Preece Wins Daytona in Overtime for First Cup Victory

Ryan Preece won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in overtime, earning his first NASCAR Cup Series victory and grabbing the final Playoff spot on the last lap.

A battered car, a stubborn climb

A three-car wreck at the end of the first stage crumpled the left front fender of his No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. After repairs, he drove back through the field under the lights. The race churned through 41 lead changes before the decisive final act.

Overtime chaos decides it

Stretching fuel over the final 65-lap stage, Preece ran second when a crash on lap 155 forced overtime. He surged past Tyler Reddick and Zane Smith on the restart. Smith and Reddick tangled on the final circuit, triggering a multicar wreck that froze the field with Preece ahead at the moment of caution.

Daniel Suarez crossed second, followed by Reddick, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The win arrived in Preece’s 249th Cup start. He took the final Chase berth by 17 points over Shane van Gisbergen.

Van Gisbergen had led by 31 points entering the regular-season finale. A late pit stop for fuel and tires left him 27th for the overtime restart and trapped behind the wreck. He finished 28th and out of the Chase.

“To every man and woman at RFK, thank you for giving me a rocket ship so I could go to the moon tonight,” Preece told reporters afterwards. “This is redemption.”

The Chase opens September 6 at Darlington Raceway. Preece goes in as the last seed, a first-time winner with a battered car and a berth no one can take away.