Daytona II Event Info:
Date: Saturday, Aug. 23
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Format: 160 Laps, 400 Miles, Stages: 35-90-160
TV: NBC
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 3 p.m. ET, Xfinity Qualifying (CW App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 5:05 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 7:30 p.m. ET, Xfinity Race (CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 7:30 p.m. ET, Cup Race (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- NASCAR heads to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the annual summer event, and the last regular-season Cup Series race before the start of the playoffs.
- Sam Mayer (9.5) is tied with Connor Zilisch (9.5) for the best average finish among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season.
- Mayer has finished inside the top two in each of his previous three races at Indianapolis (2nd), Iowa (1st) and Watkins Glen (2nd).
- He has started inside the top 10 in nine of his last 10 starts dating back to Nashville Superspeedway in May, including his lone pole of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three weeks ago.
- Mayer (799) sits third in the regular-season points standings behind Justin Allgaier (816) and Zilisch (823) with just three races remaining before the start of the playoffs.
Cole Custer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: Haas/Bonanza
Sheldon Creed Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: Ollie’s
Sam Mayer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Audibel
Custer at Daytona (Cup)
Starts: 7
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
- Custer makes his eighth Cup start at Daytona this weekend, where he has a best finish of 11th and led a lap in 2021. Earlier this season, he was leading on the final lap before an incident resulted in a 21st-place finish.
- His best start came in 2020 (12th), and he boasts a 22.3 average starting position.
- Custer has two top-10 results in 10 Xfinity Series starts at Daytona, while also making one Truck start in 2016.
Creed at Daytona (Xfinity)
Starts: 8
Wins: —
Top-10s: 5
Poles: —
- Creed is set to make his ninth Xfinity start at Daytona on Saturday, where he is coming off a third-place finish earlier this year. In his last four starts, he has led 30 laps and finished inside the top-10 in each race.
- He has started inside the top 10 in seven of his eight starts and carries a 6.6 average starting position into the weekend.
- Creed also has a pair of top-10 results in three career Truck Series starts.
Mayer at Daytona (Xfinity)
Starts: 8
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- Mayer is in line for his ninth Xfinity start at Daytona this weekend, coming off a runner-up finish in the first race of the season. He has led 28 total laps across eight career starts and has an average finish of 21.6.
- His best start was on fourth in 2022, and he holds an average starting position of 18.6.
Where They Stand
Cup Points Standings (41: 34th): Custer is 34th in the Cup Series points standings with 307 points heading into Daytona this Saturday.
Xfinity Points Standings (41: 4th, 00: 10th): Mayer sits fourth in the Xfinity points standings with 799 total points on the season, behind the three multi-winners, while Creed is in 10th place with 625 points.
