By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Daytona Beach, Fla. — Inclement weather washed away qualifying at Daytona, and Ryan Blaney will take the field to the green flag to start the race. Fourteen of the 16 playoff positions are set, and Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman have a solid edge. Only a race win by one of 14 drivers not locked into the playoffs will knock out Reddick or Bowman.
Ryan Blaney leads the field to green.
Stage 1 ( Lap 35/140) Stage 1 Top 8
Blaney and Logano are 1-2 in the early laps, with William Byron serving his team’s penalty for unapproved adjustments. The top eight run single file. Byron goes a lap down on lap 7. The entire field avoids the bottom line. Casey Mears right rear tire goes down and he skims the wall to create the race’s first caution. Byron earns the free pass and is back on the lead lap. Blaney and Logano are 1-2 after the race resumes. Tyler Reddick and Todd Gilliland collide on lap 17 and Reddick is wadded up with multiple flat tires. His machine had fairly heavy damage. Ryan leads the field at the restart, but Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace push him to third.
On the front stretch beginning lap 27, a multi-car crash occurred off Turn 4 as Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch made contact while battling for third position. The incident involved several other drivers, with Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Denny Hamlin, Austin Hill, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Alex Bowman also sustaining damage in the aftermath. The race is red-flagged. Blaney and McDowell run 1-2 as the green flag is dropped with two laps to go in Stage 1. The playoff update shows its Bowman or a New winner who will take the final spots for the playoffs.
Stage 2 (35-95)
After pit stops between the two stages, Cody Ware and Keselowski race 1-2. By lap 80, It’s Preece, Briscoe, and Logano 1-3. Hocevar brings a caution on lap 82 as his car expires. The green flag is dropped on lap 87 and Byron and Elliott are 1-2 with Larson third. As cars begin to shuffle, Chastain, Bell, and Logano 1-2-3 giving all three manufacturers a spot in the Top 3.
Most of the field comes to pit road to top off with fuel and 60 laps to go in the race.
Final Stage
Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher cycle to the front. John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones become the new 1-2 on lap 108. Hamlin gets tire rub and loses his steering and brushes the wall. On lap 126 of 160, Joey Logano leads the race in the No. 22 Ford. The event has seen 33 lead changes among 16 different drivers, with seven cautions for 36 laps. Logano, who started fourth, has led 12 laps and holds a slim margin over Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson.
With 30 laps to go, Logano leads Buescher and Larson, with Briscoe 4th. BJ McLeod hits the wall and slides off the track, but does not bring a caution. With 20 laps to go, It’s still Logano with Erik Jones second and Buescherf third. Jones goes around Logano on the outside to take the lead with 18 to go before Logano pulls even. Jones retakes the lead with Logano second and Justin Haley third.
Thirteen laps are left, and Logano goes around in the infield grass, bringing a caution. Jones retakes the lead with Haley second and Larson third. Jones leads the field to green with eight to go. Preece, Haley, and Larson are the top 3 with five to go after Jones is pushed out of line.
Multiple reshuffles leave Haley out front with Buescher second and Larson third to start the final lap. With the constant jockeying, it’s Blaney, Saurez, and Haley 1-2-3. Cole Custer and Erik Jones are 4-5.
Making the playoffs as the last two drivers are Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman.
Checkered Flag
Ryan Blaney won the pole to enter the Coca-Cola 400. He rarely ran up front for most of the race but was there at the checkered flag. It was his second win of the season and his second win at Daytona. Blaney on running in the back. “I think we kind of just took what was given to us. Kind of how we played Stage 1, had to take a lot of gas in Stage 2, and I wasn’t going to make any ground so I went into max fuel save mode to where I could go a little bit earlier than other guys.”
They Said It…
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.
Stenhouse Jr. on the accident that ended the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet team’s race in Stage one: “I couldn’t really see anything. I got hit from about every direction after it happened. The No. 5 (Kyle Larson) got to the outside of the No. 22 (Joey Logano), which then in-turn, I think it put that row four-wide. I’m not sure what happened between the No. 22 and the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace). It was just really aggressive racing there. Our plan was to put our No. 47 Jack Link’s Duos Chevrolet towards the front and be at the front as much as possible. We got there, and I was in the position that I wanted to be in. I felt like we were going to get into turn one in probably fifth or sixth-place there and try to finish the stage out, but it didn’t happen.”
Fantasy Sports
The final race of the regular season is a Hail Mary for the drivers on the outside looking in and for my fantasy team. Bell and Reddick are on their final starts of the regular season, and William Byron and Chase Elliott have two races left. My biggest gamble is putting Brad Keselowski in my starting lineup. Keselowski has one top five and three top tens since 2022. He was calm, cool, and collected when speaking to him in media availabilities on Friday.
The team scored a paltry 135 points plus ten more for the
Tale of the Tape
What’s Next: The Cookout 400 takes place at Darlington on Sunday August 31st. (Sky View Sports will be there)
Roy J. Akers covers NASCAR for www.skyviewsports.net
