Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
Tyler Reddick clinches last playoff spot and Kyle Larson wins Regular Season Championship at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway unfolded as billed with dramatic action all Saturday night that included 45 lead changes, a 14-minute Red Flag period and a wild final lap of overtime to decide the championship Playoff picture.
Ultimately, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney managed it all and took his second NASCAR Cup Series victory in as many weeks as a huge multi-car accident happened behind him in the last corners of the track on the final lap.
Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford led only seven of the 165 laps, but the 27-year-old North Carolinian took the lead from fellow Ford driver Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher for the two laps of overtime to claim his third win of the season and seventh of his career.
Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick earned the 16th and final Playoff position with a fifth-place finish in a close and suspenseful battle with his own teammate Austin Dillon.
“How about that,” Blaney said. “That was a lot of fun. Gosh, we just barely missed that wreck. Got to line up on the front row and got a good push by the 7 (Corey LaJoie). You never know how the end of these things is going to play out. Down the back you don’t know what lane is getting a bigger run. I guess someone got tangled up over there, hopefully everyone is okay.”
LaJoie was one of the drivers who was collected in that nine-car crash in Turn 3 on the final lap. He was one of four drivers – including Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez – running among the top-10 on the final restart and needing a victory to qualify for the Playoffs. Instead, all four of them were unfortunately involved in the final incident that eliminated much of the front-running pack.
Kyle Larson, who has a series-best five wins on the season, clinched his first NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship with a 21st-place finish. Both he and Denny Hamlin were in the last lap wreck. Hamlin, who has led the points standings for all but three of the previous 25 race weekends, finished 14th.
Blaney’s Daytona wins caps an impressive summer run that is good enough to move him into second place in the Playoff standings – 28 behind Larson – heading into next week’s Playoff opener at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch are ranked third and fourth in the Playoff re-set, followed by 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Hamlin and William Byron. Joey Logano, who led a race best 37 laps Saturday but finished 24th, is seeded ninth, followed by his Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, this year’s Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola, Reddick and Kevin Harvick.
“Got good momentum,” Blaney said smiling. “Nice to make it three in a row. We’ll see.”
Bubba Wallace, who led eight laps late in the race, finished second – his best result of the 2021 season. Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five; a season best for Newman and Preece as well.
Haley was sixth, followed by Alex Bowman, who won the Xfinity Series race earlier in the afternoon. Chase Elliott, B.J. McLeod and Josh Bilicki rounded out the top 10. It was McLeod’s first top-10 finish in 76 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
The 10-race elimination style NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin with next Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kevin Harvick is the defending race winner. Martin Truex Jr. won at Darlington this spring.
UPDATED: No. 17 Disqualified
NASCAR Cup Series Race – 63rd Annual Coke Zero Sugar 400
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Saturday, August 28, 2021
1. (6) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 165.
2. (20) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 165.
3. (23) Ryan Newman, Ford, 165.
4. (24) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 165.
5. (17) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 165.
6. (28) Justin Haley(i), Chevrolet, 165.
7. (15) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 165.
8. (5) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 165.
9. (30) BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 165.
10. (36) Josh Bilicki, Ford, 165.
11. (21) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 165.
12. (8) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 165.
13. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 165.
14. (19) Aric Almirola, Ford, 165.
15. (11) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 165.
16. (33) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
17. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
18. (29) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
19. (26) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
20. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
21. (16) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, Accident, 164.
22. (12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 164.
23. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 164.
24. (25) Cole Custer, Ford, 164.
25. (9) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 164.
26. (32) Anthony Alfredo #, Ford, 163.
27. (40) David Starr(i), Ford, 163.
28. (31) Cody Ware(i), Chevrolet, 163.
29. (7) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 163.
30. (34) Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, 163.
31. (37) Joey Gase(i), Ford, 162.
32. (14) Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 157.
33. (10) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 156.
34. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 156.
35. (38) Kaz Grala(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 156.
36. (39) Landon Cassill(i), Toyota, Accident, 146.
37. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, Accident, 146.
38. (35) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 136.
39. (18) Michael McDowell, Ford, Engine, 23.
40. (13) Chris Buescher, Ford, 165.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 142.201 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 54 Mins, 3 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 31 laps.
