Ross Chastain Takes Daytona Pole as NASCAR Chase Bubble Gets Interesting

Ross Chastain couldn’t have picked a much bigger night to earn his first pole of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.The Trackhouse Racing driver will lead the field to green Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway after capturing the pole for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the final race before NASCAR’s return to The Chase.Chastain posted a 48.808-second lap at 184.396 mph in the final round of qualifying Friday, edging Chris Buescher for the top starting spot. Buescher qualified s