2015 Coke Zero 400

Background , the track where the race was held.Kevin Harvick entered Daytona with a 53-point lead over Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano entered 57 back, Jimmie Johnson entered 70 back, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 71 back. Changes During the Xfinity Series' Alert Today Florida 300 earlier in the year, a crash occurred in which Kyle Busch slammed into a concrete wall just past the exit to pit road, breaking his leg and sidelining him for the first eleven races of the Sprint Cup season. In response to the accident, the entire outer wall of the race track was fitted with SAFER barriers. The grass near the entrance of turn 1 and towards the exit of the tri-oval, where Busch's accident occurred, were paved over. Entry list The entry list for the Coke Zero 400 was released on Monday, June 29 at 11:41 a.m. EDT. Forty-five cars were entered for the race. All but the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford driven by Ryan Blaney were entered for the previous race at Sonoma Raceway. Driver changes for this race include Bobby Labonte in the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford normally driven by Mike Bliss, Brian Scott in the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet normally driven by Alex Kennedy, and Brett Moffitt returning to the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. ==Practice==

First practice Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.492 and a speed of . Ten minutes into the session, Brad Keselowski made contact with Kyle Busch and sent him spinning in the middle of the pack. Michael Annett, Trevor Bayne, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Sam Hornish Jr., Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. were all collected in the wreck. ==Qualifying==

, seen here the week before at Sonoma Raceway, was awarded the first starting spot as a result of qualifying being canceled. Two rounds of single-car qualifying were scheduled to take place on Saturday at 4:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, but were cancelled due to rain. The lineup was set by first practice results. So Dale Earnhardt Jr. was declared as the polesitter per the NASCAR rulebook. “I asked Greg (Ives, crew chief) before we went out to practice what we were trying to accomplish in that first practice and that was the first thing he mentioned was to go out that first run and try to put a lap down because the weather wasn’t looking real good for today," Earnhardt said. "That was his decision. It ended up working out for us.” Despite posting the 22nd fastest lap in first practice, Ryan Blaney failed to make the race. When qualifying is rained out, NASCAR's rules state that the number of attempts a race team has made determines the starting lineup before practice times. As a result, the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford failed to qualify for the first time in seven years. “I really hate this for Motorcraft/Quick Lane and all of our guests,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said in a release. “We’ve been lucky. This is the first time this has happened since we started part-time in 2009. We’ve dodged a lot of bullets, including last time in Michigan. This one got us, but if it has to happen, I’d rather it be for something we can’t control instead of for a lack of performance on our part.” Starting lineup ==Race==

The race was scheduled to begin at 8:04 p.m. EDT on Sunday, but was delayed by rain that had been falling all afternoon. The green flag eventually fell at 11:42 p.m, marking the longest start delay of the race since the 2005 race. Race finished at 2:40 am EDT on Monday First half Start Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the field to the green flag at 11:42 p.m. Austin Dillon drove to Earnhardt's outside on the backstretch to lead the first eight laps. The first caution of the race flew on lap 3 for a multi-car wreck exiting turn 4. It started when David Gilliland tried to drop in behind Earnhardt on the inside line, failing to see Clint Bowyer, and got turned around by Bowyer, and ten cars piled in. The race restarted on lap 9. Earnhardt passed Dillon going into three to take the lead on lap 10. While trying to pass Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch got loose and pounded the wall in turn 2 on lap 17. To make matters worse for Busch, the race remained green. The second caution of the race, a scheduled competition caution to allow teams to check tire wear, flew on lap 26. Jimmie Johnson exited pit road with the race lead. Biffle and Kyle Busch were tagged for having too many crew members over the wall to service the car and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field. Gaughan was busted for both speeding on pit road and running the stop/go sign on pit exit. He was held a lap on pit road and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field. “This is really frustrating,” said Edwards. “I never have flat tires. Goodyear does a pretty job. We got it back together, and then this happened.” The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 86 for a multi-car wreck in turn 2, when Kyle Larson spun, and Edwards spun trying to avoid him, then was hit from behind by Brian Scott, submarining under Edwards' car. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also spun, but was able to save his car. Denny Hamlin exited pit road with the lead. Allmendinger, Edwards, and Larson were tagged for pitting before pit road was open and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field. Larson was also held a lap on pit road for running the stop/go sign at pit exit. Kyle Busch and Dillon were tagged for too many crew members over the wall to service the car and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field. "I was following Jeff Gordon up through there and he got shuffled out and I kind of committed to him and we started moving back up there pretty good," Almirola said. "I was happy about the momentum we had and next thing I know some cars got together on the inside, and I heard the noise and heard them start to spin. ... It is a game of inches here sometimes, and I think a couple feet more forward and we wouldn't be in this. It stinks. I am certainly disappointed." "I had a lot of fun tonight," said Earnhardt, who led a race-high 96 laps. "Our car was fast. I had to block a lot and you’ve got to run real, real hard to win here." As the field raced to the checkered flag, Harvick tapped Hamlin from behind, instigating a massive wreck involving at least 24 cars. In the resulting chaos, Hamlin struck Dillon's car at such an angle that it flipped and flew over two lanes in the air into the catch fence, ripping out the engine. The car hit one of the fence poles at about 190 miles per hour and came to an almost complete stop. The crash left a 60 foot gaping hole and a bent post in the catchfence. Dillon's car landed back on the track upside down, coming to a rest at the exit to the pit road, and was then hit again by Keselowski, who spun in oil while trying to avoid the crash. The impact was similar to Bobby Allison's 1987 Winston 500, Geoff Bodine's 2000 Daytona 250, Carl Edwards 2009 Aaron's 499, and Kyle Larson's 2013 DRIVE4COPD 300 wrecks. Five fans were injured by debris, with one taken to Halifax Medical Center and later released, while the other four were treated and released from the infield care center. Upon coming to a stop, Dillon was helped out of his car by Earnhardt's and Mears's pit crews to loud cheers, and walked away. He was treated and released from the infield care center with a bruised tailbone and forearm. == Post-race ==

