NASCAR returns to action Saturday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with just one race remaining in the regular season before the 16-driver, 10-race playoffs begin at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Aug. 31.
Trackhouse drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain have clinched playoff spots and hope to use a good points race or victory to climb higher in the playoff seedings. Daniel Suárez joins about a dozen drivers who know they must win Saturday night to gain entry into the 2025 playoffs.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 marks the 157th time the NASCAR Cup Series will race at Daytona. With 31 degrees of banking in the turns and 18 degrees in the tri-oval, the track always brings excitement.
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ROSS CHASTAIN
SafetyCulture Partnership: As Trackhouse Racing expanded to a three-car NASCAR powerhouse, the team has leaned on SafetyCulture to help turn data into speed on and off the track. With the SafetyCulture platform in their toolbox, Trackhouse is uniting tech and data to make decisions both on and off the track. This weekend at Daytona marks Ross Chastain's first time piloting the SafetyCulture livery. Learn more about the Trackhouse and SafetyCulture partnership at safetyculture.com.
Florida Native Returns Home: Chastain is a Florida native whose hometown is Alva, located about four hours southwest of Daytona. He grew up coming to the summer race with family at Daytona which was after watermelon harvest season in South Florida.
Chastain at Daytona: Chastain makes his 14th Cup Series start on Saturday Daytona International Speedway. In last year's summer race at Daytona, he finished 12th. In total he's led 53 laps at the 2.5-mile superspeedway and has three top-10 finishes.
Superspeedway Winner: Chastain has one win in the Cup Series on a drafting track: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April 2022. He has one Xfinity Series win, at Daytona in July 2019.
Meet Chastain: On Friday at 1 p.m. ET, Chastain will sign autographs at Walmart, 1521 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach, Fla., 32174 - wristband required. Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, Chastain will sign autographs at the Trackhouse Racing merchandise hauler located in the Fan Zone - wristband required and distribution begins on Friday.
Last Weekend at Richmond: Chastain started 33rd at the 0.75-mile track and during the race he avoided damage in the race's biggest wreck and overcame handling issues before finishing 19th.
Crew Chief: Chastain and crew chief Phil Surgen have worked together since 2021. The duo is the third longest active driver and crew chief pairing.
Most Wins for No. 1 Car in Cup Series: The No. 1 car has been to victory lane six times with Chastain since 2022, the most wins by a driver with that number. Jamie McMurray previously held the record with four victories in the No. 1 car.
Chastain Quotes
Do you like racing at Daytona and superspeedways?
"I like racing at Daytona but you just never know what is going to happen. They tell me when to pit and how much gas to save. When they start wrecking, you see smoke and I go for wherever the smoke is less thick and hope I make it through. It doesn't really matter if you try and stay up front or stay in the back, you can still be caught in an accident. I've been on both sides of it. No truer words have been spoken that to finish first, first you must finish."
New paint scheme for you this week?
“Yeah, this is my first weekend running the SafetyCulture paint scheme. Their North American headquarters is based in Kansas City and they have helped us at Trackhouse improve some of our processes which is cool. My car chief David Fero has worked with them on a few things and SafetyCulture is right in his wheelhouse. He's always trying to educate himself on how to be better, more efficient and things like that so I know he's enjoyed working with them on various things at the shop."
About Safety Culture:
SafetyCulture is a global technology company that helps frontline teams find a better way of working. Its mobile-first workplace operations platform gives teams the knowledge, tools, and confidence they need to meet higher standards, work safely, and improve every day.
The SafetyCulture platform powers over a billion checks each year, delivers approximately 85,000 lessons per day, and informs millions of corrective actions. SafetyCulture gives leaders visibility and workers a voice in driving safety, quality, and efficiency improvements. A recent analysis by Forrester found that SafetyCulture’s flagship products provide customers with a 214% return on investment and $3.6M in cost savings from operational improvements.
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN
Heading to the Sunshine State: Shane van Gisbergen will make his third Cup Series Start at Daytona International Speedway this weekend. Van Gisbergen also has two Xfinity Series starts at the 2.50-mile superspeedway. Last season, in the August Cup Series race, Van Gisbergen was in position to post a top-10 place finish before a mechanical issue ended his race.
Last Weekend in Richmond: Van Gisbergen turned in one of his most impressive oval races in his first Cup start at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. He flirted with a top-10 late in the race before finishing 14th, matching his best finish on a oval this season.
Rookie Records: Van Gisbergen now holds the record of most wins by a Sunoco Rookie in a single season (four). The Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International victory makes Van Gisbergen the fastest driver to five Cup Series wins since Dan Gurney in 1968. Following his Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway win, Van Gisbergen became the first driver since Jeff Gordon to win three consecutive road course Cup races from the pole. The Auckland, New Zealand native is the only driver not from the United States to win at least four NASCAR Cup Series races.
Four Wins on the Season: Van Gisbergen's Watkins Glen victory ties him with Denny Hamlin for most Cup Series victories in the 2025 season.
Playoff Bound: After this month's win at Watkins Glen, Van Gisbergen is now second in the 2025 Cup Series Playoff Standings with 22 playoff points. The Mexico City victory locked him into the playoffs, his first-ever appearance in NASCAR's post-season. He also clinched a playoff spot in his full-time season in the 2024 Xfinity Series.
