For Immediate Release
Wanna Bet? Out of All the Non-Race Winners in 2022, Blaney and Wallace Are Odds-On Favorites to Capture the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and Guarantee a Spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs
Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Iconic Daytona International Speedway Will Be the Premier Series’ Final Race of the Regular Season
Photo Cutline: Bubba Wallace was victorious last fall at Talladega Superspeedway, and will need another triumph in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He, along with good friend Ryan Blaney, are the odds-on favorites of 2022 non-winning drivers at +1200 to go to Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane Saturday night and take the final spot in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For Coke Zero Sugar 400 and Wawa 250 logos, along with B-Roll video from the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 and 2022 DAYTONA 500 (featuring NASCAR’s ‘Next Gen’ car), click here.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 24, 2022) – Which non-winning driver in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series is the odds-on favorite to win Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:00 p.m. ET) at Daytona International Speedway and guarantee themselves a spot in the Playoffs? There are actually two answers in this “win and you’re in” scenario.
Defending Coke Zero Sugar 400 Champion, Ryan Blaney, along with his friend Bubba Wallace, are good bets, leading the way at +1000. Blaney sits third in the championship points but needs a victory to guarantee his place in the Playoffs.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series season and will set the stage for the 10-race, 16-driver Playoffs. Thus far in ’22, there have been 15 winners and only one spot remains, which will be filled after the checkered flag flies Saturday evening. Blaney is the driver on the Playoff bubble and can still get in via points (if the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is won by a driver who already has a victory in 2022), although Martin Truex Jr., another non-winner this year, is within striking distance and trails the Team Penske driver by just 25 points. If either win the 400-miler, they automatically advance.
There are 15 drivers vying for the last playoff spot, and eight have previously been to Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane at the iconic 2.5-mile World Center of Racing. While Blaney and Wallace are the non-winning favorites, playoff eligible and rookie drivers Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton, who crashed while battling for the lead early in the season-opening DAYTONA 500, have the highest odds at +15000.
“At this point, it doesn’t really help us to have a decent points day, so it’s win or go home,” said Burton, son of 2000 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Champion Jeff Burton. “That’s the only goal when we go there now.
We’ve got to be aggressive, to go try and get up front.”
Chase Elliott, who has already clinched the regular season NASCAR Cup Series Championship, is the favorite to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at +1000. A full list of the NASCAR odds by DraftKings of the 15 drivers who need to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to advance to the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are below (along with specific Daytona results).
- Ryan Blaney: +1200 – Defending Champion of Coke Zero Sugar 400
- Bubba Wallace +1200 – Has runner-up finishes in both Coke Zero Sugar 400 & DAYTONA 500
- Martin Truex, Jr. +1800- Has runner-up finishes in both Coke Zero Sugar 400 & DAYTONA 500
- Brad Keselowski +2500 – 2016 Coke Zero Sugar 40 Champion
- Ricky Stenhouse +2500 – 2017 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Champion
- Austin Dillon +3000 – 2018 DAYTONA 500 Champion
- Aric Almirola +3000 – 2014 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Champion
- Erik Jones +3500 – 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Champion
- Chris Buescher +3500 – Best Daytona finish was third in 2020 DAYTONA 500
- Michael McDowell +4000 – 2021 DAYTONA 500 Champion
- Justin Haley +4000 – 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Champion
- Cole Custer +7500 – Best Daytona finish is 11th in the 2021 DAYTONA 500
- Ty Dillon + 10,000 – Best Daytona finish was fourth in 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400
- Todd Gilliland +15000 – Finished 33rd in first race, 2022 DAYTONA 500
- Harrison Burton +15000 – Finished 39th in first race, 2022 DAYTONA 500
Fans can catch this exciting conclusion to the regular season by purchasing tickets starting at $49 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Fans who purchase tickets to the race can also purchase access to the UNOH Fanzone for and additional $60 (sold separate from grandstand ticket). Here, fans can participate in events before the race which include the Coke Zero Sugar 400 Pre-Race Concert featuring Better Than Ezra, pre-race ceremonies, driver introductions, access to the large grass ballfield, and signing the start/finish line through the middle of the 18-degree, banked tri-oval. There will be LIVE entertainment on the main UNOH Fanzone Stage throughout the weekend, including Fan Q&A sessions with NASCAR Personalities.
Tickets to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Powered by Coca Cola start at $35 for adults and FREE for kids 12 and under. The Wawa 250 takes place on Friday, Aug. 26, the day before the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and access to the UNOH Fanzone will be available before this race as well! Fans can also purchase a Two-Day Pass which includes access to both races.
Tickets for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca Cola can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the all-new NASCAR Tracks App, for the latest speedway news.
About Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of The Great American Race – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the World Center of Racing, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training. The iconic venue was the site of a host of motorsports events early in 2022, beginning with AHRMA Classic Motofest and the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA in January, and the 64th DAYTONA 500, which debuted the first points race for NASCAR’s ‘Next Gen’ car as part of Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth, in February. The tradition-rich 81st Annual Bike Week At DAYTONA returned in March, featuring DAYTONA Supercross and the DAYTONA 200. May saw the “Welcome to Rockville” concert and the Heroes Honor Festival while during July 4th weekend, the track, in association with Torneos, hosted the first annual Daytona Soccer Fest. The NASCAR Cup Series returns for the final race of the regular season with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Aug. 27 while Saturday, Aug. 26 will see the Wawa 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