Driver comments "It was very vicious," Dillon said of the crash. "It's twisting you around in there, and the belts are loosening with each hit, so the hits are getting more and more violent. By the fourth hit, you've separated enough so that the fourth one is going to hurt more than others. I held on to the steering wheel as hard as I could. I'm sure I'm going to find more bumps and bruises during the week, but right now I feel all right. It was just crazy. It's part of this racing. Everybody is pushing as hard as they can — pushing in a tight pack. I was pushing the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the people behind are pushing me, It was just a wad right there at the end. At these speedway races, you're just praying and hoping that you get through it. I thought the wreck was over and I was sliding on the roof. I thought, 'We made it. We made it.' And then there was a big bang. I think it was the 2 car (Keselowski) that ran into me. Literally I had just got done stopping and crew members were everywhere. I thought that was really cool and special. It was comforting to me. They got to me pretty quick. I just wanted to get out of there and let the fans know I was OK." Dillon also spoke about the safety of the fans. "It's not really acceptable, I don't think," Dillon told reporters after exiting the care center. "We've got to figure out something. Our speeds are too high, I think. I think everybody could get good racing with slower speeds. We can work at that, and then figure out a way to keep the cars on the ground. That's the next thing. We're fighting hard to make the racing good. I hope the fans appreciate that. We don't, but it's our job. You go out there and hold it wide open to the end and hope you make it through." "You are just on the verge of tears," Earnhardt said in victory lane. "I saw everything in the mirror pretty clearly ... I just was very scared for whoever that car was. I didn't care about anything except figuring out who was OK. The racing doesn't matter anymore." "I'm shocked that Austin Dillon is even alive," said Jimmie Johnson after finishing runner-up. "I expected the worst when I came back around." == Race results ==

Race statistics • 22 lead changes among 12 different drivers • 9 cautions for 43 laps • Time of race: 2 hours, 58 minutes, 58 seconds • Average speed: • Dale Earnhardt Jr. took home $300,040 in winnings Race awards • Coors Light Pole Award: None • 3M Lap Leader: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (96 laps) • American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Carl Edwards • Duralast Brakes "Bake In The Race" Award: Austin Dillon • Freescale "Wide Open": Jimmie Johnson • Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Kurt Busch (10 positions) • MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #88 • Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (131.9 driver rating) • Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver of The Race: Austin Dillon (crew chief Richard Labbe (0.022 seconds)) • NASCAR Sprint Cup Leader Bonus: No winner: rolls over to $140,000 at next event • Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Casey Mears (Lap 78, 44.490, ) • Sunoco Rookie of The Race: Matt DiBenedetto ==Media==

Television The 2015 Coke Zero 400 marked the return of NBC Sports to NASCAR, as part of a new ten-year deal replacing TNT and ESPN as broadcaster of the second half of the season; it was the first race broadcast by NBC since the 2006 Ford 400. Rick Allen, 2000 race winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled pit road for the television side. Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race from the booth when the field was racing through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco tower outside turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 & 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform on the inside of the track towards turn 3 when the field was racing down the backstretch. Kurt Becker called the race from the Sunoco tower outside turn 4 when the field was racing through turns 3 & 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side. ==Standings after the race==

;Drivers' Championship standings left Daytona with a 63-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. ;Manufacturers' Championship standings • Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings. ==Note==