Ryan Blaney wins at Daytona, NASCAR playoff field set
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Not that a rescue mission was top of mind for Ryan Blaney, but his dramatic victory in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway saved Alex Bowman from Playoff oblivion.
Blaney rocketed forward from 12th in the running order with three laps left in the final NASCAR Cup Series regular-season race and crossed the finish line 0.031 seconds ahead of runner-up Daniel Suarez.
Justin Haley was 0.036 seconds behind Blaney in a three-wide photo finish for second place, with Cole Custer, who led the next-to-last lap, 0.049 seconds back in fourth.
A victory by Suarez, Haley or Custer would have eliminated Bowman from the Playoffs. Instead, the driver of the No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet earned the 16th and final postseason berth on points.
Blaney’s second win of the season, his second at Daytona and 15th of his career vaulted the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford into second place in the regular-season standings, earning him a bonus of 10 Playoff points.
The victory was the first for a Ford driver since Blaney triumphed at Nashville Superspeedway on June 1.
“What a wild last couple laps, honestly,” Blaney said. “I was with Cole, I kind of asked him on the restart, if you go to the top I’m going with you. We kind of just waited and waited and then the opportunity came, and he made a good move to get to the top, and we were able to really get good shoves.
“A couple good guys behind us, and then it kind of cleared the way for us when the 7 (Haley) and 41 (Custer) got racing, and I was able to clear on the top and just barely hold out for the win.”
In fact, Blaney got the opportunity he needed when Custer moved off the top lane to block Haley’s strong run. At that point, Blaney had enough momentum to carry him to the finish line with roughly a half-car-length to spare.
In a race that featured 44 lead changes among 19 drivers, Blaney and teammate Joey Logano each led 27 laps. Logano spent much of the final stage out front before spinning in front of Erik Jones with 11 laps left.
Jones finished fifth, followed by Stage 1 winner Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry and Chase Elliott. Ross Chastain won the second stage before finishing 15th.
For Bowman, a window of opportunity in the early going opened and shut in short order. On Lap 18, Todd Gilliland lost control from the middle lane and took the Toyota of Tyler Reddick with him.
Reddick nosed into the inside wall but and able to continue after repairs, but the accident gave Bowman hope of overcoming his 29-point deficit to the 23XI driver and locking into the Playoffs.
That hope was short-lived. On Lap 27, Bowman was collected in a 12-car pileup on the frontstretch triggered by chain reaction contact between Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.
“Everything was happening pretty quick there,” Wallace said. “The hit from the 5 (Larson) shoved me down there, and it was like I got shoved up by the 22 (Logano) and the 12 (Blaney) moved up. He was trying to just move up and take the lane. But, oh well. I hate it. 20th or 22nd to the lead in a short amount of time…
“All in all, we’re locked in (the Playoffs), and we’ll get focused for Darlington.”
The wreck knocked Bowman out of the race and out of contention for a Playoff berth on points, as Reddick clinched with Bowman’s exit. Busch’s last hope for the postseason also ended in the garage, as did that of formidable superspeedway racer Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“It was all very out of our control,” said Bowman, who had to watch the rest of race from the sidelines and hope no new winner would oust him from the Playoffs. “I hate that we tanked so bad the first run.
“The bottom lane just fell apart behind us. We had to overcome that, but we had gotten back to the back side of the top 10. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.”
What did work out was Blaney’s victory, which kept Bowman’s championship aspirations alive. He joins Hendrick teammates William Byron (the Regular Season Champion), Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott in the Playoffs.
