Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

Coke Zero 400: Massive Daytona wreck destroys cars, collects NASCAR playoff contenders

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones08/24/25brianjones_93
NASCAR logo (3)
Pool Photo-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Content Services, LLC

A massive wreck occurred during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona on Saturday night. Multiple drivers were involved, including Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Riley Herbst and Austin Cindric. It was reported that Wallace got the worst of it, and Bowman’s car had to be towed back to the garage.

Other drivers who were involved in the crash were Denny Hamlin, Noah Gragson, Joey Logano, Austin Hill, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar. The wreck happened at Lap 27, and a red flag was waved for cleanup.

The wreck led to Bowman getting a DNF, which is big because he is holding on to the final playoff spot. He can still clinch a spot in the playoffs if a repeat winner wins the Daytona race. But if a new driver wins on Saturday night, Bowman will be eliminated since Tyler Reddick has clinched.

The Daytona wreck was costly for a few NASCAR drivers

Before the race, Bowman shared his reaction to being on the playoff bubble and possibly working with Reddick to clinch a playoff spot. “After the stages, we might be each other’s best friend. It is weird; it’s a really weird situation to be in,” Bowman told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “There’s a lot of winners, right? We’re ahead of half of them in points, but it’s the situation we’re in. We’ve got to do our best to make it happen. It sucks that we’ve let a couple slip away this year, but it’s where we’re at.”

Because of the wreck, Busch was eliminated for playoff contention. This is the second consecutive year that the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will not compete in the playoffs. On Friday, Busch talked about how the 2025 season has been frustrating.

“It certainly does,” Busch said, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “We’ve had the exact year that we had last year. I just looked at the points after Watkins Glen – we have scored three points less this year than we did last year. Literally three after 24 events and everything that could happen, we’re in the same position.”