Blaney Goes Back-to-Back in Daytona, Playoff Field Set

Photo Credit to Logan Riely/Getty Images for NASCAR 

NASCAR

Ryan Blaney Earns Second-Straight Win at Daytona, 2021 Playoff Field is Final

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Only a week after winning in the Irish Hills at Michigan, Ryan Blaney got it done again. The 12 was in position to pounce in overtime at Daytona, and survived a last-lap wreck. Blaney and the Penske organization now enter the 2021 NASCAR Cup Playoffs with two-consecutive victories. In addition, the regular season champion and final Playoff spot were also determined in Daytona.

Calm Before the Storm in Stages

Saturday night under the lights at Daytona started off in thrilling fashion. Debuting a new superspeedway package, the lead was changing constantly from the drop of the green flag. The first run prior to the competition caution saw William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott swap the top spot amongst themselves. Elliott would go on to win Stage 1 as well.

Stage 2 was as dramatic but less clean for a few drivers. Exiting turn four one time, a stack-up throughout the pack sent Alex Bowman and Aric Almirola on a synchronized spin. Thankfully both were able to continue with minor damage. After blocking both lanes for lap after lap, Joey Logano picked up this Stage win. Playoff bubble driver Austin Dillon also finished a close second to the 22.

Strategy certainly picked up with 37 laps to go, as all of the Fords elected to pit under green. After they all took fuel only, they rejoined the race in their own mini-pack, trying to fend off the Chevrolets and Toyotas. This second pack would not have to pit under green however, as a caution with 20 to go saved them.

Bubble Drama Ramps Up

The first ‘big one’ of the night occurred when Martin Truex, Jr. got turned across the field. The 19 would collect the 24 of Byron, Chase Briscoe, and others. One casualty of this crash was Tyler Reddick, as his No. 8 machine was smoking heavily after contact. In a showing of true attrition and grit though, his RCR team repaired his Camaro well enough to stay in the race. This also saved Reddick’s Playoff hopes, as he tried to out-point Austin Dillon.

Once racing resumed with 10 laps left, it was game time. Joey Logano was quickly overtaken by Chase Elliott, as the 9 had four fresh tires. Elliott was blocking like a true veteran, trying to keep the pack in his mirrors. However, one block by Elliott was thrown a second too late. The 9 found the turn our wall ahead of Matt DiBenedetto, Denny Hamlin, and others. This crash would send the race into an overtime finish.

In overtime, Chris Buescher found himself leading in a must-win scenario. On the restart however, Buescher’s high line never got going, giving the advantage to Ryan Blaney. Blaney had the lead by the white flag, and was ahead of the field when carnage unfolded behind him. Entering turn three on the last lap, Daniel Suarez got turned into Kevin Harvick, and few escaped this chaos.

The caution came out for the crash immediately, giving Ryan Blaney the victory at Daytona. After earning his first multi-win season last week, Blaney now has back-to-back wins entering the Playoffs. Further back, the ailing 8 car of Reddick managed to finish sixth. This result proved to be enough to clinch the final Playoff position over teammate Austin Dillon. As a sophomore driver, Tyler Reddick is now going Playoff racing.

Blaney’s Winning Reaction

“It was wild,” Blaney said of the last few laps. “We missed that big one barely. I don’t know how we missed it and then we got a restart on the front row and it was kind of a drag race. I’m really thankful to LaJoie. He gave me a really good push and we were able to get clear on the restart, so I appreciate the push from him.

“I was having to hold off the 4 and the 17 and the 7 and I didn’t really know which lane to go with down the back, so I kind of picked the middle and I kind of committed to the bottom and I guess some people got turned. But what a couple of cool weeks that’s for sure.  It was a very eventful race. It’s so cool to be here in victory lane in Daytona. Maybe we’re on a roll right now and we’ve got everything going our way. Hopefully, we keep it up.”

Does the 12 Have Playoff Momentum now?

“Momentum is what everything is all about. Confidence is key and we came into this weekend very confident after last week with our heads held high. They’ll be a little bit higher this week, so I look forward to getting to Darlington. It’s a great way to end the regular season, but we’ve still got work to do. We’ve got 10 weeks of work to do and I’ll look forward to them.”

DQ Affects Finishing Results

Although Chris Buescher initially took the checkers in second, the 17 was found to have an illegal trackbar mounting assembly. As a result, Buescher was disqualified from Daytona.

Top 10 Results From Daytona

Behind Blaney, the top finishers were Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, and Ryan Preece, and Tyler Reddick. All of these drivers aside from Reddick faced must-win scenarios to make the Playoffs, and came up just short. Justin Haley, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, BJ McLeod, and Josh Bilicki rounded out the top 10.

Playoff Seeding Entering Round 1

By virtue of Hamlin crashing out, Kyle Larson clinched the regular season championship. To the 5 team go 15 extra Playoff bonus points, so he enters the 10-week chase as the top seed with 2,052 points. All the way back in 16th meanwhile is Kevin Harvick, as the 4 only has 2,002 points.

What’s Next in Cup

Race one of the NASCAR Playoffs is next weekend, the Cook-Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway. The oldest of the crown jewel races offers 16 drivers a ticket to the Round of 12 if they should win. Coverage begins Sunday, September 5 at 6:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Who will start the 2021 Playoffs on the right foot, and will anyone stumble out of the gates?

Written by Peter Stratta

Be sure to follow us on Twitter

Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter

Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images for NASCAR