Ross Chastain captures Daytona pole for Coke Zero Sugar 400
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 29, 2026
Chastain claims Daytona pole
Ross Chastain put himself at the front for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, earning the Busch Light Pole Award at Daytona International Speedway with a 48.808-second lap in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. The run carried him to 184.396 mph and gave him his third Cup Series pole. It was also his first pole at Daytona International Speedway, a place where he had started 16 times without reaching the top spot before this session.
Chastain got the job done by the slimmest of margins. He edged Chris Buescher by 0.051 seconds for the pole, a gap that separated first from second after one of the most important laps of the weekend. The time gave him his best starting position in 16 Daytona starts and put him in control of the field before the green flag drops at one of NASCAR’s signature races at the track. Chastain called the pole a “life achievement.” The words fit the moment. The performance gave him a clean result at a track where qualifying speed has been hard to pin down and put him in the spot every driver wants when the race begins.
Daytona qualifying stays tight
The rest of the front of the grid stayed close behind Chastain. Austin Hill qualified third, Ryan Preece was fourth and Riley Herbst took fifth. Shane van Gisbergen followed in sixth and Connor Zilisch was seventh. Those results kept the top of the sheet compact and showed how narrow the gaps were once the lap times were posted. Buescher was the closest challenger, and the difference between the top two cars stayed under a tenth of a second by the end of qualifying.
Chastain’s numbers backed up the result. His best lap reached 184.396 mph, a strong figure that matched the speed needed to hold off the field for the pole. The 48.808-second lap was enough to secure the top starting position and set the tone for his weekend. The margin over Buescher gave the session a clear story line, but the spread from third through seventh also showed how much company there was near the front. Hill, Preece and Herbst filled the next three spots, then van Gisbergen and Zilisch added more depth to the group just behind the pole winner.
That kind of qualifying order matters because it shapes the opening view of the race. Chastain will start with clear air ahead of him, while the drivers behind him will have to sort themselves out from the second row back. The front half of the field is stacked with proven Cup Series names and young talent, which gives Saturday night’s lineup a strong first layer right from the start.
Trackhouse puts three cars
Trackhouse Racing left qualifying with a strong group result, putting all three of its cars in the top seven. Chastain led the way with the pole, and van Gisbergen and Zilisch also landed among the seven fastest qualifiers. That gave the organization a clean showing across the board and placed three Trackhouse cars close to the front before the race even begins. It also gave the team a lot to like from a single session, since one driver locked down the pole while two others stayed inside the top seven.
For Chastain, the day stood out on its own. He did not just lead Trackhouse. He added a milestone of his own by taking his first Daytona pole and his third Cup Series pole overall. The result was the best starting spot of his 16 Daytona starts and the kind of qualifying run that can change the feel of a weekend. It also came in the same session where Trackhouse showed its range, with cars spread across the top of the board and the team’s pace on display through the full group.
The pole gives Chastain the lead role when the field rolls for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. The rest of the lineup behind him was set by qualifying, but the spotlight stayed on the No. 1 Chevrolet and the driver who put it there. Trackhouse got the added benefit of a team result. Chastain got the headline.
