# 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400

The 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on July 7, 2019 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 127 of the scheduled 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway, it was the 18th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was postponed from Saturday, July 6 to Sunday, July 7, due to rain. 20-year-old Justin Haley won the race, recording his first career Cup Series win and the first for Spire Motorsports after the race was called due to rain.

## Report
### Background

The race was held at Daytona International Speedway, a race track located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, the track is the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. It features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5 miles (4.0 km) high speed tri-oval, a 3.56 miles (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95 miles (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a .25 miles (0.40 km) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France, Sr. to host racing held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998 and today, it is the third-largest single lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved twice — in 1978 and in 2010.
On January 22, 2013, the track unveiled artist depictions of a renovated speedway. On July 5 of that year, ground was broken for a project that would remove the backstretch seating and completely redevelop the frontstretch seating. The renovation to the speedway is being worked on by Rossetti Architects. The project, named "Daytona Rising", was completed in January 2016, and it costed US $400 million, placing emphasis on improving fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances (called "injectors") as well as wider and more comfortable seating with more restrooms and concession stands. After the renovations, the track's grandstands include 101,000 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000. The project was completed before the start of Speedweeks 2016.

#### Entry list

* (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Quin Houff | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford |
| 52 | J. J. Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 62 | Brendan Gaughan (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota |
| 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice
### First practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.831 seconds and a speed of 200.754 mph (323.082 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 44.831 | 200.754 |
| 2 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 44.847 | 200.682 |
| 3 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 44.857 | 200.638 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 43.703 seconds and a speed of 205.936 mph (331.422 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 43.703 | 205.936 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 43.745 | 205.738 |
| 3 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 43.748 | 205.724 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying for Friday was cancelled due to inclement weather and Joey Logano, the point leader, was awarded the pole as a result.

### Starting Lineup

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 11 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 12 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 17 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 18 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 19 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 20 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 23 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 24 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 29 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 30 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 31 | 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 32 | 15 | Quin Houff | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 33 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford |
| 35 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 36 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 37 | 52 | J. J. Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 38 | 27 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 39 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 40 | 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official starting lineup |||||

## Race
### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 50
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendricks Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage Two Laps: 50
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage Three Laps: 27
The Big One occurred on lap 119 when Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon battled for the lead in intense drafting packs, leading to a 17-car crash. Kurt Busch was the leader when most leaders pitted, but when at the end of Lap 127, officials gave the signal the race would restart on the ensuing lap, Busch pitted, handing the lead to Justin Haley. When lightning was detected while the cars were on the backstretch working Lap 128, the safety truck turned on its lights and immediately sent the cars to the pit lane. After two further attempts to restart the race were aborted because of lightning, more rain led NASCAR to declare the race official. NASCAR then spent considerable time to score all penalties assessed for pitting before pit lane was opened before an official result was declared. Haley was declared the winner.
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 34 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 127 | 0 |
| 2 | 12 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 127 | 43 |
| 3 | 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 127 | 38 |
| 4 | 23 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 127 | 33 |
| 5 | 18 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 127 | 32 |
| 6 | 30 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 127 | 31 |
| 7 | 11 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 127 | 30 |
| 8 | 25 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 127 | 29 |
| 9 | 31 | 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 127 | 28 |
| 10 | 8 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 127 | 27 |
| 11 | 33 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 127 | 0 |
| 12 | 37 | 52 | J. J. Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 127 | 25 |
| 13 | 28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 127 | 24 |
| 14 | 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 127 | 23 |
| 15 | 29 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 127 | 24 |
| 16 | 20 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 127 | 21 |
| 17 | 22 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 127 | 20 |
| 18 | 24 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 127 | 19 |
| 19 | 39 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 126 | 0 |
| 20 | 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 126 | 22 |
| 21 | 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 126 | 25 |
| 22 | 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 126 | 16 |
| 23 | 17 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 125 | 14 |
| 24 | 19 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 125 | 25 |
| 25 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 125 | 23 |
| 26 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 125 | 14 |
| 27 | 40 | 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 125 | 0 |
| 28 | 35 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 124 | 0 |
| 29 | 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 124 | 15 |
| 30 | 38 | 27 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 122 | 0 |
| 31 | 36 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 121 | 0 |
| 32 | 26 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 119 | 5 |
| 33 | 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 118 | 14 |
| 34 | 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 118 | 13 |
| 35 | 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 118 | 15 |
| 36 | 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 118 | 9 |
| 37 | 32 | 15 | Quin Houff | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 108 | 1 |
| 38 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 86 | 1 |
| 39 | 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 85 | 3 |
| 40 | 15 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 83 | 6 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 24 among 14 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 6 for 25
* Red flags: 1
* Time of race: 2 hours, 14 minutes and 58 seconds
* Average speed: 141.146 miles per hour (227.152 km/h)

## Media
### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2000 Coke Zero 400 winner Jeff Burton and two-time Coke Zero 400 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called in the booth for the race. Steve Letarte called from the NBC Peacock Pit Box on pit road. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race. During the lengthy red flag for lightning, television coverage eventually switched over to NBCSN, where the official announcement of the end of the race was made.
NBC :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. NBC Peacock Pitbox: Steve Letarte Guest Analyst Reporter Jesse Iwuji | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN Radio :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker | Winston Kelley Kim Coon Steve Post Dillon Welch |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Joey Logano | 700 |
| | 2 | Kyle Busch | 682 (–18) |
| 1 | 3 | Kevin Harvick | 625 (–75) |
| 1 | 4 | Brad Keselowski | 613 (–87) |
| | 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 597 (–103) |
| | 6 | Denny Hamlin | 588 (–112) |
| | 7 | Chase Elliott | 585 (–115) |
| | 8 | Kurt Busch | 564 (–136) |
| | 9 | Alex Bowman | 534 (–166) |
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | 512 (–188) |
| 1 | 11 | Ryan Blaney | 508 (–192) |
| | 12 | William Byron | 498 (–202) |
| 1 | 13 | Jimmie Johnson | 474 (–226) |
| 1 | 14 | Kyle Larson | 473 (–227) |
| 1 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 444 (–256) |
| 2 | 16 | Ryan Newman | 443 (–257) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Toyota | 657 |
| 2 | Ford | 642 (–15) |
| 3 | Chevrolet | 610 (–47) |