Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press Once again led by Kyle Busch, the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Daytona International Speedway in Florida on Saturday for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Busch won a thrilling race in Chicago a week ago, meaning he's tied with Kevin Harvick with five victories. Also notable on the leaderboard is the fact only four drivers overall have multiple wins, with only six drivers clutching a checkered flag this year. Daytona is a good way to spice things up after one year ago crowning a surprise winner. An event that dates back to 1959, the 400 laps as darkness encroaches and the spotlights come on should serve as one of the better events of the summer and a pivotal race for playoffs hopefuls. Viewing Details Where: Daytona International Speedway Video Play Button Videos you might like When: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET Watch: NBCSN Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Tickets: StubHub Coke Zero Sugar 400 1. Kurt Busch (41) 2. Brad Keselowski (2) 3. Kyle Busch (18) 4. Kevin Harvick (4) 5. Joey Logano (22) 6. Aric Almirola (10) 7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) 8. Erik Jones (20) 9. Ryan Blaney (12) 10. Denny Hamlin (11) Note: Qualifying takes place Friday. 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings 1. Kyle Busch 736 2. Kevin Harvick 674 3. Martin Truex Jr. 594 4. Clint Bowyer 579 5. Joey Logano 617 6. Austin Dillon 314 7. Brad Keselowski 592 8. Kurt Busch 560 9. Denny Hamlin 537 10. Kyle Larson 524 11. Ryan Blaney 495 12. Aric Almirola 493 13. Jimmie Johnson 442 14. Chase Elliott 435 15. Erik Jones 408 16. Alex Bowman 390 ESPN.com. Drivers to Watch Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Derik Hamilton/Associated Press Ricky Stenhouse Jr. represents a bit of the unpredictable element this event has produced in the past. A year ago at Daytona, Stenhouse unexpectedly grabbed his second win of the season after leading only 17 laps. Still, just on the outside of the playoff race looking in, Stenhouse could use a little of the two-win magic he found last year to help him jump up the leaderboard. But he hasn't had a top-10 finish in five events, finishing no better than 14th over his last four outings. Instead, he's only surfaced on the radar recently as a good teammate in Chicago for helping Kyle Larson secure his runner-up finish. "I felt like (Ricky) Stenhouse Jr. and (Ryan) Newman did a good job of holding him up for me and I was very thankful of that," Larson said, according to NASCAR.com's Allie Davison (via Yahoo Sports). "So, first off, thanks to those two." But at some point, Stenhouse is going to have to get into business for himself if he wants to make some noise in the playoff picture. With so few names hogging all the wins so far, there is an opening here for an unexpected driver to seize the moment. That moment could be Saturday night, where Stenhouse looks to make it two in a row. Brad Keselowski Derik Hamilton/Associated Press Before Stenhouse shocked the globe with his second win of the season last year, it was Brad Keselowski securing the checkered flag at this event. Like Stenhouse, Keselowski is a guy who could use a boost over the weekend. Though he's had four top-10 finishes over his last five outings with two of the appearances in the top five, Keselowski has done more in the way of surprising fans via his lack of wins. It doesn't help Keselowski that his manufacturer, with Stenhouse included, keeps creating such thick competition atop the leaderboards: Last year, Keselowski kicked off the season with a win and added two more while mostly looking consistent. This year, the hump has been harder to get over and consistency hasn't been assured. Then again, this is the summer race where almost everything goes out the window anyway. Like Stenhouse, Keselowski surely sees the window of opportunity open to him here, so expect some aggressive driving. Kyle Busch Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press Fans have to be realistic here: it might not matter that eight different drivers have won the summer Daytona race over as many years. Busch is that good. So is Harvick, but Busch is the latest winner between the two drivers who have combined for 10 total wins so far. He's the driver with only two non-top-10 performances on the season and five consecutive top-five showings, including two wins. The casual recital of stats undersells how impressive Busch has been—Chicago came down to the final lap: Fans in attendance didn't seem to love the result too much, but it's not going to stop Busch from trying to drum up his win total and keep the momentum rolling right into the playoffs. And with Harvick racing at least just as well, Busch can't afford to relax. He hasn't won this event since 2008, but he's easily a favorite going into the weekend and, funnily enough, he'd be the ninth different driver to win over as many races. Even so, it wouldn't exactly qualify as unpredictable.<doc-sep>Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) The Xfinity Series competes under the lights for the annual summertime classic with the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway. William Byron beat Elliott Sadler to the line last year in a race extended by four laps when an 11-car accident on the backstretch brought out a yellow on the final lap. Here’s all the info you need ahead of today’s race on NBCSN. (All times are Eastern) START: Winn-Dixie District Manager Greg Sanford will give the command to start engines at 7:37 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:49 p.m. DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 100 laps (250 miles) around the 2.5-mile track. STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 30 Stage 2 ends on Lap 60. PRERACE SCHEDULE: Garage opens at noon. Qualifying is at 2:10 p.m. Driver/crew chief meeting is at 3:45 p.m. Driver introductions are at 7:05 p.m. NATIONAL ANTHEM: Anthem will be performed at 7:31 p.m. TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race beginning at 7:30 p.m. