Van Gisbergen takes 31-point cushion into Daytona Chase decider

Preece needs stage points and a 12-place finishing swing

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated Aug 281 min read

What happened: Shane van Gisbergen and Ryan Preece will contest the 16th and final Chase berth over 160 laps Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. A new rules package will debut without a practice session.

Why it matters: Van Gisbergen holds the tiebreaker, forcing Preece to attack early for stage points. The owners' standings are tighter, with the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford six points behind the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

By the numbers: Preece leads their Daytona head-to-head 3-1, but they have finished within five positions of each other in all four shared Cup starts. Preece has a 24.3 average finish, seven DNFs and a best of fourth in 13 Daytona starts; van Gisbergen has a 28.5 average, one DNF and a best of 16th in four starts. Preece remains winless in 248 points-paying Cup races.

What to watch: Stage scoring and incident avoidance will determine whether Preece can erase the gap. Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski remain mathematically alive but require a larger swing.

Sources

Yahoo NHL 2026-08-28T16:25:43.448369+00:00

CONVERSATION

Loading comments…

NHLPreview

Follow NHL Intelligence

Real-time signals and analysis

@WireReportPuck

WR Pro

The day's sports, briefed to your inbox at 7am ET. Every claim sourced.

$9/month Free weekly newsletter →