What NASCAR fans said after Ryan Blaney’s Daytona move put Alex Bowman into the playoffs

Ryan Blaney braved a four-wide finish to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and opened the door for Alex Bowman's playoff berth. With the playoff picture finalized, fan reactions poured in on the HMS driver's lucky break.

Bowman got collected in a 12-car crash in Stage 1 and was unable to continue further. His DNF locked in Tyler Reddick's spot in the playoffs, while Bowman's hopes hung in the balance.

With three laps to go, three of the four frontrunners were chasing their maiden win of the season when Kyle Larson broke from Ryan Preece's draft and opened up the third lane. Blaney was running in 14th at the time and latched onto the outside line to make his way up front.

The final lap saw Blaney battle with Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer, and Justin Haley, any of whom would've ousted Bowman from the playoffs if Blaney hadn't edged out a win. NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass shared an X post on the result, writing,

"Blaney wins. Bowman makes playoffs."

Bob Pockrass

@bobpockrass

Blaney wins. Bowman makes playoffs.

Fans reacted to Alex Bowman's last-minute playoff entry, with one noting how any other result would've been unjust.

"Honestly glad a guy already in the playoffs won. Dude in the top 10 in points should never miss the playoffs"

Another fan commented that the HMS driver owes one for Blaney.

"Bowman better take Blaney out for dinner tomorrow night. Top 6 cars, only 1 had won, it was Blaney. Sheesh. What a drive"

Here are more reactions from fans:

"Easily the best plate race in this car. 3 wide moves that actually worked, and a 4 wide finish. Can't be mad at that one!!," a fan wrote.

"Awesome finish but… all of that for another Ryan Blaney superspeedway win 🤦‍♂️," another said.

"Does this rival the Earnhardt comeback at Talladega? Wasn’t he 18th with 5 to go? Wonder where Blaney was with 5 to go🤷🏻‍♂️," an X user commented

"A clean finish, no OT at Daytona. Thats a win," a fan penned.

Alex Bowman enters the postseason with zero playoff points to his name. His immediate rival Tyler Reddick has a marginal lead with two points.

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Alex Bowman reflects on his Daytona wreck

Midway through Stage 1, Bubba Wallace was running three-wide when Kyle Larson pushed him. Wallace got squirrely into Logano and collected Kyle Busch in the process.

The ensuing chaos got the best of Alex Bowman as well, and he retired with heavy damage to his car. In a post-race interview with Speedwaydigest, Bowman shared if he could've avoided the whole ordeal.

"Being in front of it is really about all I could do, unfortunately. 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," he said.

Alex Bowman now heads to Darlington Raceway for 367 laps around the 1.366-mile track. He finished dead last in the running order during his previous outing at the track.