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. with Countdown to Green on NBCSN. Motor Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 7 p.m. and also can be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have MRN’s broadcast. FORECAST: wunderground.com calls for scattered thunderstorms with a high of 80 degrees and a 38 percent chance of rain at the start of the race. LAST TIME: William Byron took the lead on lap 98 and survived a green-white-checkered finish to beat Elliott Sadler to the line as the caution waved a final time over the field for a five-car accident on the backstretch. STARTING LINEUP: Click here for starting lineup<doc-sep>Mike Hembree USA TODAY DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NBC Sports celebrated a perfect storm of television Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway for its first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series broadcast of the season. The race was one of the best of the season, and the finish was classic — Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson engaging in two last-lap encounters before Busch rolled to the win. The broadcast also marked Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s debut as a Cup-race analyst, and reviews of his commentary were universally good. The all-important ratings numbers also were pleasing as the broadcast attracted 2.55 million viewers, up 10 percent from the same race last year. So, for week two of its part of the season, NBC is shaking up the broadcast? Yes. The biggest difference for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway will be the positioning of analyst (and Earnhardt Jr.’s former crew chief) Steve Letarte. He will move to the network’s pit box, which will be located in the same row as the team pit boxes. CUP DRIVERS:Expect aggressive tactics, intense racing at Daytona NO WINS, NO PROBLEM:Larson still a serious title threat NASCAR:Reinstates Xfinity driver Gallagher after failed drug test Also new at Daytona: Veteran broadcaster Mike Tirico, frequently a centerpiece of sports programming on NBC, will be included in Saturday’s pre-race show. Letarte’s move changes the broadcast setup. Last week at Chicagoland, he and Earnhardt shared a booth atop the grandstand, while lead announcer Rick Allen and Jeff Burton were in another “sky” booth. Saturday Letarte will work alone in the pit box and will be sort of a middle man between the main booth and NBC’s roaming pit reporters. Located near the end of pit road, the NBC box is very close to the racing surface, potentially bringing a lot of noise into the broadcast when Letarte is on the air. And that’s good, he said. “The sound might be a challenge,” he said. “But I look at it as real. Let the fan know what I’m dealing with. This is where I sat as a crew chief. This is what it’s like. The closer we can bring the fan to the real thing, the better.” Letarte said Earnhardt brought a new perspective to Sunday’s broadcast and that the concept of adding a fourth person worked well. “Dale is a huge fan, and he was very well prepared,” Letarte said. “He put a tremendous amount of preparation into it. Rick and Jeff and I put a lot of preparation into having a fourth voice. That changes the dynamic quite a bit.”<doc-sep>
It's race day at Daytona International Speedway, and we’ve got all the information you need to get ready for Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race: START TIME: Retired U.S. Army Colonel Gregory Gadson will instruct drivers to start their engines at 7:11 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 7:23 p.m. ET. RACE DISTANCE: The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile Datyona International Speedway for a total of 400 miles. RACE STAGES: After a successful run last season, NASCAR will once again be dividing races into stages and handing out points. Here are the segments for tonight's race: Stage 1: 40 laps, Stage 2: 40 laps, Stage 3: 80 laps. NATIONAL ANTHEM: The 82nd Airborne Division All-American Chorus from Fort Bragg, N.C., will perform the national anthem at 7:01 p.m. ET followed by a flyover by two F-22’s from the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Fla. TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: The race will be broadcast on NBC, with a pre-show on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) at 6:30 p.m. ET. Radio calls can be found on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio. LIVE STREAMING: NBCSports.com will live-stream the race for those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider's credentials. CUP DRIVERS:Expect aggressive tactics, intense racing at Daytona WALLACE:Seeking reprise of stellar Daytona run REPLACING STARS:Are NASCAR's young guns feeling pressure to perform? NASCAR ON NBC:Innovating for Saturday night's Daytona broadcast WEATHER: The temperature should register around 80 degrees at the green flag but isolated thunderstorms are also in the forecast. There's a 35% chance of precipitation in the early evening hours, but the race should finish under mostly cloudy skies with tempeartures in the high 70s. LAST TIME: Austin Dillon spun race leader Aric Almirola after an overtime restart and held off Bubba Wallace by 0.260 seconds to record his first Daytona 500 victory in February. And last summer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. grabbed the lead off an overtime restart and topped Clint Bowyer by 0.213 sec to record his first victory at Daytona. LINEUP: Hendrick Motorsports drivers took three of the top four spots in qualifying, while Chevrolet and Ford shut Toyota out of the top 12. Chase Elliott won the pole and Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman will start along side. Here's the starting lineup for tonight's Coke Zero Sugar 400 (car number in parentheses): 1. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet 2. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet 3. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford 4. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet 5. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford 6. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford 7. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet 8. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford 9. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford 10. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet 11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford 12. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford 13. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota 14. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet 15. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota 16. (62) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet 17. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota 18. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet 19. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet 20. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford 21. (38) David Ragan, Ford 22. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet 23. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford 24. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet 25. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet 26. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford 27. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet 28. (95) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet 29. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota 30. (21) Paul Menard, Ford 31. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford 32. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota 33. (15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet 34. (7) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet 35. (96) DJ Kennington, Toyota 36. (00) Joey Gase, Chevrolet 37. (99) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet 38. (72) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet 39. (51) Ray Black II, Chevrolet 40. (23) JJ Yeley, Toyota Follow Horrow on Twitter @EllenJHorrow