second stage to Blaney, but still scored nine stage points from placing second. The No. 60 Ford driver continued to run inside the top 10 in the final stage, but more directly competed for the lead in the closing laps. Preece was set up in second on the race's final restart and was able to get help from Blaney to compete with Smith and Tyler Reddick for the win. On the final lap, Reddick got into Smith and caused the biggest crash of the day, while Preece pushed ahead of Daniel Suarez and Reddick until the race was called for caution. Preece earned the first points-paying victory of his Cup Series career and earned enough points to knock Van Gisbergen out of the 16th and final seed of The Chase.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
