DAYTONA, Fla. – Ryan Blaney drove from 13th to first in the final two laps at Daytona International Speedway in a photo-finish to end NASCAR’s Regular Season on Saturday.
The Hartford, Ohio native claimed his 15th career Cup win in the closest four-wide finish in NASCAR history, with a margin of 0.049 seconds from first to fourth. Blaney, the 2021 Summer Daytona winner, started on pole, led 27 laps and charged through the field to score the victory.
“What a wild last couple laps,” Blaney said after earning his second trophy of 2025. “I was able to clear on the top and just barely hold out for the win.”
Blaney restarted behind Cole Custer with eight to go, slicing through the pack until the moment was right. According to Blaney, the two agreed to run the top over the radio before the restart.
“We kind of just waited and waited and then the opportunity came and (Custer) made a good move to get to the top,” Blaney said. “We were able to really get good shoves.”
Blaney took the white flag in second with Custer leading. Justin Haley made a run from the inside lane down the backstretch, but Custer blocked, letting Blaney blast by on the outside.
“Definitely not a traditional way we like to run,” Blaney said regarding Team Penske. “We like to lead laps, and couldn’t really get there until the end, but got there when it mattered.”
Penske consistently runs at the front of the field, combining to lead 404 laps at drafting tracks in 2025. Blaney’s teammate, Joey Logano, also led 27 laps, but was in the center of two incidents.
The first took place on lap 27, after Logano got tight and split three-wide by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch. The contact triggered a 12-car incident, resulting in a nearly nine-minute red flag.
Austin Cindric, Logano’s teammate, Busch and Alex Bowman were all knocked out of the race. The wreck eliminated Busch, two-time champion, from Playoff competition for the second year.
Logano’s second round of trouble happened with 11 laps remaining when Logano spun out on his own from the race lead. Logano fell a lap down as a result and would finish in 27th place.
As for Bowman, Blaney’s win bailed him out of missing the race for the Bill France Cup. The race’s second through fifth place finishers all faced a must-win situation to make the Playoffs.
“Seven million beers,” Bowman said to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports when asked how much Bowman owed Blaney. Ultimately, Bowman survived the chaos and is grateful to move on.
Blaney jumped to second in the regular season standings ahead of Stage 1 winner Kyle Larson. Chase Elliott fell from second to fourth with a 10th-place finish to Larson’s sixth-place result.
Regular season champ William Byron joins Blaney, Larson, Elliott and Cindric in the playoffs. Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Shane Van Gisbergen each have at least three wins in 2025.
Stage 2 winner Ross Chastain, Logano and Cindric will also race for a championship. Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry and Austin Dillon complete the 2025 playoff field.
All three Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing entries will not qualify, despite Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece sitting inside the top 16 in points. JGR driver Ty Gibbs also missed the Playoffs.
The 75-year-old Darlington Raceway hosts the Southern 500 on Saturday, August 31. The fourth and final crown jewel race of the season kicks off the Playoffs at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network.