Saturday will bring about the Coke Zero Sugar 400. But before we get there, Friday features plenty of NASCAR racing at Daytona International Speedway, too.
The track will host two rounds of qualifying — for the Xfinity Series at 3 p.m. and the Cup Series at 5:05 p.m. After those wrap up, the Xfinity Series retakes the stage for the Wawa 250.
You know, as long as inclement weather doesn’t get in the way, which is always a possibility during August in Central Florida.
Justin Allgaier won the 2023 Wawa 250 in exciting fashion. Entering winless at Daytona, he beat Sheldon Creed by 0.005 seconds on the 10th overtime lap.
What will happen this year? Come back here for updates throughout the day.
Cup Series qualifying begins
The sun snuck back out and allowed Cup Series qualifying to commence at 5:15. What will the Coke Zero Sugar 400 starting grid look like? We’ll find out shortly.
Bubba Wallace on the playoff bubble
Of course, the first question to Bubba Wallace during Friday’s media scrum revolved around his current placement in the Cup Series playoff standings.
He sits 17th, one point behind Ross Chastain for the 16th and final postseason spot. Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 is the second-last race of the regular season.
Is he nervous about it?
“No,” Wallace said. “We’re here in Daytona, and it’s going to be a good weekend.”
Short and sweet.
Xfinity lineup for Wawa 250 set
Lightning ends Xfinity qualifying after only one round. Chandler Smith will begin on the pole.
Here is the full grid.
Row 1
- 1. Chandler Smith, No. 81
- 2. Austin Hill, No. 21
Row 2
- 3. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- 4. Joe Graf Jr., No. 19
Row 3
- 5. Jesse Love, No. 2
- 6. Ryan Truex, No. 20
Row 4
- 7. Sheldon Creed, No. 18
- 8. Riley Herbst, No. 98
Row 5
- 9. Anthony Alfredo, No. 5
- 10. Josh Williams, No. 11
Row 6
- 11. Justin Allgaier, No. 7
- 12. Parker Kligerman, No. 48
Row 7
- 13. Jeremy Clements, No. 51
- 14. Cole Custer, No. 00
Row 8
- 15. Parker Retzlaff, No. 31
- 16. Brandon Jones, No. 9
Row 9
- 17. Caesar Bacarella, No. 45
- 18. Kyle Weatherman, No. 91
Row 10
- 19. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 97
- 20. Leland Honeyman, No. 42
Row 11
- 21. Jeb Burton, No. 27
- 22. Jeffery Earnhardt, No. 26
Row 12
- 23. Patrick Emerling, No. 07
- 24. Sammy Smith, No. 8
Row 13
- 25. Jordan Anderson, No. 32
- 26. Ryan Sieg, No. 39
Row 14
- 27. Gus Dean, No. 15
- 28. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 38
Row 15
- 29. Blaine Perkins, No. 29
- 30. CJ McLaughlin, No. 14
Row 16
- 31. Brennan Poole, No. 44
- 32. Akinori Ogata, No. 35
Row 17
- 33. Josh Bilicki, No. 92
- 34. Kyle Sieg, No. 28
Row 18
- 35. Joey Gase, No. 53
- 36. Ryan Ellis, No. 43
Row 19
- 37. Tim Viens, No. 74
- 38. Sam Mayer, No. 1
Dennis Quaid talks Richard Petty movie that never came about
Dennis Quaid, while at Daytona promoting the upcoming movie “Reagan,” the subject of Ronald Reagan’s 1984 visit to watch Richard Petty win the Firecracker 400 came up. And the veteran actor dropped a little nugget about what might’ve been 20+ years ago.
“We were gonna do a movie about Richard Petty,” he said.
Disney’s Hollywood team was kicking around the idea, and it got far enough that Quaid went to Homestead at the end of the 2003 season to visit with Petty and get to know him.
“He was very genuine, authentic,” Quaid said.
What went wrong? Turns out, Disney’s bean counters eventually learned how much it would cost to gather enough vintage cars to make the racing scenes.
“Disney realized they were gonna have to get some vintage cars, and the budget probably doubled,” Quaid said. “It didn’t get off the ground, dammit.”
Daniel Dye lands full-time Xfinity ride for 2025
Daniel Dye is no stranger to Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Chevrolet entry in the Xfinity Series, since he’s run a partial season with the team this year.
The relationship will continue in 2025, but on a full-time basis. Friday at Daytona, Dye’s promotion from NASCAR’s Truck Series to Xfinity was announced, and the 20-year-old DeLand native was obviously excited for the opportunity.
“I’ve really enjoyed driving the Xfinity car this year, and I’m excited for the opportunity to continue working with Kaulig Racing in 2025,” he said. “It’s been a fun experience learning the car and trying to navigate the different feeling compared to the truck.”
Dye is in his second full-time season in the Truck Series, driving the No. 43 Chevy.
Xfinity Series qualifying is underway
We have movement at Daytona International Speedway! Xfinity Series qualifying started, under sunny skies, at approximately 3:05 p.m.
Ty Gibbs talks “Reagan” sponsorship, meeting Dennis Quaid
A few weeks ago, 21-year-old Ty Gibbs had never seen a Dennis Quaid movie.
Then, he fired up Netflix and did some homework.
Quaid will play Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, in the upcoming biopic, “Reagan,” which will hit theaters Aug. 30. To hype the movie’s release, the production company bought the rights to Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
The Reagan surname will adorn the side and hood of Gibbs’ ride, along with images of Quaid in character.
“I feel like this is the best place to do it,” Gibbs said. “It’s a cool race track. The audience is great here, always. Hopefully, we have a great weekend and can have a clean race and play it safe and be there at the end.”
He recently hung out with Quaid at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop. Both like the look of the car.
“First off, that car looks so good the way they came up with that,” Quaid said. “It’s pretty incredible.”
Nine Xfinity cars flunk multiple inspections
Pre-race inspections are complete ahead of the Xfinity Series Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
The following cars failed multiple inspections.
- No. 5
- No. 7
- No. 27
- No. 29
- No. 35
- No. 38
- No. 39
- No. 53
- No. 98
Seven of the field’s 38 cars passed on their first attempt. Twenty-two more succeeded on their second attempt. None failed three times.
What is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 starting grid?
The starting grids for Friday’s Xfinity Series Wawa 250 and Saturday’s Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be determined at the end of Friday’s qualifying.
Daytona Beach weather update
Some clouds are hovering above Daytona International Speedway, but no water yet. Here is the National Weather Service’s latest forecast for the rest of Friday.
This afternoon: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high temperature near 87. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday’s NASCAR schedule at Daytona International Speedway
3 p.m.: Qualifying for Wawa 250 Xfinity Series race
5:05 p.m.: Qualifying for Coke Zero Sugar 400 Cup Series race
7:30 p.m.: Wawa 250
How to watch the Wawa 250
All Xfinity and Cup Series qualifying laps and the Wawa 250 will air on the USA Network.
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400:Ronald Reagan coming to Daytona for NASCAR race and has a car, kinda-sorta
When is the Coke Zero Sugar 400?
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. NBC will broadcast the race with radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.