Frontstretch Newsletter: What Happens If Cody Ware Wins Saturday Night?

Published: Fri, 08/22/25

Updated: Fri, 08/22/25

Frontstretch Newsletter: Aug. 22, 2025
Volume XIX, Edition CXLV

And Now A Word From Our Title Partner, My Place Hotels!

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What to Watch: Aug. 22-24

For information on the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400, see the Frontstretch Folio below.

- NASCAR Xfinity Series teams are already on-site in Daytona and going through inspection right now. Qualifying is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET this afternoon and will air live on The CW App.

Some CW affiliates may choose to air qualifying live today. Check your local listings to see if your affiliate is choosing to do so.

Coverage of the Wawa 250 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 7 p.m. ET on The CW. Race coverage will start at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 7:40 p.m. ET.

- ARCA Menards Series teams are at Madison International Speedway today. They will practice at 4:45 p.m. ET today with qualifying shortly afterwards. Neither session will be televised

Coverage of the Badger 200 is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET tonight on FOX Sports 1. The green will fly around 9:10 p.m. ET.

- NTT IndyCar Series teams are at Portland International Speedway for their third to last race of the year. Practice is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Saturday morning and will air live on FS1.

Qualifying is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1. The final practice, which will also have a high line component, will be at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2.

Coverage of the Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 will begin at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX. The green flag is scheduled for 2:23 p.m. ET.

- IMSA teams are at VIRginia International Raceway this weekend. Today is primarily a practice day, although VP Racing SportsCar Challenge teams are having their first race of the weekend today at 4:50 p.m. ET. That race will stream live on Peacock.

Qualifying for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams is scheduled for 4:55 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. The session will stream live on Peacock and on IMSA.com.

Coverage of the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will air live on USA Network at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. The race will go green at 2:10 p.m. ET.

Michelin Pilot Challenge teams are scheduled to qualify at 8:35 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Coverage of the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix will stream live on the IMSA Official YouTube Channel and Peacock starting at 2:10 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. The green flag will be at 2:20 p.m. ET.

- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series have a little North Dakota swing this weekend. Tonight, they'll be at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks for Gerdau Presents the Second Leg of the Northern Tour. Coverage will begin at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

Saturday night sees the tour move to Red River Valley Speedway just outside of Fargo for Ellingson presents the Duel in the Dakotas. That race will stream at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

- Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series teams will continue at Silver Dollar Speedway with the Gold Cup Race of Champions. Coverage tonight starts at 9:45 p.m. ET on FLORacing, while Saturday's coverage starts at 9 p.m. ET.

- World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series teams will be at Arrowhead Speedway this weekend for the Sooner State Showdown. Coverage tonight and tomorrow will stream on DirtVision at 8:15 p.m. ET.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

DAYTONA:

Dalton Hopkins (@PitLaneLT)

Stephen Stumpf (@stephen_stumpf)

MILWAUKEE:

Michael Massie (@m_massie22)

Christopher DeHarde (@CdeHarde)

Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates on Daytona!

TV Schedule: Here

Today's Top News:

Former Charlotte President Humpy Wheeler Dead at 86

Former Charlotte Motor Speedway president and promoter H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler died Thursday night. He was 86.

Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.

Frontstretch Video:

Bringing the Heat: Cole Custer Evaluates Season In Haas Factory Team's First Year

Newsletter Exclusives:

Frontstretch Folio: Coke Zero Sugar 400
by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Daytona for the final race of the regular season. Coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 starts with Countdown to Green at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Race coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green scheduled for around 7:45 p.m. ET. The race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). Note that there are a number of markets that plan to either pre-empt the race entirely, move it to a sister station, or join in progress in favor of preseason NFL football. We will have a complete list on Frontstretch's schedule page prior to the start of the race.

Records and facts

Last year's Coke Zero Sugar 400 came down to a green-white-checker restart after a crash involving Josh Berry and Austin Cindric extended the race. Kyle Busch had the lead and was looking good for victory. However, Harrison Burton got an almighty push to move past Busch on the final lap and held on to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race.

Burton won by .047 seconds over Busch, while Christopher Bell was second, Cody Ware finished a career-best fourth, while Ty Gibbs was fifth.

Among active drivers, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson (not entered) have the most victories with three each, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon have two. Eight other active drivers have one Daytona victory.

All-time, Richard Petty is the winningest driver in points races at Daytona with 10 career victories, including seven wins in the Daytona 500. Cale Yarborough has nine wins, followed by David Pearson with eight, Fireball Roberts with seven, then Jeff Gordon and Junior Johnson tied with six. Note that win statistics for drivers such as Junior Johnson, Roberts and Pearson are slightly inflated because the races now known as the Bluegreen Vacation Duels were point races up until 1971. Also of note, Dale Earnhardt had 34 victories at Daytona in seemingly everything except the Rolex 24. However, only three of them were in Cup Series point races.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.5-mile oval, 200 laps (500 miles)
Banking: 31 degrees

Frontstretch: 3,800 ft, banked 18 degrees in tri-oval, 6 degrees in chutes
Backstretch: 3,400 ft., banked 3 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 101,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Opened: 1959

Website: http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DAYTONA

Pre-Race Schedule:

Qualifying: Friday, Aug. 22, 5:05 p.m. on TruTV/HBO Max

Say What?!

"Daytona is one of my favorite tracks. I’m excited to get back to superspeedway racing this weekend and make a final push for the playoffs with our No. 7 Gainbridge Chevy. Hopefully, we can learn a couple things Friday night in the Xfinity Series car so we can be there at the end and race for a win both nights." - Justin Haley

"I’m always excited heading into the superspeedways. We’ve shown a lot a speed this year on drafting-style tracks, so I’m confident this weekend won’t be any different. We know what’s at stake, but we won’t let the pressure bother us, we’re going to show up and do what we do best and be in position at the end." - Zane Smith

"It’s our last chance - the last race before the playoffs start. We all know what we’re trying to do, and we’re definitely going to try to get one of our Spire Motorsports cars in. It’s a great opportunity for us and a new partner onboard with Fly Alliance. Justin [Haley] has won there, and I’ve won there. We’ve had strong speedway cars this year and the time has come. Unfortunately, we put ourselves in this predicament where it comes down to the last race to get into the playoffs, but we know what we’ve got to do." - Michael McDowell

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

Today at Frontstretch:

Friday Faceoff: What 2026 NASCAR Schedule Changes Stand Out the Most?

by the Frontstretch Staff

Fire on Fridays: Can Cody Ware Be the Hero We Need to Fix the NASCAR Playoffs?

by Anthony Damcott

4 Burning Questions: Does the 2026 Schedule Fix Anything?

by Tanner Marlar

Dropping the Hammer: Does NASCAR Really Care About ‘Tiny’ ARCA?

by Mark Kristl

Bringing the Heat: Cole Custer Evaluates Season in Haas’ First Year

with Caleb Barnes, Cole Custer, Trey Lyle and Michael Massie

Tomorrow at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Daytona, Milwaukee, VIR and Madison.

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