The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway marked the end of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season and the beginning of the playoff chase, with all 16 postseason spots now secured.
Ryan Blaney clinched the race as he surged forward from 13th place to first in the last three laps of the night. Blaney was closely followed by second-place driver Daniel Suárez by only 0.031 seconds.
The night was not without chaos, as on the 27th lap, a 12-car pileup on the frontstretch took place. Collisions were triggered by contact between Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Busch.
“Everything was happening pretty quickly there,” Wallace said in a post-race interview with NBC Sports. “The hit from 5 (Larson) shoved me down there, and I got shoved by 22 (Logano), and then 12 (Blaney) moved up. He was just trying to move up and take the lane.”
Wallace was caught in the middle of the wreck as multiple cars converged on the same lane.
“I thought we were playing all of our cards right,” he later told NBC Sports. But just in the blink of an eye, which is what happens here at Daytona, it can be all taken away from you.”
The pileup took Alex Bowman out of the race and he could only watch as his playoff chances hung in the balance, depending on whether a first-time winner outside of the playoff picture took the checkered flag.
Tyler Reddick was also caught in the wreck, but his crew was able to repair his car, and he finished in 21st place, which was enough to secure his place in the postseason.
In the closing laps, Blaney took the lead and beat Suárez at the finish line by just 0.031 seconds, a close victory for car number 12.
Justin Haley finished third, narrowly missing his chance at the playoffs.
Blaney’s victory, his second of the season, did not change the playoff standings and instead finalized the field. Bowman and Reddick claimed the final two playoff spots, while Wallace and Logano were left on the sidelines after the wreck.
The Cup Series now shifts to Darlington Raceway, where the 10-race playoffs will begin with the Southern 500. After the chaos of Daytona, the chase for the 2025 championship is officially underway.
Thanks for the clear, concise summation of the race and its effects on the standings going forward. I understand where this NASCAR season’s at and what to look forward to. Thanks, Ava Traill!!
Love this coverage of NASCAR! What a race!