Two-Time Inaugural Race Winner: Van Gisbergen has etched himself into the NASCAR history books by winning two inaugural NASCAR Cup Series races. The New Zealand native captured the win in the first-ever Mexico City race in June, and in 2023, Van Gisbergen won his debut Cup Series race with Trackhouse's PROJECT91 at the Chicago Street Race.
Winning Crew Chief: After this month's win at Watkins Glen, Stephen Doran is now a four-time race winning crew chief. Doran's first win as a Cup Series crew chief came in June at Mexico City with Van Gisbergen. Doran is in his first season as Van Gisbergen's crew chief on the No. 88 Chevrolet and his second year as a crew chief at the Cup level.
Rookie Year: Van Gisbergen is a Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Van Gisbergen leads Riley Herbst in the rookie standings (464-293) entering Daytona.
Meet SVG: Van Gisbergen will sign autographs at the Trackhouse Racing Merchandise Trailer located in the Fan Zone at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday - wristband required.
Multiyear Extension: What began as a one-off PROJECT91 race in 2023, continued as a successful Xfinity Series campaign in 2024 and turned into a record-breaking NASCAR Cup Series run in 2025, will continue for years to come as Shane van Gisbergen and Trackhouse Racing announced a multiyear contract extension. The agreement will keep the former V8 Supercars driver at Trackhouse Racing.
Van Gisbergen Quotes
As you evaluate your 2025 season, what are you most proud of to this point in the year?
"Just how much we've enjoyed it. Every race weekend, even if it's good or bad, I enjoy going into the shop on Monday and doing the meetings. It's going to work every day, but it doesn't really feel like a job. I'm loving every minute of it."
What has been the biggest area of improvement for you and the crew this year?
"On ovals, it's just general speed. It’s just taking time learning what I need from the car and understanding the car. When we go to a road course, I can tell exactly what area the car needs speed, which part to try and focus on. On an oval, I don't fully know yet. I can describe what the car's doing, but I don't have that notebook of myself, I don't know what to ask for yet. Just trying to learn every week; trying to see what the setup is and what's different to every other week. Helping my crew point the car in the right direction, whereas on a road course this year, we've kind of trended one way on setup, and I feel like as a team and driver combination it's been really good and has shown that it's made us better."
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DANIEL SUAREZ
Last Weekend at Richmond: Daniel Suárez scored his second consecutive seventh-place finish Saturday night in Richmond. It equaled his best-career finish on the Virginia oval. He also finished seventh at Watkin Glen (N.Y.) International on Aug. 10.
Daytona Fall 2024: Suárez saw his race end in flames and was left with 40th-place finish after a freak accident in the pits created some of the most spectacular pictures of the 2024 season. During the break after the first stage, Suárez maneuvered around a car blocking him in the pits. Denny Hamlin's car backfired, igniting spilled fuel in Suárez's pit stall. The flames engulfed the back of Suárez's car. He drove the car around the track hoping to extinguish the fire, but it flared as he returned to pit lane forcing Suárez out of the car and the race.
Daytona 500: Daniel Suárez finished 13th after his battle for victory ended with flat tires and lost track position in a multicar wreck with five laps remaining in the race.
Career: Suárez owns two victories (Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway 2022 and Atlanta Motor Speedway 2024) and three Busch Light Pole Awards - Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019, and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.
Personal Life: Suárez married Julia Piquet, daughter of three-time Formula One World Champion Nelson Piquet, at a ceremony on July 30 in Brazil. The couple took a delayed honeymoon trip to Japan in the offseason. He is also now a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States. He took the American Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony on June 18 in front of media, friends, the NASCAR industry and NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps, who gave the keynote address to the 48 new citizens from 28 countries who joined Suárez at the ceremony. The 33-year-old Monterrey, Mexico native arrived in America about 13 years ago, unable to speak English.
Mexico Success: Suárez returned to his native country in June as NASCAR held its inaugural race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. A week of fan and media activity included a 19th-place finish in the Cup race. But few will forget his drive from last place to first in the No. 9 Quaker State Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series race and the celebration in front of the raucous fans. It marked the first time in any NASCAR series that a driver has done that on a road course. His victory, coupled with Van Gisbergen's, marks the first time since 2009 that international drivers have swept a race weekend.
Trackhouse Racing and Suárez Agree to Part Ways: Trackhouse Racing and Suárez announced on July 1 that they have mutually decided to conclude their partnership following the 2025 season. The move allows Suárez to pursue new opportunities in his racing career.
Suárez Quotes
What is your Daytona strategy?
"It's pretty simple, just win. Points, stages, nothing matters except the checkered flag so we will do everything we can to win. It's been done before. A few years ago Austin Dillion had to win to get in and he did it. Now it is our turn."
What do you remember about the fire that ended your race last year?
“I was doing my pit stop just like every single weekend. The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was right behind me and the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) was right in front of me, so unfortunately I got boxed in. We know that every single time we do a pit stop, we drop a little bit of fuel and that’s completely normal. Unfortunately, the No. 11 was leaving his pit stall right behind me, and because he was waiting for me to leave, his exhaust fired up the little fuel I dropped. Because I was still parked there, that went up the back of my car where the fuel cell is and it just grabbed it. It was a very unfortunate situation. I don’t know what we could have done differently. Just sad that we’re out of the race that way, but I’m glad everyone was fine."
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