With the field of 16 drivers set, the 10-race Playoffs will begin on Aug. 31 at Darlington Raceway in the Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 25
Race Results for the Cook Out 400 - Saturday, August 16, 2025
Richmond Raceway - Richmond, VA - 0.75 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 400 Laps - 300. Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 8/16/2025 @ 11:03 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 11 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro/Winchester Chevrolet 400 4 4 54 Running 5 107 5
2 9 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 400 5 41 Running
3 20 12 Ryan Blaney BodyArmor Sports Drink Ford 400 7 3 46 Running 3 39
4 38 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 400 33 Running
5 13 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 400 5 8 41 Running 2 2
6 30 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 400 10 32 Running 3 9
7 21 99 Daniel Suarez Quaker State Chevrolet 400 10 2 40 Running 1 1
8 17 21 Josh Berry Eero Ford 400 9 31 Running
9 6 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 400 8 31 Running 1 2
10 4 11 Denny Hamlin Progressive Toyota 400 3 35 Running
11 29 38 * Zane Smith Long John Silver's Ford 400 26 Running
12 14 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 400 9 27 Running
13 19 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 400 24 Running
14 27 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 399 23 Running
15 15 77 Carson Hocevar Delaware Life Chevrolet 399 7 26 Running 1 10
16 28 8 Kyle Busch Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet 399 21 Running
17 10 71 Michael McDowell Workforce Chevrolet 399 20 Running 1 6
18 23 54 Ty Gibbs SiriusXM Toyota 399 19 Running
19 33 1 Ross Chastain Jockey Infinite Cool Underwear Chevrolet 399 18 Running
20 16 10 Ty Dillon Sea Best Chevrolet 399 17 Running
21 8 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT Toyota 399 6 21 Running
22 3 16 AJ Allmendinger Black's Tire Chevrolet 399 15 Running
23 36 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ram Self Storage Chevrolet 399 14 Running
24 24 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 399 13 Running
25 31 34 * Todd Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 399 12 Running
26 18 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 398 11 Running
27 22 4 * Noah Gragson ArmorGuard Ford 398 10 Running
28 7 23 * Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 398 2 1 29 Running 4 123 1
29 32 67 * Corey Heim(i) Robinhood Toyota 398 0 Running
30 12 17 Chris Buescher Fifth Third Bank Ford 398 7 Running
31 26 35 * Riley Herbst # Monster Energy Toyota 398 6 Running
32 37 51 Cody Ware Arrowhead Brass Ford 397 5 Running
33 35 33 * Jesse Love(i) C4 Energy Chevrolet 396 0 Running
34 2 45 * Tyler Reddick Chumba Casino Toyota 396 1 13 Running 2 41 1
35 1 60 Ryan Preece Kroger/Kleenex Ford 396 6 7 Running 2 60
36 34 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 389 1 Running
37 25 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Super League Chevrolet 198 1 Accident
38 5 9 Chase Elliott UniFirst Chevrolet 197 1 Accident
Fastest Lap Bonus: # 23 lap 81 / 22.961
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 11 Mins, 14 Secs. Average Speed: 94.126 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.471 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 45, 23, 11, 3, 2, 20, 12, 6, 21, 99
Stage 2 Top 10: 23, 99, 12, 3, 48, 60, 77, 2, 24, 5
Race Comments: Austin Dillon has won the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, his sixth victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: Nos. 22, 34 (Unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 5 for 44 laps; Laps: 72-79 (Stage 1 Conclusion [10]); 182-188 (#54, 45, 99 Incident Turn 4 [71]); 192-196 (#51 Spin Turn 2 [88]); 199-213 (#1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 24, 41, 43 Incident Turn 3 [54]); 232-240 (Stage 2 Conclusion [16]).
Lead Changes: 24 among 11 drivers; R. Preece 1-58; *. Reddick 59-74; *. Wallace 75-130; R. Preece 131-132; A. Dillon 133-138; *. Reddick 139-163; *. Wallace 164-179; K. Larson 180-183; *. Wallace 184-233; D. Suarez 234; M. McDowell 235-240; *. Wallace 241; A. Dillon 242-291; A. Cindric 292; K. Larson 293; C.
