The NASCAR Cup Series field for The Chase has been finalized following a dramatic overtime finish at Daytona International Speedway, where driver Ryan Preece clinched the final playoff spot with a victory.
NASCAR has transitioned back to a 10-race postseason format to determine its champion. While most of the 16 playoff berths were already secured before the Coke Zero Sugar 400, several drivers vied for the remaining positions. Preece, who entered the final regular-season race 31 points below the cut line, achieved a dramatic win, leading as a significant crash unfolded behind him.
This victory allows Preece to advance to The Chase, displacing Shane van Gisbergen. Preece had previously expressed determination, stating, "From a points perspective, I mean, drivers' (points), we have a chance — a Hail Mary chance. But the owners' (points), we have a real chance. So we're gonna race the s*** out of them."
This win marks Preece's first career victory in a Cup Series points race and carries significant personal meaning as it occurred at Daytona International Speedway, the site of two harrowing incidents in his career.
In 2023, Preece was hospitalized after a severe crash during this same event, where his car flipped numerous times before being struck by another vehicle. He recounted the frightening experience, stating, "when the car took off like that, it got real quiet. All I thought about was my daughter, so I'm lucky to walk away, but we're getting really close to somebody not being able to, so I'm very grateful."
Two years later, during the 2025 Daytona 500, Preece was again involved in a terrifying airborne crash. Miraculously, he walked away from that incident unharmed.
Following his emotional win, Preece described the victory as "redemption" for his past experiences at the track where he has "twice cheated death." He shared his perspective on confronting these moments, noting, "It's kind of been a thing where I've been showing the picture of my eyes that really nobody has ever seen, the day after. And I like to show people it because I like to see their reaction. But it's also a reflection and something that reminds me that Daytona almost took my life. Ended my racing career, it could've. We were about inches away from something possibly really bad happening."
He added, "So to be standing here in Victory Lane and saying I won at Daytona, a place where every kid that races, they dream of winning here...so I'm just happy I had a rocket ship to go to the moon tonight."
Preece had previously acknowledged becoming "kind of numb" to re-watching the crashes that often resurface when he returns to Daytona. He reflected before the 2026 Daytona 500, "When I see that replay, kind of like everyone else, I joke about it now at this point. I hope that Daytona is a little different for me. It'd be nice to be on the good side of things and not on my roof, or keeping all four tires on the ground, having a good finish or winning."
Preece will now carry this momentum into The Chase, which begins next Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
