It’s pretty common for an event at Daytona International Speedway (especially when it happens during the Summer) to have some kind of meteorological interference, so the events of Friday are not a surprise.
Qualifying for Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway has been canceled due to inclement weather (lightning), meaning there will be no on-track activity before the drop of the green flag.
The starting lineup for Saturday’s event, according to NASCAR’s Rule Book, will be set by the Performance Metric — which takes into account the finish and fastest lap rank from the last race, as well as the car’s owner points position.
Ryan Blaney, who finished third in last weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway, will lead the field to the green in Saturday’s 160-lap contest from “The World Center of Racing”, driving the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Alex Bowman, one of the two drivers currently in the postseason based on their points position, will roll from second place. Kyle Larson, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, and his Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric will round out the top five.
STARTING LINEUP: 2025 NCS Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
Denny Hamlin will start sixth, with Austin Dillon, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top-10. Keselowski, returning to a racetrack where RFK Racing has shown speed before, is the highest starting of the 20 drivers in a must-win situation.
Other drivers who need to win Saturday’s event to secure a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs include Daniel Suarez (P12), Zane Smith (P13), Kyle Busch (P14), Carson Hocevar (P16), Ty Gibbs (P18), and Michael McDowell (P20).
AJ Allmendinger (P21), Ty Dillon (P23), Chris Buescher (P24), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (P25), Erik Jones (P26), Todd Gilliland (P28), Cole Custer (P29), Ryan Preece (P31), Noah Gragson (P32), Riley Herbst (P33), John Hunter Nemechek (p34), Cody Ware (P35), and Justin Haley (P37) are also in the same position.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400, the final race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season, will take place on Saturday, August 23, at 7:30 pm ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
