O'Reilly Series Preview

Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola

Daytona International Speedway
Laps 100 Distance 250 mi Type superspeedway Coverage CW · 7:30 PM ET
2.5
MI
asphalt
Surface
Race Date
Friday, August 28, 2026
7:30 PM ET
Band A · The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Historical Context

  • Tyler Reddick has 17 starts at Daytona International Speedway with 3 wins and a 13.9 average finish.
  • Chase Elliott has 30 starts at Daytona International Speedway with 2 wins and a 15.9 average finish.
  • Chris Buescher has 25 starts at Daytona International Speedway with 1 win and a 16.2 average finish.

Based on O'Reilly Series results at Daytona International Speedway from 1982-2026.

DID YOU KNOW?

Cale Yarborough has won 9 times at Daytona International Speedway with a 17.4 average finish.

See Cale Yarborough's full stats
LAST TIME HERE

The last Cup race at Daytona International Speedway was the 2026 Daytona 500 (chaos score: 83.0).

Track history
Band B · The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

Band C · The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola on?

The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola airs on CW on Friday, August 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET, broadcast from Daytona International Speedway. All 2026 NASCAR Xfinity (O'Reilly Auto Parts) Series races air exclusively on The CW, which is free over-the-air with a digital antenna.

What time does the NASCAR Xfinity race start today?

The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola green flag is set for 7:30 PM ET on Friday, August 28, 2026, airing on CW. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

NR-Rating Track Rankings
#DriverElo RatingLast Finish
1Chase Elliott
1517
P4
2Daniel Suarez
1497
P13
3Kyle Busch
1496
P15
4Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
1495
P2
5Chris Buescher
1493
P7
6William Byron
1493
P12
7Tyler Reddick
1488
P1
8Alex Bowman
1486
P40
9Ryan Blaney
1485
P27
10Bubba Wallace
1483
P10
NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type. = Previous winner at this track

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Wed, May 13, 2026, 07:50 AM ET

# Driver Exp. Finish Win %
1 Tyler Reddick Best in Field 13.6 11.2%
2 Chase Elliott 10.4 11.0%
3 Chris Buescher 13.6 10.4%
4 Ryan Blaney 13.9 9.9%
5 William Byron 13.9 8.9%
6 Daniel Suarez 15.1 7.8%
7 Kyle Busch 15.1 7.0%
8 Alex Bowman 15.1 6.2%
9 Bubba Wallace 16.0 5.7%
10 Brad Keselowski 16.0 5.3%
11 Denny Hamlin 16.0 4.5%
12 Christopher Bell 17.4 3.9%
13 Ross Chastain 17.4 3.8%
14 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 18.5 3.3%
15 Casey Mears 18.5 3.2%
16 Erik Jones 18.5 3.1%
17 Kyle Larson 18.5 2.9%
18 Carson Hocevar 19.4 2.8%
19 Michael McDowell 20.0 2.5%
20 Austin Cindric 20.1 1.8%
21 A.J. Allmendinger 20.1 1.7%
22 Joey Logano 20.5 1.4%
23 John Hunter Nemechek 20.5 1.2%
24 Ryan Preece 21.1 1.0%
25 Ty Gibbs 22.9 0.9%
26 Ty Dillon 21.1 0.9%
27 Chase Briscoe 21.7 0.9%
28 Katherine Legge 22.8 0.9%
29 Zane Smith 22.9 0.9%
30 Todd Gilliland 22.9 0.8%
31 Riley Herbst 23.7 0.7%
32 Austin Dillon 23.4 0.6%
33 Shane van Gisbergen 23.4 0.5%
34 Cole Custer 23.4 0.4%
35 Connor Zilisch 23.4 0.4%
36 B.J. McLeod 25.5 0.3%
37 Josh Berry 24.0 0.3%
38 Noah Gragson 24.0 0.3%
39 Cody Ware 27.9 0.2%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning — higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Go Bowling at The Glen: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P24

(1/5 top-5 hits)

38% top-5 hit rate across 11 races

Track Type Tendencies

superspeedway

Superspeedway races at Daytona International Speedway are defined by pack racing and drafting. Results are less predictable than any other track type — the field stays tight and late-race wrecks reshape the outcome.

Manufacturer strategy and drafting alliances matter as much as raw speed. Longshot winners are more common here than anywhere on the schedule.

Fantasy

Dominator Plays
Austin Hill 258 laps led
Justin Allgaier 142 laps led
Kyle Larson 113 laps led

High laps-led totals at this track

Consistency Plays
Kasey Kahne 6.50 avg
Jesse Love 8.75 avg
Austin Dillon 10.80 avg

50%+ top-5 rate at this track

Value Picks
Carson Kvapil 7.00 avg, 0 wins
Jordan Anderson 8.00 avg, 0 wins
Ty Gibbs 9.00 avg, 0 wins

Strong avg finish but no wins — lower ownership

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