Author Archives: PressBox

Ryan Preece won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, earning his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 249th start and clinching the final spot in the 16-driver playoffs. Preece beat Daniel Suárez by 0.024 seconds in overtime after a late caution froze the field with Preece in front, and he finished 17 points ahead of Shane van Gisbergen in the battle for the last berth.

Preece’s night included an early spin and damage in a three-car wreck, but he recovered with stage points and stayed in contention through a series of late crashes. A Lap 154 or 156 incident involving Carson Hocevar set up overtime, and a final-lap scramble with Zane Smith triggered the caution that sealed the win. Suárez finished second, followed by Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while van Gisbergen won Stage 1 but was eliminated after a late fuel stop left him 28th.

Austin Cindric also locked into the postseason with a sixth-place finish, and Bubba Wallace secured one of the remaining berths as the regular season ended. Denny Hamlin will open the playoffs as the No. 1 seed with a 25-point bonus, and the 10-race championship run begins next Sunday at Darlington Raceway with the Southern 500.

NASCAR’s new Cup Series competition package is set for its first test at Daytona International Speedway in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, with the changes aimed at reducing drag and changing how the draft develops in traffic. The package trims the rear spoiler from seven inches to four inches and lowers horsepower to about 465 from roughly 510. NASCAR expects single-car qualifying speeds to rise by about 3 mph, while pack speeds are expected to stay similar.

The race will come with no practice session, leaving drivers to learn how the cars handle only once the green flag drops. Chase Briscoe said the cars could feel looser, be harder to drive and create more issues in traffic. Denny Hamlin, who helped develop the package, said simulations pointed to a roughly 33% gain in the right direction and that the changes should significantly alter how the cars behave in the draft, although he could not predict the exact effects.

Spire Motorsports crew chief Travis Peterson said qualifying should be faster under the new setup, but teams would not know how the cars truly handled until deep into the race, and he said the spoiler reduction probably called for some practice. Austin Hill said the Cup car should race as closely as possible to the O’Reilly car and could suit him because he has four Daytona wins in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but he said the real answer would not come until the race began.

Jimmie Johnson and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB unveiled the No. 48 Toyota Camry XSE he will drive in the 2027 Daytona 500, the final NASCAR Cup Series start of his career. The reveal came during the Coke Zero 400 pre-race show at Daytona International Speedway, and Johnson later drove a ceremonial lap at the track ahead of the farewell race scheduled for Feb. 21, 2027.

The one-race car carries a blue-and-silver livery inspired by Johnson’s 2016 championship season and features fluorescent No. 48 numbering. Lowe’s, Ally and Carvana are all part of the scheme, which marks the return of Lowe’s to NASCAR after the 2018 season. Johnson said the car brought back a lifetime of memories and called the project a full-circle moment.

Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports and Ally agreed to loan the stylized No. 48 for the tribute, and Johnson said Hendrick helped bring together Lowe’s, Ally, Carvana and Toyota for the effort. Toyota is backing a design tied to the Chevrolet-backed number Johnson used during his championship years. Johnson, a seven-time Cup champion and 83-race winner, has also won the Daytona 500 twice, in 2006 and 2013, and he is expected to make his 703rd career start and 24th Daytona 500 appearance in the race.

Riley Herbst missed Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway after waking up with lingering effects from a crash the previous weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 23XI Racing said Herbst and the team decided it was best for him to step out of the No. 35 Toyota after he qualified fifth for the 160-lap race.

Harrison Burton replaced Herbst and took over the No. 35 Toyota. The team said the driver change sent the car to the rear of the field, and Burton received credit for the finish. Burton was making his first Cup Series start since 2024 and returned to Daytona after winning the 2024 summer race, when he earned his first Cup victory for Wood Brothers Racing.

The Daytona race was the regular-season finale and carried playoff implications. Herbst entered the event with three top-10 finishes, no wins and 26th place in the 2026 standings. 23XI Racing has already announced that Corey Heim will take over the No. 35 car in 2027.

Tom Cruise announced at Daytona International Speedway that he will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle in a sequel to “Days of Thunder,” with Paramount Pictures setting the film for release on June 2, 2028. Anne Hathaway will co-star as a team owner and engineer, and Cruise marked the casting by posting a promotional image of the two on a NASCAR track.

Variety reported that the film will be shot for IMAX and receive an exclusive theatrical release, with planned formats including Dolby Cinema and 4DX. Jonathan Levine is directing from a script by Will Staples, and Cruise is producing with Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper. Plot details remain limited.

The project arrives nearly 40 years after the original 1990 Tony Scott film, which starred Cruise in a role loosely based on Tim Richmond. Variety reported that the sequel gained momentum after the success of “F1.” The original “Days of Thunder” grossed $157.9 million against a $60 million budget.