DAYTONA BEACH (Fla.) -- Despite all the possible outcomes at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night, the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale was somewhat predictable.
Ryan Blaney was victorious for the second consecutive week. Kyle Larson was the dominant driver throughout the year and took home the trophy for the regular season. Tyler Reddick finished 16th, the final playoff spot. The race came to an abrupt halt after a fiery crash involved almost half of the field.
It's Daytona. Martin Truex Jr., 2017 series champion, said that it was "no different than any other race in here." He placed 30th. "I'm glad that we're finished; I'm glad that we're out here."
He wasn't the only one. The revamped aerodynamics package was criticized by drivers who lamented the aggressive driving that led to three crashes in the last 20 laps.
Reddick was caught in the first, but he recovered to finish sixth. To earn his first playoff spot, he needed to beat Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing's teammate.
Reddick, Dillon and others were in contention for the win in the last-gasp sprint to the finish in overtime. Blaney, however, was second on the restart and cleared traffic partly thanks to Corey LaJoie's bump. He was also well ahead of the pack at the time that the race was stopped by a crash.
Daniel Suarez was one of the 10 drivers trying to win the race in front to earn an automatic playoff berth. He turned Kevin Harvick around to start the multi-car melee. Kurt Busch seemed to push Suarez into Harvick.
Blaney, who was the Michigan winner last week, will be entering next week's playoff opener in Darlington Raceway. He has three wins this season with his Team Penske Ford.
Blaney stated, "Yeah we've got great momentum." "We'd love to make it three consecutively, but we'll just have to wait and see."
Because 15 of 16 playoff slots had been claimed before the regular season finale, there were very low stakes. Reddick and Dillon could be beaten for the final spot if they were first race winners.
Both had an uneventful night. Reddick's car was damaged in an earlier accident, and Dillon was flagged first for speeding on pit roads. Dillon also experienced voltage problems in his Chevrolet.
"I don’t know how I can smile at this moment." Reddick stated that it was quite a bit of work tonight. "I'm happy to have gotten past it."
Dillon was still fourth on the final restart, but was taken out in the race-ending crash.
Dillon stated, "We did everything we could to win and fought until it was over." "We will finish this year hard and continue to work next year."
Larson, a five time winner, was the only competition at Daytona. Larson and Denny Hamlin were in the race for regular-season champion and playoff points. Larson was 28 points behind Denny Hamlin when they arrived at Daytona.
Hamlin held the lead in regular-season for 22 weeks, until Larson took it at Indianapolis two races ago. Larson won the title by overcoming a 166 point deficit to Hamlin.
Rick Hendrick, the team owner, said that Larson had an amazing year. He gave Larson a job after he was suspended for using a racist slur.
Chris Buescher came in second place, just one spot shy of the automatic playoff berth he wanted. Ford came in second, but it was only a 1-2 result.
Buescher stated, "To miss the playoff spot by one place, that's an awful ending to a day." "I'm certain I'll take it back and find another way to do it."
Bubba Wallace finished third in the season, but was frustrated that he didn't have any help from any Toyotas towards the end. Hamlin, the 23XI Racing team owner, was Wallace's closest Toyota driver at the finish, coming in at 14th.
Wallace stated, "I get frustrated sometimes. I'm the one who gets called on for not working with my teammates and I'm left hanging." Ford is in victory lane because they work together.
MCDOWELL'S MISS
This season, Michael McDowell was first and last in the superspeedway races at Daytona.
Surprise Daytona 500 winner McDowell blew his engine Saturday under caution and was out of the race after 23 laps. McDowell won the Daytona 500 and secured a playoff spot. His early exit did not affect his chances of making the playoffs.
McDowell isn't feeling the momentum, having finished 20th or worse in the seventh consecutive race.
OVERDUE OVERTURE
NASCAR presented Wendell Scott and his family with a trophy to commemorate their historic 1963 win. Scott is the only Black driver who has won a race at NASCAR’s highest level.
Scott beat Richard Petty by 25 laps at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Dec. 1, 1963. However, Buck Baker was declared the Jacksonville 200 winner and received the trophy at victory lane.
Hours later, race officials found out that Scott had actually won the race and had lapped the entire field twice. He was not given the win for two more years and Scott's family has long advocated for proper celebrations.
NASCAR did the right thing on Scott's 100th Birthday.
OLYMPIC FLAIR
Noah Lyles, Olympic bronze medalist, served as grand marshal of the race and demanded more from the crowd.
Lyles, the favorite 200-meter runner who came in third in Tokyo, asked his fans for a louder response to his first attempt, which was a failure. Lyles said, "That's what we're talking about," before directing drivers to get their engines started.
Lyles was wearing his race medal and socializing with Bubba Wallace, the driver. Wallace was able to get a close-up view of the medal. Lyles' emotional breakdown after the 200-meter final made Japan headlines.
UP NEXT
Next Sunday's playoffs will begin at Darlington Raceway. The track recently repaved Turn 2, which could alter the racing experience. Kevin Harvick is currently the race winner. Martin Truex Jr. won the May race at the South Carolina track.
