2026 NASCAR Daytona predictions, expert picks for Coke Zero 400 Cup race

The fight for the final two Chase spots will be amongst four drivers (Austin Cindric, Shane van Gisbergen, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski). He's 66 points out of 16th so he's a long shot. Preece is 31 points behind SVG and 44 behind Cindric though.

Denny Hamlin secured the top seed for the Chase while Ryan Blaney has a comfortable cushion in second.

Here are The Tennessean's expert predictions for Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona:

NASCAR predictions Daytona Cup Series race: Who wins Coke Zero 400?

Mike Organ’s Pick: Tyler Reddick No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Reddick began the regular season strong at Daytona with the first of three straight victories and will end it strong at Daytona. He’s been in or around the top-10 in four of the last six races and is ready to break through.

Nick Gray’s pick: Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

The number 48 was chosen by Google’s random number generator. Bowman is OK at pack racing when he is still running at the finish (14 top-10s in 32 career races where he was running at the finish at Daytona and Talladega). That sounds good to me.

Tom Kreager’s pick: William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports.

Can Chevrolet Go Fast This Week? Forget Chevy drivers fighting for a championship in the Chase if they can’t do it this week. Byron solves it and gets to Victory Lane.