NASCAR Predictions for Coke Zero Sugar 400, Starting Lineup for Daytona

The NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 gets started on Saturday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Daytona International Speedway on NBC.

Saturday’s race features 160 laps spanning 400 miles at this drafting track. This is the final race until the Chase for the Cup, beginning Labor Day weekend in Darlington.

Ryan Blaney grabbed his third victory of the season last Sunday at New Hampshire, entering tonight’s event second in the points standings behind Denny Hamlin.

Below, we'll break down our NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 predictions and pick to win for Saturday’s race, including top driver picks for PrizePicks.

Make your NASCAR picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on PrizePicks — and earn real money if you're right, available in Florida!

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NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 Winner, Top 10 Predictions for Daytona – Saturday, August 29

Blaney joined Hamlin and Tyler Reddick as the only three drivers to pick up three victories this season. Last August, Blaney grabbed the checkered flag in Daytona for his second career win at this track.

Chris Buescher has found moderate success at Daytona, posting six top-10 finishes in the past seven events since 2023. He won the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400, also placing seventh last August.

Daytona hasn't been friendly to Hamlin, who seeks his first top-10 finish since 2021. This stretch of 10 races without placing a top-10 result includes the Daytona 500; he closed 31st in the 2026 opener.

Reddick won this year’s Daytona 500 and finished second in 2024. However, he has struggled in the August event at this track, placing 21st, 28th, and 25th in the last three years.

The favorites to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 are Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, according to PrizePicks Team Picks.

Logano and Blaney currently return an 8.33x payout ($100 pays out $833) if they win while five other drivers (including Reddick and Kyle Larson) are right behind them at an 11.11x payout.

Payout multipliers listed below (like 2x) indicate real-money earnings if your NASCAR predictions are correct; for example, 2x on a $100 entry pays $200 if correct on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 36 states, including Florida.

“Yes” payouts represent a specific outcome occurring, whereas "No" payouts indicate the opposite.

NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 Winner Payouts on PrizePicks

Here are the payouts for drivers to win the NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on PrizePicks.

NASCAR Starting Lineup for Coke Zero Sugar 400: Chastain Earns Pole Position

The NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 qualifying took place on Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. Ross Chastain captured his third career pole, including the first at Daytona for the Southwest Florida native.  

Chastain seeks his fourth career top-10 finish in 17 career Daytona races. Amazingly, Chastain started in the top 10 once at Daytona, also beginning 20th or lower 12 times.

This is also a nice potential bounce-back spot for Chastain, who finished last at New Hampshire due to engine failure only 41 laps in.  

Ryan Preece starts fourth but hasn’t seen success at Daytona since moving from Chevrolet to Ford in 2023. Preece put together a trio of top-eight finishes with Chevy from 2019 through 2021 but has closed 20th or lower in six of seven events in his Ford.

Here is the full NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 starting lineup at Daytona International Speedway for Saturday’s race at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. 

Row 1: Ross Chastain / Chris Buescher

Row 2: Austin Hill / Ryan Preece

Row 3: Riley Herbst / Shane van Gisbergen

Row 4: Conor Zilisch / Austin Cindric

Row 5: Joey Logano / Kyle Larson

Row 6: Corey Heim / Chase Briscoe

Row 7: William Byron / Ty Gibbs

Row 8: Erik Jones / Cole Custer

Row 9: Tyler Reddick / Michael McDowell

Row 10: Ryan Blaney / Alex Bowman

Row 11: Brad Keselowski / Chase Elliott

Row 12: Daniel Suarez / Josh Berry

Row 13: Cody Ware / Bubba Wallace

Row 14: John H. Nemechek / Carson Hocevar

Row 15: Austin Dillon / Denny Hamlin

Row 16: Ty Dillon / Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Row 17: Todd Gilliand / Zane Smith

Row 18: Christopher Bell / AJ Allmendinger

Row 19: Noah Gragson / Casey Mears

Row 20: Daniel Dye / Joey Gase

NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 Predictions, Driver Picks for Daytona

Here are three of the top Coke Zero Sugar 400 picks to target in the NASCAR race from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.

‍Top PrizePicks NASCAR picks are headlined by three drivers: Joey Logano, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace.

Joey Logano – 9.5 Finishing Position

Joey Logano to Finish Top 10 in Coke Zero Sugar 400: Yes 2.43x | No 1.49x

• Logano finished 27th or lower in four straight Daytona events before placing third in February’s Daytona 500.
• In the last six events, the veteran driver has compiled three top-three finishes, including wins at North Wilkesboro and Richmond.
• Logano has been inconsistent at drafting tracks, posting three top-12 finishes in the last 11 races since winning in Atlanta in 2024.
• Since closing 38th at Watkins Glen in May, Logano is posting an average finish of 12.2 in the past 13 events. Taking away a 34th-place finish at Pocono in June, that average drops to 10.4.

Add Joey Logano to your PrizePicks NASCAR picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

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William Byron – 9.5 Finishing Position

William Byron to Finish Top 10 in Coke Zero Sugar 400: Yes 2.38x | No 1.49x

• Byron picked up consecutive Daytona 500 wins in 2024 and 2025 but only owns three top-10 finishes in the last 11 events at this track.
• He enters tonight’s race sitting 12th in the points standings, seeking his first victory since last October at Martinsville.
• Byron finished ninth in back-to-back races at Iowa and Richmond before falling to 30th at New Hampshire.
• He went through a 10-race stretch from March through May finishing ninth or higher seven times. However, Byron has placed higher than ninth only four times in the past 12 events.

Add William Byron to your PrizePicks NASCAR picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Bubba Wallace – 11.5 Finishing Position

Bubba Wallace to Finish Top 20 in Coke Zero Sugar 400: Yes 1.66x | No 1.92x

• As long as Wallace finishes the race at Daytona, he may have a favorable outlook. In the past five Daytona events, Wallace placed top-10 three times but crashed out the other two times. 
• Wallace compiled a pair of top-10 finishes in the first two drafting races of 2026 but stumbled to a 36th and 29th place finish in the past two opportunities. 
• Last Sunday, Wallace placed second at New Hampshire. However, he has finished below 20th in seven straight races following a top-10 finish.
• He's starting 26th for the fourth time in the last nine races. Wallace compiled only one top-10 finish in the previous three opportunities, which was sixth at North Wilkesboro.

Add Bubba Wallace to your PrizePicks NASCAR picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Make NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 Predictions on PrizePicks

The Chase for the Cup starts next week, but Daytona is always entertaining under the lights. Will Chastain take home a win in the Sunshine State, or will chaos ensue at this track and we’ll see a surprising driver come out on top?

Don’t wait until lock — make your NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 predictions on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right.

There are unique picks on the NASCAR board for every race, including driver points and starting position; just pick at least two drivers to build your lineup on PrizePicks. Or, make your picks on race winners on Team Picks, now available in 36 states, including Florida!

Stay locked in to Playbook throughout the season for more NASCAR picks, predictions, and news every day.