Winner, complete order of finish predictions for NASCAR regular season finale at Daytona

The finale of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season is on the docket for Saturday, and Daytona International Speedway will be the cathedral.

The regular season championship is on the line, as Denny Hamlin is looking to miraculously catch teammate Martin Truex Jr. for the title. However, it’s the final spot in the playoffs that’s more notably up for grabs.

Bubba Wallace currently holds it via points, with Ty Gibbs hoping to pass him, but a driver outside the cut line could always win their way in and shock the world. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman will be looking to do exactly that, and there will be plenty of fans who hope to see it come to fruition.

Ahead of Saturday’s highly-anticipated race, the folks over at Racing Insights have predicted how the race will shake out.

According to Racing Insights, “Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.“

Winner, complete order of finish prediction for Daytona, via Racing Insights:

1) No. 11 Denny Hamlin
2) No. 9 Chase Elliott
3) No. 6 Brad Keselowski
4) No. 17 Chris Buescher
5) No. 22 Joey Logano
6) No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
7) No. 12 Ryan Blaney
8) No. 4 Kevin Harvick
9) No. 16 AJ Allmendinger
10) No. 8 Kyle Busch
11) No. 5 Kyle Larson
12) No. 24 William Byron
13) No. 1 Ross Chastain
14) No. 23 Bubba Wallace
15) No. 20 Christopher Bell
16) No. 2 Austin Cindric
17) No. 54 Ty Gibbs
18) No. 99 Daniel Suarez
19) No. 43 Erik Jones
20) No. 10 Aric Almirola
21) No. 48 Alex Bowman
22) No. 45 Tyler Reddick
23) No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
24) No. 7 Corey LaJoie
25) No. 14 Chase Briscoe
26) No. 41 Ryan Preece
27) No. 34 Michael McDowell
28) No. 31 Justin Haley
29) No. 3 Austin Dillon
30) No. 38 Todd Gilliland
31) No. 21 Harrison Burton
32) No. 77 Ty Dillon
33) No. 42 Josh Berry
34) No. 78 BJ McLeod
35) No. 51 J.J. Yeley
36) No. 36 Riley Herbst
37) No. 62 Austin Hill
38) No. 15 Brennan Poole
39) No. 13 Chandler Smith

Alas, it makes sense to see Denny Hamlin at the top, as he’s been phenomenal at Daytona throughout his career, but seeing Chase Elliott finish P2 would just be cruel. To come so close and miss the playoffs by that much would sting the former Cup Series champion.

Of course, nothing is set in stone from Racing Insights’ predictions, but paints a fascinating picture. At the most unpredictable track is NASCAR, everyone has a shot to get a victory, we’ll find out who gets it done on Saturday.