NASCAR at Daytona 2016: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More

Welcome to one of the wildest weekends of the year, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400.

Where to start? Last year, the race went right on into Monday morning thanks to delays and ended prematurely after one of the most dangerous-looking wrecks in the sport's history, one featuring ghastly wreckage and injured fans.

And just last week, a guy by the name of Tony Stewart seized a checkered flag to throw the Chase for a loop. Others like Dale Earnhardt Jr. are still on the outside looking in, scratching their heads.

Here's everything you need to know about the event.

Viewing Details

Where: Daytona International Speedway

When: Saturday at 7:45 p.m. ET

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Sprint Cup Standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Kyle Busch	452	3
2	Carl Edwards	510	2
3	Brad Keselowski	506	2
4	Jimmie Johnson	469	2
5	Kevin Harvick	562	1
6	Kurt Busch	527	1
7	Joey Logano	493	1
8	Martin Truex Jr.	469	1
9	Matt Kenseth	430	1
10	Denny Hamlin	421	1
11	Chase Elliott	473	0
12	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	413	0
13	Ryan Newman	402	0
14	Austin Dillon	400	0
15	Jamie McMurray	398	0
16	Kasey Kahne	385	0

NASCAR at Daytona Lineup

Car No.	Driver
1	Jamie McMurray
2	Brad Keselowski
3	Austin Dillon
4	Kevin Harvick
5	Kasey Kahne
6	Trevor Bayne
7	Regan Smith
10	Danica Patrick
11	Denny Hamlin
13	Casey Mears
14	Tony Stewart
15	Clint Bowyer
16	Greg Biffle
17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18	Kyle Busch
19	Carl Edwards
20	Matt Kenseth
21	Ryan Blaney
22	Joey Logano
23	David Ragan
24	Chase Elliott
27	Paul Menard
30	Josh Wise
31	Ryan Newman
32	Bobby Labonte
34	Chris Buescher
35	David Gilliland
38	Landon Cassill
41	Kurt Busch
42	Kyle Larson
43	Aric Almirola
44	Brian Scott
46	Michael Annett
47	AJ Allmendinger
48	Jimmie Johnson
55	Reed Sorenson
78	Martin Truex Jr.
83	Matt DiBenedetto
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.
95	Michael McDowell
98	Cole Whitt

Drivers to Watch

Tony Stewart 

Smoke hasn't been much of a factor on the ovals as of late, but last week he grabbed his first win of the season on the road curves of Sonoma, leading 22 laps before hitting Victory Lane.

Oddly enough, Stewart has been so far out of the picture that the win doesn't give him an automatic bid. He's 32nd when one sorts the leaderboard by points, which means he needs to jump two spots to secure his bid.

It might be easier said than done for Stewart, who before last weekend finished 12th or worse in six of eight starts. But he parlayed a seventh-place finish in Michigan into the Sonoma win and took a moment to thank his fans after the fact: 

Stewart needs all of nine points to get where he needs to be, and once he's in the Chase, anything can happen.

That's a tough task at a track where some of the sport's other big names dominate.

Austin Dillon

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

One can't mention the Coke Zero 400 and leave out Austin Dillon.

Dillon was the subject of the aforementioned wreck, which Fox Sports: NASCAR packaged into an incredible presentation to promote this year's event:

How the wreck has impacted the sport has been a hot topic of debate, but in a vacuum, Dillon is healthy and ready to chase his first win of the season while quelling his nerves.

A former member of the top 10, Dillon sits 14th when sorted by points, and he's finished 22nd or worse in two of his past three outings. In fact, he has just six top-10 finishes this season, though if there's a silver lining, he did land ninth at the Daytona 500 after starting 21st.

Expect the broadcast to feature the No. 3 car Saturday, though if Dillon is lucky, it will be because of his contending for a checkered flag rather than the scary accident one year ago.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This is the week Earnhardt turns it around, right?

He has yet to win and has finished outside of the top 10 in three of his last four outings; the exception was a second-place showing at Pocono that he failed to carry over into Michigan from a momentum standpoint.

But here's the catch—Earnhardt won this race last year. Cut short or not, he led 96 laps and displayed his usual restrictor-plate-racing dominance. FoxSports.com's Tom Jensen explained why history says this weekend should see Earnhardt win:

"

For his career, Earnhardt has 10 restrictor-plate track victories. No one else in the field has more than five. Like his late father, Junior is a master at plate tracks, which is a highly specialized skill. In four plate races last year, Earnhardt had two victories and an average finish of 1.75.

"

Indeed, Earnhardt seems to understand the opportunity, as captured by Nationwide 88:

Earnhardt will have to deal with a rejuvenated Stewart and other major names such as Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, but Daytona is his yard.

After a first for Stewart last week, Earnhardt might be next.

Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.