Coke Zero Sugar 400 takeaways: Where did Ryan Blaney come from during Daytona NASCAR race?

DAYTONA BEACH — Daytona did Daytona things again.

With two laps to go in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, Ryan Blaney was invisible. He wedged his No. 12 Team Penske Ford firmly into the middle of the pack — 13th, to be exact.

But during those final two laps, he maneuvered his way to the front. And he won the race.

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For the second time this NASCAR Cup Series season, Blaney headed to Victory Lane. That certainly helped a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver.

Alex Bowman made the playoff field despite falling victim to the Big One in Stage 1. He and Tyler Reddick cracked the postseason on points.

Let’s break it all down as the regular season concludes.

1. Ryan Blaney wows late at Daytona International Speedway

Blaney started and ended the night out front.

He began on the pole and closed Stage 1 in third behind stage winner Kyle Larson. Ross Chastain claimed the second stanza.

By the final moments, Blaney had sunk to the middle of the leaderboard and the back of people’s minds. Erik Jones and Justin Haley battled for No. 1.

Then, Blaney sped up the outside lane and simply beat those two and everyone else. He led 27 laps.

It’s the second career Daytona win for the 31-year-old. He previously captured the summer race in 2021. Blaney extended his overall total to 15 career triumphs.

2. How NASCAR playoff field shook out

Reddick and Bowman entered with reasons to be worried. 

Both were in playoff position. Bowman sat just 29 points behind Reddick for the 15th position. But a new victor would steal one of their spots.

Things got dicey early, with Reddick bringing out a caution on Lap 19 and then Bowman catching a dozen-car wreck on Lap 27. That eliminated Bowman from the race and solidified Reddick into the 16-driver competition. Reddick finished 21st.

Blaney’s victory clinched Bowman’s entry, despite the latter placing 36th.

Lot of almost-maybes, though.

Six of the seven cars immediately following Blaney were non-playoff drivers trying to crash the party.

3. NASCAR schedule: Playoffs ignite at Darlington

The conclusion of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 means the beginning of something else.

The Cup Series playoffs.

Darlington Raceway plays host to the first of three races in the Round of 16, the Cook Out Southern 500. It will receive the green flag at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, and air on USA.

As a whole, the postseason will include 10 races. The first three comprise the Round of 16, the next three the Round of 12 and the next three the Round of 8. It will whittle down to one last race among the final four drivers on Nov. 2 at Phoenix.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona NASCAR race results: Ryan Blaney wins Coke Zero Sugar 400