Chastain Secures Pole Position for Daytona Regular-Season Finale

Comcast Corporation viewers will see Ross Chastain lead the field to the green flag for the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. Chastain recorded a lap time of 48.808 seconds during the second round of qualifying, edging out Chris Buescher by half a tenth of a second to claim the top spot.

The starting grid is set for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, a critical race determining the final entries in the postseason playoffs. Austin Cindric, who will roll off eighth, and Shane van Gisbergen, starting sixth, are currently in the final two qualifying positions for the Chase. However, they face pressure from Ryan Preece, who qualified fourth. Preece enters the contest 31 points behind van Gisbergen and 44 points adrift of Cindric.

Behind the leading trio of Chastain, Buescher, and Austin Hill, the lineup features a mix of playoff contenders and established stars. Riley Herbst will start fifth, followed by Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch in seventh. Joey Logano and Kyle Larson round out the top 10, starting ninth and 10th respectively.

The event is scheduled for 160 laps over the 2.5-mile oval, covering a total distance of 400 miles. The green flag is expected to wave at approximately 6:45 p.m. CT on August 29. Gray Gaulding was the only driver listed who did not qualify for the event.

What to watch

• The final cutoff points for the NASCAR Cup Series Chase following the conclusion of the Daytona race.
• Race viewership metrics on NBC, which is owned by Comcast Corporation.

Source: original release