Ross Chastain, a 33-year-old native of Alva, Florida, secured the top starting position for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Delivering a best lap of 184.396 mph in his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, Chastain earned his first Busch Light Pole of the season and the third of his career. This performance marks his best qualifying effort in 16 career starts at the 2.5-mile track and his first pole since the 2023 race at Watkins Glen.
Chastain narrowly outperformed Chris Buescher of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, whose No. 17 Ford finished just.051 seconds behind. Reflecting on the achievement, Chastain described the moment as “almost indescribable” and a “life achievement,” noting that he used to camp outside Turn 1 as a child. He credited the Trackhouse Racing team for selecting the right package, which helped all three of their Chevrolets advance into the final 10-car qualifying round.
The qualifying session served as a critical precursor to the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale, which begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. While Chastain celebrated his pole, the focus remains on the intense battle for the final spots in the 10-race Chase, which determines the 2026 season champion. The top 16 drivers in the standings will advance to the playoffs, with the postseason set to begin next weekend at Darlington Raceway.
Ryan Preece, driving the No. 60 RFK Ford, secured the fourth position on the grid after leading the opening round of qualifying. Preece, currently 17th in the championship standings, is fighting to close a 44-point gap behind Austin Cindric and a 31-point deficit to Chastain’s teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen. Despite wanting the pole, Preece expressed confidence in his fast Ford Mustang for the upcoming race.
Austin Hill, piloting the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet, will start third, while Riley Herbst of 23XI Racing qualified fifth in his No. 35 Toyota. Van Gisbergen will roll off sixth, followed by his rookie teammate Connor Zilisch in seventh. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and Joey Logano qualified eighth and ninth, respectively, with reigning series champion Kyle Larson rounding out the top 10 in his No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet.
The qualifying results highlighted the volatility of the standings, as none of the top four drivers in the points race advanced to the final round. Denny Hamlin, who already clinched the No. 1 seed for the Chase, finished 30th, while defending Daytona race winner Ryan Blaney qualified 19th. Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick, currently third and fourth in the standings, will start 14th and 17th, respectively.
Saturday’s race will feature 40 drivers, with Gray Gaulding being the only entrant to miss the field. Had he qualified, it would have marked his first NASCAR Cup Series start since 2023. As the field prepares for the green flag, drivers like Cindric are looking to capitalize on their starting positions to secure necessary points. Daytona has historically been unpredictable, with nine different winners across the last 11 races at the speedway, and seven different victors in the previous eight summer events. The report also notes that whose crew chief Brandon McSwain is from Auburndale, Fla. The report also notes that for Trackhouse to pick the right package and execute through two rounds, but tonight and today for a new package. The report also notes that i was a kid sitting in the grandstands and we camped outside Turn 1. The report also notes that a life achievement and a moment I’ll never forget, it’s a big deal. The report also notes that all the cars were not driving well, and we made ours go faster not driving well, all the cars were bouncing. The report also notes that but also still have a very reasonable shot at some good points,” said Cindric, who will roll off seventh, i think having a good starting spot gives us an opportunity to learn about our car. The report also notes that so that’s giving us a chance to start checking boxes early in the race, that first stage is super short.
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