Ryan Preece won the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It marked his first career points-paying victory .
The win counted for championship points and secured the final playoff spot. It locked him into the postseason field .
Late in the race, Carson Hocevar crashed while running near the second position at that time. That incident knocked him out of the race .
The Daytona result finalized the 16-driver NASCAR Chase grid. Everyone started fresh for the postseason.