Daytona International Speedway’s Coke Zero 400

Daytona International Speedway’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola is the traditional halfway point of the season, the 18^th of 36 scheduled points races. Following Saturday night’s race (TNT, live 7:30 p.m. EDT) just eight events remain in the Race to the Chase – leading up to the 2012 edition of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™.

Victories are very much on every driver’s mind – whether it’s to gain Chase seeding or to qualify for the post season via the "wild card" route. Kentucky winner Brad Keselowski may be 10^th in the standings but his three victories would give the 28-year-old the No. 1 seed were the Chase to start this week.

Kyle Busch (12^th) continues to hold the first "wild card" but three drivers – Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano – are deadlocked in the battle for the second "card" with identical points counts. Each has a win but Kahne currently prevails thanks to a second-place finish in Kentucky. It’s all explained below.

Matt Kenseth has history as well as a second NASCAR Sprint Cup title on his mind. A Coke Zero 400 win would give the Daytona 500 winner the first Daytona season sweep in 30 years.

If it’s Daytona or Talladega, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a hot topic. The seven-time restrictor plate race winner could take over the championship lead this week, a position he hasn’t held in nearly eight years.

Austin Dillon stamped himself as a genuine NASCAR Nationwide Series championship contender with his first series victory last week at Kentucky Speedway. The win allowed the 22-year-old Dillon to pass Richard Childress Racing teammate Elliott Sadler for the standings lead. Dillon hopes to become the first to win NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck titles in back-to-back seasons.

Danica Patrick’s bid to become NASCAR’s first female to win a NASCAR national series event could come to fruition this week. Several reasons: She won the Coors Light Pole for Daytona’s February race, has more stock car experience at this track than any other and finished 10^th in last July’s event after leading with four laps remaining.

For the second time this season and seventh time in his career Timothy Peters returns to the top in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings following a top-five run at Kentucky. The series’ next event is the July 14 American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.