How many cars can win at Daytona?
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Forty cars will start in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, but how many have a realistic chance of winning the race?
Restrictor-plate racing is often known as “The Great Equalizer,” where smaller teams have a shot at a higher finish compared to most of the tracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit.
Through the first 17 races of the year, the series has seen six different winners, with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick scoring five apiece.
The Racing Experts caught up with several drivers on their thoughts about how many cars have a realistic shot at winning Saturday night.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin
“I think there’s probably 25 that legitimately have the skill set, have the car that is capable to do it.”
No. 15 Ross Chastain
“25, if I had to pick a number…
(on if he is one of the 25)
“I don’t know yet, I haven’t drafted. I honestly don’t know.
“Till I get out there, bumper-to-bumper with people and I’m getting pushed and people are pushing me, or I’m pushing somebody, I don’t really know. I could probably tell you about lap 20, how about that?”
No. 51 Ray Black Jr.
“I would say 70 percent of the field. It’s just going to depend on who wrecks and who doesn’t.”
(on if he is one of the 25)
“In my mind, I do. It’s just who can ever be the smartest and luckiest.”
Television coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is on NBC at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Saturday night.
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.
Anyone can win this crapshoot of a race. It is all luck and no skill and mostly comes down to avoiding the wreck fest.