Episode Details

RYAN PREECE WINS DAYTONA! 🏁 The NASCAR Cup Series regular season delivered one final dose of Daytona chaos as Ryan Preece captured his first career points-paying Cup Series victory in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway — and secured the 16th and final spot in the 2026 NASCAR Chase.

This week on Mash The Gas, we break down everything from a wild Saturday night at Daytona, set the field for the return of The Chase, catch up on New Hampshire and get you ready for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

And we have somebody who experienced Daytona firsthand — NASCARSky was at Daytona International Speedway all weekend long! If Sky sounds a little different this week, you'll quickly understand why. Her voice is absolutely cooked after a weekend of fan excitement, cheering and yelling at the World Center of Racing. She gives us her perspective from the track and what it was like being there for NASCAR's dramatic regular-season finale.

🏆 RYAN PREECE GETS IT DONE AT DAYTONA

What a night for Ryan Preece and RFK Racing.

Preece entered Daytona 31 points behind Shane van Gisbergen for the final Chase position and nearly saw his hopes disappear after being involved in an incident at the end of Stage 1. Instead, the No. 60 team repaired the car, Preece fought his way back through the field and put himself in position when it mattered most.

Then came the final lap.

Zane Smith was leading when contact from Tyler Reddick sent Smith spinning and triggered a massive multicar crash on the backstretch. Preece avoided the carnage and was ahead of Daniel Suárez when NASCAR displayed the caution, giving Preece his first career points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Preece ultimately finished the regular season 17 points ahead of SVG, completing an incredible turnaround to grab the final Chase position.

🏁 THE 2026 NASCAR CHASE FIELD IS SET

Twenty-six races are complete, and now the championship fight begins.

Denny Hamlin enters The Chase as the No. 1 seed, followed by Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe. Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suárez, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric and Ryan Preece complete the 16-driver field fighting for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

We break down the points, championship favorites, drivers with work to do and who we believe could make some serious noise over the final 10 races.

🦞 CATCHING UP ON NEW HAMPSHIRE

Kevin is back from his New England vacation, and we're also explaining why there wasn't a Mash The Gas episode last Monday.

That means we've got some catching up to do from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Ryan Blaney went back-to-back at Loudon, scoring his third victory of 2026 and the 20th NASCAR Cup Series win of his career.

We'll hit the biggest New Hampshire storylines before turning our attention back to Daytona and the championship battle ahead.

🔥 THE CHASE BEGINS AT DARLINGTON

There couldn't be a more appropriate place to begin the championship fight.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 and the first race of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

The Southern 500 goes green Sunday, September 6 at 5 p.m. ET, with the championship contenders facing one of the toughest races of the entire season at the legendary Track Too Tough to Tame.

🏁 THIS WEEK ON MASH THE GAS:

🏆 Ryan Preece's first NASCAR Cup Series points win
 🔥 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Daytona recap
 🎙️ NASCARSky's firsthand experience from Daytona
 💥 The massive final-lap Daytona wreck
 📈 Preece's incredible Chase-clinching comeback
 ❌ Shane van Gisbergen misses