DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR’s new playoff system seemingly eliminated the “win and in” scenario to make the Chase.Ryan Preece proved otherwise.Preece scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory when he needed it the most, a last-gasp win Saturday at Daytona International Speedway that saved his season and put him into the 16-driver Chase over Shane van Gisbergen.“I’m just speechless right now,” said an elated Preece, who drives for RFK Racing. “We’re fighters. When you put our back against the wall, we swing hard.”
RYAN PREECE IS A NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNER!! pic.twitter.com/e1SjHoVH1N
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2026On the white flag lap of overtime, Zane Smith was leading Preece and Daytona 500 winner Tyler Reddick. But when Smith and Reddick made contact, it allowed Preece to take the lead on the bottom lane.
As more cars wrecked behind the incident, NASCAR was forced to throw the caution flag — freezing the field with Preece in front.The bonus points for a win eliminated van Gisbergen, who had a 31-point lead over Preece entering the regular-season finale.“One night doesn’t sum up our year,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s been cool to be close. Shame we’re not in it.”Tom Cruise addresses drivers after announcing "Days of Thunder" sequelJeff GluckFrom 2014 to 2025, NASCAR used a “win and in” playoff format, where a single race victory guaranteed a driver’s place in the playoffs. This season, NASCAR returned to a similar version of its old “Chase” playoff format, doing away with the “win and in” in favor of season-long points accumulation to determine the field.Still, Preece effectively brought back the old format for one night, needing a big performance and for van Gisbergen to struggle to have a chance. Van Gisbergen, the road-course ace with seven victories the past two seasons, finished 28th.The 16-driver field for NASCAR’s Chase is: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric and Preece.This story will be updated.
