Daytona’s Final Qualifier: Rain, Points, and the Fight for a Playoff Spot
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season will culminate with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 28, a race that determines the final playoff field. Only 16 of the 41 entries are guaranteed a spot, meaning the remaining positions will be decided through a chaotic qualifying session that could be washed out by rain.
If Friday’s qualifying is canceled, the starting lineup will be set by a reverse‑order metric that weights recent race finishes at 70 % and owner standings at 30 %. This formula gives teams with stronger finishes a better chance, but it also rewards teams that have accumulated enough owner points to stay ahead of those teetering on the edge.
Among the teams perched on that edge are Casey Mears and his Beard Motorsports entry, the No. 62 car. The team has managed just three points all season, with Mears finishing last in both the Pocono and Indianapolis races. Because of a post‑race technical infraction at the Daytona 500, the team was barred from the event and has been unable to regain lost ground, leaving it 44th in the owner standings.
The No. 62 entry now faces exclusion from the Daytona race unless it can overturn its point deficit. Its situation mirrors the earlier Talladega weekend, where insufficient owner points threatened a similar fate. In contrast, a handful of other open teams—No. 44 NY Racing, No. 66 Garage 66, No. 67 23XI Racing, and No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports—have each earned at least 31 points and completed four or more starts, putting them in a better position to claim the final spots.
The battle for those spots will be broadcast live, with qualifying airing on TruTV at 5:00 p.m. ET and the main event on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET. Coverage will follow the action from the track and provide insight into how the weather and the metric system could reshape the playoff picture.