Ryan Blaney clinched a dramatic victory at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday night, edging Daniel Suarez by an astonishing 0.031 seconds in the 160-lap Coke Zero Sugar 400. This win marked Blaney’s 15th career triumph and his second win of the season, guaranteeing his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Blaney’s victory also played a crucial role in saving teammate Alex Bowman’s playoff chances, after Bowman’s race was cut short by a 12-car crash.
Blaney, a Ford driver, surged from 13th to first in the final two laps by working closely with fellow Ford competitor Cole Custer. Entering the last lap, Custer led the pack, followed closely by Blaney and Justin Haley. As the cars came out of turn four, Blaney made a decisive move to the front and managed to resist fierce three-wide challenges from Suarez, Haley, and Custer to take the win.
Strategic Drafting and Teamwork Lead to Victory
Blaney highlighted the teamwork behind his late charge, explaining how he and Cole Custer collaborated strategically during the race‘s final stages.
“What a wild last couple laps! I was with Cole. I kind of asked him on the restart (with eight laps remaining), if you go to the top I’m going with you,”
Blaney remarked after the race. He recounted how they “waited and waited,” then seized the right moment when Custer made a move to the top lane, enabling them to gain powerful momentum.
Blaney added,
“A couple good guys behind us and then it kind of cleared the way for us when the 7 (Haley) and 41 (Custer) got racing and I was able to clear on the top and just barely hold out for the win.”
This coordinated push helped Blaney claim the pole-to-victory triumph, the first at Daytona since 2015, and Roger Penske’s sixth victory at the iconic track.
Alex Bowman’s Playoff Fate Hinged on Blaney’s Win
Alex Bowman’s night at Daytona was cut short by a massive 12-car accident only 27 laps into the race. His Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was heavily damaged on the front stretch, a crash triggered by a chain reaction involving Bubba Wallace’s 23XI Racing Toyota weaving in front of Joey Logano’s Team Penske Ford before impacting Kyle Busch’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Bowman noted,
“From where we were, there just really wasn’t any way to get around it. All of the hits just sort of compounded too much to be able to fix it.”
Despite his early exit, Bowman’s playoff hopes were saved thanks to Blaney’s dramatic win. Before the event, Bowman and Tyler Reddick occupied the final two playoff spots available by points, with Reddick holding a 29-point edge. However, only one driver could advance on points if no new winner emerged, putting tremendous pressure on both competitors.
After the race, Bowman playfully promised Blaney “7 million beers” for securing the win that saved his playoff berth. Blaney responded with a grin,
“Oh, I’ll take 5 million, I’ll save him some money.”
—Ryan Blaney, NASCAR Driver
Tyler Reddick Faces Setbacks in Playoff Battle
Tyler Reddick‘s night spiraled downhill early when he was involved in a collision with Todd Gilliland on lap 18 as they exited turn four. Reddick’s Toyota slammed nose-first into the SAFER barrier, damaging his car severely. He was able to limp into the pits for repairs but described his car as “pretty destroyed.”
Reflecting on the incident, Reddick said,
“It was a really awful mistake to make so early in the race. As a driver, you never want to make a mistake like that, that early.”
—Tyler Reddick, NASCAR Driver
Reddick acknowledged the team’s struggles throughout the season.
“We just haven’t executed and capitalized,”
he said,
“It seems like all year long we’ve been having to bail each other out of mistakes and bad choices. We’re going to have to clean it up, and we’re going to have to be forced to do that in the middle of the playoffs.”
This tough season leaves Reddick seeded 14th in the playoffs, with a long road ahead after finishing 21st in this race.
Race Statistics Highlight a Competitive Night
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 featured 44 lead changes among 19 drivers, with Blaney and teammate Joey Logano each leading 27 laps. Despite several crashes and eight caution periods covering 39 laps, the race finished without injuries. After the major twelve-car accident, officials paused the event for eight and a half minutes to clear the track.
This win from the pole was a notable achievement, as it marked the first time since 2015 that a Daytona race winner started from the pole position. Roger Penske, team owner of Blaney and Logano, celebrated his sixth Daytona win overall.
