Blaney was 13th with two laps to go but muscled his Team Penske Ford to the front and surged slightly ahead as he led the pack to the checkered flag. He beat Daniel Suarez<\/a> by 0.031 seconds, Justin Haley<\/a> by 0.036 seconds and Cole Custer<\/a> by 0.049 seconds.<\/p>\n Erik Jones<\/a> was fifth and Chris Buescher<\/a> sixth. Any of the drivers behind Blaney would have been first-time winners this season and claimed the final spot in the 16-driver playoff field.<\/p>\n But Blaney, a former series champion already locked into the field, denied them of the Cinderella moment. His victory assured that Bowman, who crashed early in the race and had to watch for more than three hours on TV to learn his fate, would race for the championship this season.<\/p>\n The first 19 cars across the finish line were all within a half-second of Blaney, who wound up second in the regular-season standings. Daytona 500 winner William Byron<\/a> had already wrapped up the regular-season title.<\/p>\n “What a wild couple last laps,” said Blaney, who waited until the end to aggressively move through traffic. “It’s definitely not as traditional a way as we like to run them, we like to lead laps and things like that. We just couldn’t really get there until the last second.”<\/p>\n Suarez, who is being replaced at Trackhouse Racing at the end of the season, was disappointed not to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n “All in all a good car. Just not enough and a little too late,” Suarez said.<\/p>\n Haley, who is likely to be replaced at Spire Motorsports at the end of the year, also was frustrated. Haley and Spire’s only Cup Series win came in this race in 2019, when it was shortened by rain while Haley was the leader.<\/p>\n “It hurts, especially with the year the 7 car has had. We obviously had a rough season,” Haley said. “You’re counting them down and just trying to play everything out. It stings, but still a good night.”<\/p>\n NASCAR Sprint Cup Playoff Field<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin (4 wins) Buescher said coming up short of the playoffs would force him to “just be mad about it for a while.”<\/p>\n “Not trying to pout, just I’m proud of this team,” he continued. “It was a great night. We certainly had a shot and had the speed again, so want to be excited about that, and I am, but man, it’s just another one of those we had the ability to win this race, had the speed, had the handling, and no Champagne to celebrate.”<\/p>\n The victory was on brand for Team Penske, winner of the past three Cup Series championships. Joey Logano<\/a> won in 2022, Blaney in 2023 and Logano again last year.<\/p>\n The team has won those titles by overcoming summer slumps and then turning it up when the playoffs begin. Blaney’s won snapped an 11-race losing streak for Penske and Ford.<\/p>\nRyan Blaney celebrates after coming from behind to win the NASCAR regular-season finale at Daytona on Saturday night.\u00a0Sean Gardner\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Shane van Gisbergen (4 wins)
Kyle Larson (3 wins)
Christopher Bell (3 wins)
William Byron (2 wins)
Ryan Blaney (2 wins)
Chase Briscoe (1 win)
Bubba Wallace (1 win)
Joey Logano (1 win)
Ross Chastain (1 win)
Austin Cindric (1 win)
Josh Berry (1 win)
Austin Dillon (1 win)
Tyler Reddick
Alex Bowman<\/p>\n