Chase Briscoe will lead a field of 39 Cup Series cars to the green flag for Saturday’s regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
The final chance to earn entry into NASCAR’s post season for it’s top series is Saturday night in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
In total 16 drivers will stay alive to compete for the season ending championship with many locked in via wins currently with up to others being able to point their way in.
As it stands 15 drivers are locked in they include Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Joey Logano, Kyle Reddick, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick.
There is one spot remaining. Bubba Wallace currently is 32 points ahead of Ty Gibbs for the final spot on points. If another playoff driver wins the race or if he scores a total of 24 points or a 13th place finish without stage points. Should he earn stage points he would go even further to locking himself in.
Of course Wallace’s playoffs hopes depend on a non-winner not going to victory lane.
AJ Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola, Todd Gilliland, Corey LaJoie, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe and Ty Dillon.
There are four drivers who may be the biggest threat to Wallace’s playoff hopes. Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are all without a win this season and in the case of the latter three could instantly redeem frustrating seasons with a win.
The Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona airs on NBC and Peacock beginning at 7 pm ET.
Cup Series Daytona Starting Lineup
Qualifying: August 25, 2023; Race to be held: August 26, 2023
| Pos. | Driver | Sponsor | Time | Speed |
| 1 | Chase Briscoe | Magical Vacation Planner Ford | 49.499 | 181.822 |
| 2 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 49.534 | 181.693 |
| 3 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 49.613 | 181.404 |
| 4 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota | 49.639 | 181.309 |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 49.642 | 181.298 |
| 6 | Riley Herbst(i) | Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford | 49.648 | 181.276 |
| 7 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 49.654 | 181.254 |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | Advance Auto Parts Ford | 49.709 | 181.054 |
| 9 | Ryan Preece | RaceChoice.com Ford | 49.741 | 180.937 |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | GEARWRENCH Ford | 49.772 | 180.825 |
| 11 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Bank Ford | 49.852 | 180.534 |
| 12 | Brad Keselowski | King’s Hawaiian Ford | 49.876 | 180.448 |
| 13 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pros Shops/Ducks Unlimited Toyota | 49.892 | 180.39 |
| 14 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 49.922 | 180.281 |
| 15 | Christopher Bell | Yahoo! Toyota | 49.928 | 180.26 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford | 49.943 | 180.205 |
| 17 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 49.951 | 180.177 |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 49.953 | 180.169 |
| 19 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Cares Toyota | 49.962 | 180.137 |
| 20 | Tyler Reddick | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 49.987 | 180.047 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | 50.053 | 179.809 |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway.com Chevrolet | 50.055 | 179.802 |
| 23 | Chase Elliott | LLumar Chevrolet | 50.079 | 179.716 |
| 24 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 50.102 | 179.634 |
| 25 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 50.108 | 179.612 |
| 26 | Austin Hill(i) | United Rentals/Beard Oil Chevrolet | 50.206 | 179.261 |
| 27 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 50.231 | 179.172 |
| 28 | Justin Haley | Celsius Chevrolet | 50.253 | 179.094 |
| 29 | Josh Berry(i) | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 50.272 | 179.026 |
| 30 | Ty Dillon | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 50.32 | 178.855 |
| 31 | Alex Bowman | Ally Arena Chevrolet | 50.355 | 178.731 |
| 32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Boost by Kroger/Entenmann’s Chevrolet | 50.382 | 178.635 |
| 33 | JJ Yeley(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 50.411 | 178.532 |
| 34 | Brennan Poole(i) | Finance Pro Plus Ford | 50.415 | 178.518 |
| 35 | Todd Gilliland | Boot Barn Ford | 50.421 | 178.497 |
| 36 | Chandler Smith(i) | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 50.432 | 178.458 |
| 37 | Corey LaJoie | NEGU Chevrolet | 50.474 | 178.31 |
| 38 | BJ McLeod | B’laster Chevrolet | 50.597 | 177.876 |
| 39 | Michael McDowell | Fr8Auctions Ford | 50.712 | 177.473 |
