If NASCAR wanted drama by putting a superspeedway race as the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale, Daytona International Speedway certainly delivered.
It wasn’t the night race promised, but in mid-afteroon on Sunday (Aug. 28), Austin Dillon came out on top in a 10-car, 16-lap shootout to end the Coke Zero Sugar 400, earning his fourth Cup win and first of the year, locking himself into the playoffs
His Richard Childress Racing teammate Tyler Reddick played tail-gunner over the final five laps to come home second, followed by Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric. Landon Cassill and Noah Gragson got surprise top fives, while Cody Ware and BJ McLeod earned career-best results in sixth and seventh.
Eighth wasn’t good enough for Martin Truex Jr. to advance on points to the playoffs, and David Ragan and Kyle Busch completed the top 10.
With Kurt Busch waiving his waiver days before the teams headed down to Florida, Ryan Blaney and Truex entered the weekend as the last two drivers able to enter the playoffs on points, and surely they hoped for an easy day at the World Center of Racing.
Unfortunately for both, their races were anything but.
The battle for the final playoff spot in a nutshell. #NASCAR #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/Q2hNeLm7xr
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) August 28, 2022
First, Blaney.
With five laps remaining in the first stage, Erik Jones got loose on the bottom, and the ensuing stack-up sent Denny Hamlin and Blaney spinning in front of the field, collecting Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and others.
Big trouble for Ryan Blaney!
If Martin Truex Jr. catches him in points and we get a new winner below them in points (in the top 30), he’d be out of the playoffs.
📺 : CNBC and Peacock. pic.twitter.com/ou2V7sk0bg
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 28, 2022
Truex earned points in both stages, closing the gap to just 10 points at the start of stage three. As the tension picked up with weather approaching in the final stage, contact between Michael McDowell and Tyler Reddick at the front of the field sent the No. 34 backward into the pack, collecting Corey LaJoie, Ross Chastain and William Byron and critically ripping the right-front fender off of Truex’s No. 19.
CRASH.
Martin Truex Jr. is among the many involved in this one at @DAYTONA. #NASCAR
📺 : @CNBC and @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/ltvvYdJ8sC
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 28, 2022
Within the final five laps, the crucial move came…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Frontstretch…