How To Watch The 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 At Daytona

The regular season of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series is nearly at an end, with one final race before the postseason — once again called The Chase this year — begins. Season points leader Denny Hamlin hasn’t won a race since his victory at Pocono on June 14, but his domination this season has still shored up the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, with second-place Ryan Blaney far enough back in the points that even the most miraculous performance this weekend won’t be able to give him the lead.

Even still, the 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 should be quite a race, with seeding still up for grabs for many of the racers in contention for The Chase. While the top four (rounded out by Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick) have clearly set themselves above and beyond the pack, fifth through 16th have lots of room to shuffle around with the final race of the regular season. And with the new Chase format this year, every extra bit of seeding could make a big difference when it comes down to the 10 playoff races.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400, including where and when to tune in.

The final race of the 2026 Cup Series regular season kicks off on Saturday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET — a night race in the longstanding tradition of the event. The race formerly known as the Pepsi 400 has been the Coke Zero Sugar 400 since 2008 — a truly astounding victory for the latter cola company in the eternal soda wars.

But again, for newcomers, this is only the end of the regular season, not the end of the whole season. NASCAR has played with a wide range of postseason formats over the past decade and more in an effort to keep ratings and interest high deep into the year rather than let one driver run away with the title early on. So the first 26 races of the season are “regular season” races, with another 10 at the end filling out “The Chase,” when qualifying racers get their point totals reset based on seeding for a tight race to the finish.

The Daytona International Speedway is most famous for the eponymous Daytona 500, the most iconic race in all of NASCAR. But it’s also been the home of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, or Daytona summer race, since its beginning back in 1959. The track obviously holds a lot of history, nostalgia, and prestige for fans of the sport and of motorsports in general.

If you fall into either category, the race is one of the top TV events to watch in August — a beautiful summer night race that celebrates a long legacy. The Daytona International Speedway is the centerpiece of racing culture in Daytona Beach, Florida, but the history of motorsports in the area goes back further, to the old Daytona Beach and Road Course and an era that precedes the dominance of NASCAR in American stock car racing.

As with most major sports leagues these days, NASCAR has scattered its various races across a wide range of platforms, which always makes it less than pleasant to sort out how best to watch the next event. The 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 will air on NBC for traditional TV viewers, with radio options available on Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and a streaming option on Peacock. Coverage on NBC begins at 7:00 p.m. ET.

For those without a traditional cable or Peacock subscription, the race can also be streamed live on HBO Max. The platform offers driver cam feeds for the different racers, giving fans a more customized, up-close way to watch the race. Despite HBO Max bumping up subscription prices again last year, this is still likely a great way to watch for those outside the NBC ecosystem.

In addition to the regular race, you can watch qualifying on Friday, August 28 at 5:00 p.m. ET on HBO Max or TruTV.

Ryan Blaney started on pole at the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 and wound up taking home the trophy, leading 27 laps along the way. Despite that, the win wasn’t a guarantee. An early crash took out a number of drivers, and a late caution down the stretch bunched up the remaining drivers for a fight to the finish. Blaney was over 10 spots back with just a few laps to go, ultimately squeaking ahead of second-place finisher Daniel Suárez by 0.031 seconds.

This year, Blaney enters the race right behind Chase leader Denny Hamlin, though another win at Daytona won’t be able to put him in first for the postseason. Still, he has as good a chance as anyone to repeat at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, closing out his regular season in strong fashion and building up some good vibes heading into The Chase in September.

The 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 will feature 41 total cars, with the full list available to see on the NASCAR website. Aside from points leaders Hamlin, Blaney, Gibbs, and Reddick, the race will feature other top contenders Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliot, and Joey Logano, all of whom have the potential to shift up their postseason seeding depending on how the laps at Daytona turn out.

The race itself is 160 laps. At 2.5 miles apiece, that brings the total length to the 400 miles that gives the event its name. With an exciting run of races set for the postseason, and a new Chase format hopefully bringing some new excitement to the competition, this weekend’s race at Daytona should be a climactic end to the regular season. The action all kicks off Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.