This past Saturday night at Daytona, NASCAR ended its regular season and set the stage for the final ten weeks of the season. But, it’s still not time to shut the book on NASCAR’s cutoff race. So, who were the biggest losers from NASCAR’s weekend at Daytona International Speedway?
Not only did Kyle Busch not make the playoffs, nor did he win the final race of the regular season, but he didn’t even get a chance to finish stage one. At least they got the car back out there, right?
Last year, everyone blamed RCR for Busch’s performance, which was understandable. Busch won three races in the first half of 2023, looked to be back in form, but nosedived to kick off one of RCR’s worst seasons since Kevin Harvick’s departure (which says a lot). Busch even came close to winning several times, including back-to-back races before the 2024 playoffs.
This year, there isn’t much to say. Busch’s average start and average finish are up, but the team is not in winning form, which is nothing new to NASCAR, but is a similar funk the team was in towards the latter half of 2023. Driver or team, this season for KFB has been flat-out miserable.
Okay, hear us out for a minute. Parker Kligerman is not a loser by common definition; he is not a victim of his own failures, he is a victim of the rule book, be that overtime policies, disqualifications, or substitute driver rules throughout the past two seasons.
For those unfamiliar, Kligerman probably should have probably won his first Xfinity Series race during the overtime race at the Roval last fall, and in the Truck Series race at Daytona earlier this year, he was disqualified after winning the race. Now, he finds himself a winner by action but not by definition, having brought home Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 with a win Saturday night.
While this win may not be in the NASCAR record book, if the fans treat this race the way they do Aric Almirola and Denny Hamlin at Milwaukee in 2007, it will be remembered as his win, rather than Zilisch’s. Hey, at least RacingReference cares.
Oh boy, did Ryan Blaney save us from another week of playoff talk, though we ensure you will hear it in our next entry.
You had four non-playoff drivers allow the one playoff driver to slip by for a win, and luckily enough, it not only saved the playoff discussion but the superspeedway discussion, as someone with a credible superspeedway background won a clean race.
Nonetheless, had Daniel Suarez won, it would have been a great story; had Erik Jones won, it would’ve been STP’s first Daytona win since 1984, and if Justin Haley had won, despite his current stats, it would absolutely save his spot with Spire.
But had Cole Custer won this race, there was a possibility that NASCAR would have had online backlash beyond that of Harrison Burton and Joey Logano last season. Burton had worse stats than Custer, and no matter how good a feel-good story it would’ve been, it’s probably for the best that Custer didn’t win.
Well, as advertised, we need to talk playoff format, and you know who didn’t win, but still made their way into the group picture at the finish line in Daytona? Chris Buescher.
So far this season, Buescher has the seventh-best average finish of all active drivers and did not make the playoffs, over the likes of SVG’s 21.1 average finish and Austin Dillon’s flat 20. Of course, if you look at the old ways of scoring points, you will likely notice that he would be a solid ninth on old points (barring outside factors like racing style and method of points collection).
You know who else didn’t make it into the playoffs? Ryan Preece is having a rebound year for the ages. His boss, Brad Keselowski, who, over the past ten races, has become his same old consistent self despite his miserable start to 2026, is also not going to make the playoffs one year after snapping his two-year streak of absences.
This is the second year in a row that Buescher missed the playoffs and the first time since 2022 that an RFK Ford is not a part of the fun. Everyone knew three cars would be hard, but what’s left to say when you had a solid first three-car season but still came up short?
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As the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season gets underway, The Daily Downforce is once again tracking how fans feel about race broadcasts throughout the year, just as we did last year. This ratings tracker exists to capture fan feedback in a clear, consistent way across the entire season for each TV partner.
After each Cup Series race weekend, we will post a fan poll asking one simple question: “How would you rate this weekend’s Cup Series broadcast?” And fans can vote and comment based on their overall viewing experience. This article will be updated weekly with the most recent race’s numbers added to the tracker.
Participation is quick and open to everyone.
| Week | Network | Race | Votes | Good | Average | Bad | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FOX | Bowman Gray Clash | 368 | 16% | 43% | 42% | Check the Poll HERE |
| 2 | FOX | Daytona 500 | 989 | 42% | 46% | 12% | Check the Poll HERE |
| 3 | FOX | Atlanta | 771 | 43% | 43% | 14% | Check the Poll HERE |
| 4 | FOX | COTA | 918 | 25% | 53% | 23% | Check the Poll HERE |
Remember to follow The Daily Downforce on X to catch each weekly poll, share your thoughts, and be part of the conversation.
Two NASCAR Cup Series crew members for Ross Chastain’s No. 1 team were suspended following the race at Circuit of the Americas
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