Hocevar 294-303; R. Blaney 304-331; A. Dillon 332; R. Blaney 333-339; A. Dillon 340; R. Blaney 341-344; A. Cindric 345; K. Larson 346-349; B. Keselowski 350-351; A. Dillon 352-400.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: August 23, 2025 - Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
NASCAR CUPSERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS
POS NO. DRIVER MFR +/-
1 5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet +26
2 24 William Byron Chevrolet +26
3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota +23
4 12 Ryan Blaney Ford +20
5 20 Christopher Bell Toyota +17
6 88 Shane Van Gisbergen Chevrolet +16
7 9 Chase ElliottChevrolet +7
8 19 Chase Briscoe Toyota +4
9 23 Bubba Wallace Toyota +2
10 2 Austin Cindric Ford +2
11 1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet +1
12 22 Joey Logano Ford +1
CUTOFF LINE
13 21 Josh Berry Ford -1
14 45 Tyler Reddick Toyota -1
15 3Austin Dillon Chevrolet -2
16 48 Alex Bowman Chevrolet -5
NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season
Points Report
Richmond Raceway
Cook Out 400
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 8/16/2025 @ 11:19 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. William Byron 24 25 0 839 0 0 2 7 17
2. Chase Elliott 9 25 0 771 -68 68 1 1 6
3. Denny Hamlin 11 24 0 766 -73 5 4 4 24
4. Kyle Larson 5 25 -1 759 -80 7 3 8 23
5. Ryan Blaney 12 25 -1 756 -83 3 1 6 11
6. Christopher Bell 20 25 2 748 -91 8 3 2 17
7. * Tyler Reddick 45 25 0 714 -125 34 0 2 2
8. Chase Briscoe 19 25 0 698 -141 16 1 2 7
9. Alex Bowman 48 25 0 685 -154 13 0 0 0
10. * Bubba Wallace 23 25 -1 639 -200 46 1 3 8
11. Chris Buescher 17 25 1 625 -214 14 0 2 -3
12. Joey Logano 22 25 -1 616 -223 9 1 2 7
13. Ryan Preece 60 25 1 591 -248 25 0 2 2
14. Ross Chastain 1 25 0 589 -250 2 1 1 6
15. Austin Cindric 2 25 -1 543 -296 46 1 3 8
16. Kyle Busch 8 25 1 537 -302 6 0 0 0
17. Ty Gibbs 54 25 0 512 -327 25 0 0 0
18. AJ Allmendinger 16 25 0 504 -335 8 0 0 0
19. Brad Keselowski 6 25 0 496 -343 8 0 2 2
20. Carson Hocevar 77 25 0 488 -351 8 0 0 0
21. Michael McDowell 71 25 -1 478 -361 10 0 1 1
22. Josh Berry 21 25 -2 476 -363 2 1 1 6
23. Erik Jones 43 25 2 472 -367 4 0 0 0
24. Shane Van Gisbergen # 88 25 -1 464 -375 8 4 2 22
25. Austin Dillon 3 25 -3 460 -379 4 1 0 5
26. John Hunter Nemechek 42 25 3 459 -380 1 0 0 0
27. * Zane Smith 38 25 0 441 -398 18 0 0 0
28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 25 2 434 -405 7 0 0 0
29. Daniel Suarez 99 25 0 433 -406 1 0 0 0
30. Justin Haley 7 25 0 389 -450 44 0 0 0
31. * Todd Gilliland 34 25 0 388 -451 1 0 0 0
32. Ty Dillon 10 25 0 372 -467 16 0 0 0
33. * Noah Gragson 4 25 0 309 -530 63 0 0 0
34. Cole Custer 41 25 0 307 -532 2 0 0 0
35. * Riley Herbst # 35 25 0 293 -546 14 0 0 0
36. Cody Ware 51 25 0 168 -671 125 0 0 0
37. Katherine Legge 6 0 57 -782 111 0 0 0
38. Jimmie Johnson 2 0 35 -804 22 0 0 0
39. Derek Kraus 1 0 5 -834 30 0 0 0
40. Chad Finchum 2 0 3 -836 2 0 0 0
41. Casey Mears 1 0 2 -837 1 0 0 0
42. Burt Myers 1 0 1 -838 1 0 0 0
43. Will Brown 1 0 1 -838 0 0 0 0
44. Martin Truex, Jr. 1 0 1 -838 0 0 0 0
45. Justin Allgaier(i) 1 13 0 -839 1 0 0 0
46. Connor Zilisch(i) 3 0 0 -839 0 0 0 0
47. * Corey Heim(i) 67 3 0 0 -839 0 0 0 0
48. Bj Mcleod(i) 3 0 0 -839 0 0 0 0
49. Josh Bilicki(i) 5 0 0 -839 0 0 0 0
50. Corey Lajoie(i) 4 5 0 -839 0 0 0 0
51. Ryan Truex(i) 1 -1 0 -839 0 0 0 0
52. * Jesse Love(i) 33 5 -1 0 -839 0 0 0 0
53. David Starr(i) 1 0 0 -839 0 0 0 0
54. Anthony Alfredo(i) 1 -2 0 -839 0 0 0 0
55. Austin Hill(i) 2 -10 0 -839 0 0 0 0
56. Jj Yeley(i) 7 -2 0 -839 0 0 0 0
57. Brennan Poole(i) 1 -1 0 -839 0 0 0 0
58. Joey Gase(i) 1 -1 0 -839 0 0 0 0
59. Chandler Smith(i) 0 1 0 -839 0 0 0 0
60. Helio Castroneves 1 -1 0 -839 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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