NASCAR Coke Zero 400 Getty
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When NASCAR introduced its current playoff format in 2014, it is likely that they envisioned the sort of year that the 2022 Cup Series season has been. And it's even more likely that even in their wildest dreams, they never could have envisioned a season like 2022 actually occurring.

Through 25 races so far, 15 different drivers have visited the Winner's Circle, creating a scenario where only a select few playoffs spots remain for drivers who have not yet won this year to keep their championship hopes in play. The two drivers currently holding those spots are two of the best in all of NASCAR, and two who could easily affirm their standing as championship contenders by winning a race. But in a season where winning drivers have seemingly come from everywhere on the grid, there is little in the way of anyone else charging to the front and charging towards a chance at the championship.

That has set the stage for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, the final race of the regular season and the last chance for drivers to make the Cup Series playoffs. Once a longtime staple of the Fourth of July, Daytona's annual 400-mile race in the summer became the regular season finale in 2020, making it a wide-open race rife with drama where the playoff hopes of the entire field are either made manifest or broken for good.

How to watch the Coke Zero Sugar 400

  • Date: Saturday, July 27
  • Location: Daytona International Speedway -- Daytona Beach, Fla.
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC
  • Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

What to watch

Playoff scenarios

When the week began, the situation at the playoff bubble could not have been more intense. Just one spot remained on the playoff grid, and there was a realistic possibility that both Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. -- third and sixth in the regular season points standings respectively -- could miss the playoffs.

But the situation has since changed. With Kurt Busch's announcement that he would withdraw his medical waiver for a playoff spot as he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms suffered in a crash at Pocono, two spots in the playoffs are now up for grabs. Blaney and Truex continue to hold those two spots, and they will continue to do so as long as there are no new winners at Daytona.

Blaney is most in control of his own destiny, as he will make the playoffs as long as he is able to outpoint Truex regardless of who wins, and he can clinch as early as the end of Stage 2. Truex can also take control of his own destiny with help, but otherwise must hope that none of the 13 drivers still in contention for a playoff spot take the checkered flag.

Here is a look at the clinching scenarios for Saturday night's race.

Endless possibilities

Compared to the past two regular season finales at Daytona, what makes this race so dramatically charged is just how many different drivers have shown they're capable of winning this season, and have already demonstrated that as early as the Daytona 500 in February. Bubba Wallace, always a threat to win on superspeedways, ran second to Austin Cindric by half a car length and has since contended for wins at Atlanta and Michigan. Before Wallace made his charge coming to the checkered, Brad Keselowski had been Cindric's closest competitor in the run to the finish. And before that, it was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who had put himself in position to win The Great American Race.

Cindric's Daytona 500 win, a major upset for the rookie in just his eighth Cup start ever, illustrated how unpredictable Daytona races can be. And that's been especially true of the 400-miler over the past decade. This race has seen four first-time winners since 2014, including three years in a row from 2018 to 2020. Three of those first-time winners -- Aric Almirola (2014), Erik Jones (2018), and Justin Haley (2019) -- are looking for a playoff spot and can easily challenge for the win.

In addition to that group, four past Daytona winners in total -- Stenhouse, Keselowski, Austin Dillon, and Michael McDowell -- all are in must-win scenarios, creating a very wide range of outcomes and large pool of potential new winners.

Bump drafts gone bad

As far as what occurs between laps 1 and 160 is concerned, keep in mind something that recurred during the Daytona 500 where several accidents occurred as the result of bump drafting on the exit of the corner. As Daytona's asphalt has begun to age since its last repave in 2011, bump drafting all the way around the speedway has become far less feasible, especially on corner exit where the back end of cars become lighter as they unload from the banking to the straightaway.

While multiple incidents in February illustrated the risk of giving the wrong bump draft in the wrong place, the temptation to push the bumper of the car in front of a driver to gain time will remain, particularly as the race winds down and drivers below the cutoff line begin to get more desperate to get to the front. Keep an eye on this and whether or not it influences bump drafting habits throughout the field.

Pick to win

(Odds via Caesars Sportsbook)

Brad Keselowski (+2000): After going out on a limb and being rewarded in several races already this year, I've got my finger on the pulse of another one. Heading back to Daytona, it's impossible to ignore how strong Brad Keselowski was here in February -- After winning his Duel qualifying race, Keselowski led the most laps in the Daytona 500 (67), and then was leading the outside line on the final lap challenging Austin Cindric for the win before fading to ninth at the finish line.

Very quietly, Keselowski has rounded into form over the summer months. And time and again in his career, we've seen Keselowski pull out victories in high-stakes, got-to-have-it scenarios. Meaning that this is race is seemingly made for Keselowski to win and vault himself onto the playoff grid.

If that's not daring enough for you, consider Justin Haley or Corey LaJoie, both of whom are at +5000 odds. Haley is an exceptional superspeedway racer, as evidenced by his multiple Daytona victories in the Xfinity Series. LaJoie nearly won the last speedway race at Atlanta in July, and was running second on the final lap in this race last year and was looking to make his move for the win before his drafting help bailed on him going down the backstretch.