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NASCAR Results Today: Daytona – Ryan Blaney serves up playoff heartbreak in dramatic finish
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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.
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Who won the NASCAR Daytona race today?
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
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