Ryan Blaney triumphs at Daytona, clears path for HMS rival’s NASCAR championship bid

Team Penske's Ryan Blaney claimed the Coke Zero Sugar 400 victory at the Daytona International Speedway and wrapped up the regular season championship for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. With this win, Blaney cleared the way for Alex Bowman as the Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified for the NASCAR playoffs.

The #12 driver came home ahead of Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez and picked up his second win of the season. He finished 0.031 seconds ahead of Suarez, as Justin Haley, Cole Custer, and Erik Jones finished in the top five positions.

Blaney started the race from the pole, ahead of Bowman, but dropped to third place by the end of Stage 1. In Stage 2, he further moved down to seventh place but returned on top in Stage 3, and took the Checkered Flag after leading 27 laps in total.

Bowman, who faced a wreck in Stage 1 of the race qualified for the playoffs as Blaney won the race. Had it been Suarez, Bowman would have been out of the contest for the trophy. Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, and Chase Elliott made the Top 10.

Besides Bowman, Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, another driver without a win this season, also qualified for the playoffs, as Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Daniel Suarez among many others, failed to make it to the next round. The Round of 16 race, the Cook Out 500 at Darlington Raceway will take place next weekend.

Ryan Blaney let his feelings known following Daytona victory

Following his emphatic win at the Daytona International Speedway, Ryan Blaney shared his thoughts. Speaking to the media after the race, here's what the Team Penske driver said:

Ryan Blaney (12) enters Victory Lane after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

“What a wild last couple of laps. I was with Cole (Custer). I kind of asked him on the restart, if you go to the top I’m going with you. We kind of just waited and waited and then the opportunity came, and he made a good move to get to the top, and we were able to really get good shoves."

"A couple good guys behind us and then it kind of cleared the way for us when (Justin Haley) and (Custer) got racing, and I was able to clear on the top and just barely hold out for the win," Blaney further added.

Thanks to his win, Ryan Blaney improved to fourth place in the regular season standings, ahead of Christopher Bell, and was behind Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin. Blaney's Penske teammates, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric also qualified for the playoffs.

About the author

Sabyasachi Biswas is a passionate motorsport journalist for Sportskeeda, with a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has over eight years of experience in the field and has over 10000 published articles on the internet.

As a dedicated follower of motorsport, Sabyasachi watches events closely, ensuring his reports are thorough and supported by reputable sources. He is inspired by Max Verstappen’s fearless attitude and dreams of attending the Indian GP if it returns to the calendar. An ardent F1 fan over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel and is now following Verstappen's dominant journey on the track.

Apart from F1, he is a big-time NASCAR and football (also soccer) fan. Sabyasachi supports Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Spanish club, Real Madrid.

He was a sub-junior level footballer and won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak by nature, Sabyasachi likes to try different cuisines and learn about new cultures. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys soccer, geopolitics, and playing with Khushi & Ubbu - his adorable beagles.

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Edited by Sabyasachi Biswas