Lead Changes: 45 among 15 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Larson 0;W. Byron 1-6;K. Harvick 7-8;W. Byron 9;D. Hamlin 10-13;W. Byron 14-15;D. Hamlin 16;W. Byron 17;A. Dillon 18-19;C. Elliott 20-41;J. Logano 42-43;C. Elliott 44-52;R. Newman 53;C. Elliott 54-55;M. Truex Jr. 56;C. LaJoie 57;M. Truex Jr. 58-69;C. Bell 70-76;J. Logano 77-94;R. Blaney 95-96;J. Logano 97-101;A. Dillon 102;R. Newman 103;W. Byron 104-105;D. Hamlin 106-107;K. Harvick 108;C. Elliott 109;K. Harvick 110;J. Logano 111;R. Chastain 112-113;R. Blaney 114-116;R. Chastain 117-123;B. Wallace 124;R. Chastain 125-126;B. Wallace 127-128;R. Chastain 129;B. Wallace 130;R. Chastain 131-132;B. Wallace 133-136;K. Busch 137-141;C. Bell 142;J. Logano 143-153;C. Buescher 154;C. Elliott 155-156;C. Buescher 157-163;R. Blaney 164-165.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Joey Logano 5 times for 37 laps; Chase Elliott 5 times for 36 laps; Ross Chastain 5 times for 14 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 13 laps; William Byron 5 times for 12 laps; Christopher Bell 2 times for 8 laps; Bubba Wallace 4 times for 8 laps; Chris Buescher 2 times for 8 laps; Denny Hamlin 3 times for 7 laps; Ryan Blaney 3 times for 7 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 5 laps; Kevin Harvick 3 times for 4 laps; Austin Dillon 2 times for 3 laps; Ryan Newman 2 times for 2 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 9,11,18,42,19,3,7,22,37,20
Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,3,24,8,5,12,47,18,23,20
”Our Boy” “Preece Lighting” Did Us Proud Last Night. Might Have Even Pulled It Off! Can”t Wait For Talledega!!
Maybe you Cup series devotees can make sense of that mess in Daytona last night but I sure can’t.
Stage one Preece gets a top 10 so it’s clear they have a good car for this one.
Stage two Stenhouse gets a top 10 so both cars are having their moments.
Twenty to go 47 is 10th, 37 us 14th. So far so good.
15 to go 47 is 15th and Preece is back in 26th.
5/4 to go Preece is in the thick of it in the 5th to 8th range, is perfectly positioned when the wreck comes up high but still spins as all hell is breaking loose.
37 is 19th with two to go then 14th on the final lap as yet another wreck unfolds in front of Preece and only by divine provenance somehow squeezes through as cars are spinning and crashing all around him.
Then Buescher get’s DQ’s to make the finish even better.
Good for our man Preece but that was not racing. It was a concocted reality show where you construct an environment that results in mayhem and survival. Entertainment for sure but not racing.
I know this was a NASCAR Wire Service release so I hate to have to point out the mistake, but Justin Haley was the one who won the Xfinity Series race earlier in the afternoon, not Alex Bowman.
I Get Your Point. It’s Scary Watching It On TV.I Guess ( In A Way ) You Can Blame Ernie Elliott For Restrictor Plates. NASCAR Still Trying To Figure Something Out To Keep Smaller Teams From Getting “Smoked” At Super Speedways. I Think One More Race Like That, Then We Will See About Next Gen Car Next Year.
Not that it’s important but I should have said divine providence.
I was a better fan of Cup twenty years ago then now but it seems like the driving is different. At go time they treat the race like they’re on a short tract with radical moves, blocking and sucking up so tight on each other the crashes are inevitable. They crash and they crash again and they still do the same things that promote the crashes.
Tough way to make a living. Preece obviously saw everything caving in on him yet somehow it all moved out of his way by the time he got to it. What made it especially ironic is he was low when the wreck came on lap 4. He was golden and had nothing but daylight in front of him with an opportunity to go right to the front but spun the car.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he wakes up in a cold sweat after a race like that.
They have to do SOMETHING about the BLOCKING, thats NOT RACING!!!!!!!!, U HAVE a stupid yellow line rule but you allow guys from lap 1 to checker block anyone in all lanes, car are safer but someone is going to die from the blocks!! If a guy has a run on you, so be it, atleast thats racing, any IDIOT Can pull in front and block/wreck another.
When will they learn, Someone is gonna get killed in these HIGH SPEED DEMO DERBY’S … Horrible horrible event…. Glad Ryan got a Top 5, but it was terrible event.. Notice I didn’t say RACE,,,No no no an
event with total carnage of equipment… Stupid waste….. Get this FIXED before we lose another DRIVER
Newman was SUPER lucky to survive His horrible wreck , When will they Learn ???????
Guys Are We Forgetting About The New Car! I Mentioned It Earlier! One More Race Like This. I Lost My “HERO” On February 18th 2001!! I Know What Your Saying, I Think Next Gen Car Will Make A Difference.
Only Reason I Renewed My Loudon Tickets.
I Also lost another HERO on October 24, 1985. and on September 16 20017. I Get It About Close Racing! Teddy Did Not Die In Car. But Love Of Racing Just The Same, It’s A Dangerous Sport, We Love It And Hope No Gets Hurt! I Have Been Following It Since 1972. If You Heard Of Him. “Wild Bill Greco ” As Known Me Since I Was Eight Years Old My Mom Loved BOBBY STEFANIK. He Was Before “MIGHTY MIKE” R.I.P. Mike Was Awsome!!!
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36340288/nascars-reveals-ford-chevrolet-toyota-next-gen-racer/
You’re right the change to the Next Gen car is huge and the changes mind boggling. Thoughts on exactly how it changes the races at Daytona and Talladega for the better making them safer.
better racing at lebanon valley
Real race cars do not have mirrors or radios (and per many that like USAC, no wings as well). No mirrors+No Radios=less blocking. Works well at many different places.