RFK Racing Falls Short in Playoff Push
RFK Racing had multiple contenders hoping for a late-season breakthrough to secure playoff spots; however, misfortune struck again. Brad Keselowski showed promise by running in the top 10 for a significant portion of the race but ultimately finished 18th.
Ryan Preece led briefly with three laps at the front but lost momentum near the end, finishing 14th. Preece lamented his near victory, saying,
“Man, I felt like we were gonna win that race. You want to talk about having the best scenario play out for how we wanted it to, I was just leaving the 7 (Justin Haley) there. The 17 (Chris Buescher) was doing a great job just letting him stay there and there’s nothing you can do.”
He added,
“The problem is, you know, the 9 (Chase Elliott) and the 5 (Kyle Larson) were worried about their teammate that would have been bumped out, so it was a tough situation. I thought we were gonna win that one because we did everything right today and it just didn’t work out.”
—Ryan Preece, NASCAR Driver
Chris Buescher also pushed for a strong finish, running second to Joey Logano until Logano’s spin with 10 laps remaining disrupted Ford’s draft pairing. Buescher fell back and finished seventh, explaining,
“We got up there and was side-by-side there with the 22 (Logano). We only got there for about two laps, and I thought that was gonna be a really good spot and let us be able to duke it out.”
He continued,
“When the yellow flag waved for Logano’s spin, I lost track position and got boxed in.”
—Chris Buescher, NASCAR Driver
Trackhouse Confirms Connor Zilisch’s Promotion to NASCAR Cup Series
The day following his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series win, 19-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch’s future was cemented when Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks confirmed Zilisch will step up to full-time competition in the NASCAR Cup Series next season. This move fills the seat vacated by Daniel Suarez’s announced departure in 2026.
Marks reflected on the decision, stating,
“A number of years ago, when we started kind of thinking about the three-year, five-year and the long-term vision of this company, it became apparent as we got established in this series that we needed to start making investments in our future and start cultivating our future. Connor really stood out. I watched him race the Trackhouse Motorplex, watched him as he went to Late Models and then Trans Am, and then got an opportunity to be his teammate in the Trans Am race at VIR just to sort of see how he operates. He won that race by about 45 seconds over the field. It was really kind of that moment that we felt like making an investment in Connor.”
—Justin Marks, Trackhouse Racing Owner
Zilisch’s existing sponsorships with Red Bull and WeatherTech will continue into the Cup Series, though the car number for his debut season will be announced at a later date.
Official Final Results of the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400
1. (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford – 160 laps
2. (12) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet – 160 laps
3. (37) Justin Haley, Chevrolet – 160 laps
4. (29) Cole Custer, Ford – 160 laps
5. (26) Erik Jones, Toyota – 160 laps
6. (3) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet – 160 laps
7. (24) Chris Buescher, Ford – 160 laps
8. (18) Ty Gibbs, Toyota – 160 laps
9. (11) Josh Berry, Ford – 160 laps
10. (30) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet – 160 laps
11. (28) Todd Gilliland, Ford – 160 laps
12. (20) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet – 160 laps
13. (15) Christopher Bell, Toyota – 160 laps
14. (31) Ryan Preece, Ford – 160 laps
15. (19) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet – 160 laps
17. (34) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota – 160 laps
18. (10) Brad Keselowski, Ford – 160 laps
19. (8) William Byron, Chevrolet – 160 laps
20. (35) Cody Ware, Ford – 160 laps
21. (27) Tyler Reddick, Toyota – 160 laps
Other notable finishes include Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Briscoe completing the top 25, with several drivers involved in late crashes finishing lower.
Implications for the NASCAR Playoffs
With the regular season finale completed, the playoff field confirmed remains highly competitive. Ryan Blaney secured the fourth seed by virtue of his victory while Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman took the 14th and 16th seeds after difficult nights on the track. The playoffs will begin over Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, promising intense battles as teams look to capitalize on their positions.
This race underscored the thin margins and high stakes at Daytona, emphasizing the importance of teamwork, strategic drafting, and split-second decisions. Blaney’s win from the pole injects momentum for Team Penske while Bowman’s survival into the postseason extends the narrative of a driver overcoming setbacks. The upcoming playoff rounds will test these drivers’ consistency and resilience as the championship chase intensifies.
