Ryan Preece entered the season‑ending Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway with a narrow points deficit, knowing that anything less than a strong finish could keep him out of the playoffs.
The race got off to a turbulent start when a multi‑car incident in Stage 1 saw Preece tangled with teammate Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson, dropping him from a potential third‑place run to seventh, a result that cost him three valuable points.
A chaotic climax at Daytona
Despite the early setback, Preece regrouped and captured Stage 2 in second place, earning nine additional points behind race winner Ryan Blaney, who had defended his 2023 victory.
The final stage turned into a frenzy of crashes involving Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith and Erik Jones, prompting multiple yellow‑flag periods and a green‑white‑checker finish that kept the crowd on edge.
Through a combination of strategic fuel saving and relentless pressure, Preece navigated the chaos to finish second behind Shane van Gisbergen, a result that translated into a 17‑point margin shy of the playoff cutline but enough to lock him into the 2026 Chase format.
Trackhouse Racing’s Kyle Larson and van Gisbergen also endured setbacks after the early crash, with van Gisbergen falling to the rear of the field, while Preece’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate James Gilbert ran a solid mid‑pack race.
Preece’s performance underscores a broader shift in NASCAR’s playoff landscape, where road‑course victories and oval consistency are being rewarded with a revised points structure that could see more drivers like him break into the postseason.