Team Penske star Ryan Blaney produced the goods late on at Daytona on Saturday night to win the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale in dramatic fashion, crushing several of his rivals' playoff dreams in the process.
Heading into the final two laps of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Blaney was languishing down in 13th as the likes of Cole Custer, Justin Haley, and Daniel Suarez harbored hopes of a win that would see them make the cut.
However, running on the outside, things opened up for Blaney as Custer made a move to the inside, with Haley choosing to block him, slightly halting both of their momentum as the No. 12 roared on.
Blaney ultimately crossed the finish line ahead of his rivals in an almost four-wide photo finish, with the No. 12 having just half a car length or so on the aforementioned names and their machinery. The winning margin was just 0.031 seconds.
Blaney’s victory has huge implications for the playoffs, with the field now locked in and including Alex Bowman, who had faced a nervous wait after retiring from the race early with damage.
Had any of Suarez, Custer, Haley, or another new winner have taken the win, the Hendrick Motorsports star would not have made the cut. He and Tyler Reddick can now breathe a sigh of relief, however, having locked up the last two spots via points.
With that said, let’s get into the full results below.
Here are the full results from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.
Race results
1. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, Team Penske, Ford 2. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet 3. Justin Haley, No. 7, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet 4. Cole Custer, No. 41, Haas Factory Team, Ford 5. Erik Jones, No. 43, Legacy Motor Club, Toyota 6. Kyle Larson, No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 7. Chris Buescher, No. 17, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Ford 8. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 9. Josh Berry, No. 21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford 10. Chase Elliott, No. 9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 11. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 12. Michael McDowell, No. 71, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet 13. Christopher Bell, No. 20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 14. Ryan Preece, No. 60, RFK Racing, Ford 15. Ross Chastain, No. 1, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet 16. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet 17. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, Legacy Motor Club, Toyota 18. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Ford 19. William Byron, No. 24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 20. Cody Ware, No. 51, Rick Ware Racing, Ford 21. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 23XI Racing, Toyota 22. Ty Dillon, No. 10, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet 23. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 24. Austin Dillon, No. 3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 25. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 26. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet 27. Joey Logano, No. 22, Team Penske, Ford 28. Joey Gase, No. 44, NY Racing Team, Chevrolet 29. Casey Mears, No. 66, Garage 66, Ford 30. Austin Hill, No. 33, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 31. Zane Smith, No. 38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 32. BJ McLeod, No. 78, Live Fast Motorsports, Chevrolet 33. Kyle Busch, No. 8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 34. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet 35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, HYAK Motorsports, Chevrolet 36. Alex Bowman, No. 48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 37. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 23XI Racing, Toyota 38. Noah Gragson, No. 4, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 39. Austin Cindric, No. 2, Team Penske, Ford 40. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 23XI Racing, Toyota
Stage 2 results
1. Ross Chastain, No. 1, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet 2. Christopher Bell, No. 20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 3. Joey Logano, No. 22, Team Penske, Ford 4. William Byron, No. 24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 5. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, Legacy Motor Club, Toyota 6. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 7. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, Team Penske, Ford 8. Ryan Preece, No. 60, RFK Racing, Ford 9. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 10. Ty Dillon, No. 10, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet
Stage 1 results
1. Kyle Larson, No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 2. Ross Chastain, No. 1, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet 3. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, Team Penske, Ford 4. Michael McDowell, No. 71, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet 5. Justin Haley, No. 7, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet 6. Joey Logano, No. 22, Team Penske, Ford 7. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 8. Ryan Preece, No. 60, RFK Racing, Ford 9. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 10. Christopher Bell, No. 20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota