Ryan Blaney wins at Daytona; Bowman and Reddick advance to Playoffs

Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday evening. It was his second victory this season and his 15th career win in the series.

“It’s nice to be back,” Blaney said. “This is such a cool Victory Lane, looking up and seeing the World Center of Racing. It’s something I’ll never forget when we won here in ‘21. It’s just a cool place to be, so it’s really special.”

“When you can win at Daytona, Talladega, you never know what’s gonna happen at these places, and you just try to do the best job you can, and we did that tonight and was in a spot to win and was able to hang on.”

It was a typically chaotic race with 44 lead changes among 19 drivers and eight cautions for 39 laps.

Daniel Suárez finished second and was asked if there was anything he could have done differently to win the race.

“I don’t know about the last few laps, but maybe 40 laps before the end,” he said. “I felt like we didn’t set up ourselves as good as we wanted to be, but that’s not an excuse. The 12 [Blaney] was back there with us, and he was able to make it to the front. Definitely probably the fastest superspeedway car we have had in a few years.”

Justin Haley, Cole Custer, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five at Daytona. Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 in the finishing order

Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman claimed the final two spots in the playoffs, which begin next weekend at Darlington Raceway.

“Yeah, but we have no Playoff points so it’s a negative reset. I don’t know. We’ll certainly need to be on top of it every round. We’re capable of it, we just haven’t done it.” said Reddick. “Darlington has always been a really good race track for us and for myself as a driver. I feel like pretty much every time we’ve been there, we’ve been able to lead laps and contend and in the top-five. I think it will be very important to go in there and perform at the level we’ve been able to in the past.”

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin next weekend as the Round of 16 opens at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, August 31st at 6:00 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Drivers

PosDriverPoints
1Kyle Larson2032
2William Byron2032
3Denny Hamlin2029
4Ryan Blaney2026
5Christopher Bell2023
6Shane van Gisbergen2022
7Chase Elliott2013
8Chase Briscoe2010
9Bubba Wallace2008
10Austin Cindric2008
11Ross Chastain2007
12Joey Logano2007
13Josh Berry2006
14Tyler Reddick2006
15Austin Dillon2005
16Alex Bowman2002

NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 26
Race Results for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Saturday, August 23, 2025
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL – 2.5 – Mile Paved

PosStNoDriverTeamLapsS1S2S3PointsStatus
1112Ryan BlaneyAdvance Auto Parts Ford16037052Running
21299Daniel SuarezCoca-Cola Chevrolet16000035Running
3377Justin HaleyGainbridge Chevrolet16050040Running
42941Cole CusterHaas/Bonanza Ford16000033Running
52643Erik JonesDollar Tree Toyota16000032Running
635Kyle LarsonHendrickCars.com Chevrolet160110042Running
72417Chris BuescherFifth Third Bank Ford16000030Running
81854Ty GibbsMonster Energy Toyota16009031Running
91121Josh BerryDEX Imaging Ford16000028Running
10309Chase ElliottNAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet16000027Running
112834* Todd GillilandGrillo’s Pickles Ford16070030Running
122071Michael McDowellFly Alliance Chevrolet16040032Running
131520Christopher BellRheem Toyota160102034Running
143160Ryan PreeceKroger/Little Bites/Capri Sun Ford16088029Running
15191Ross ChastainSafety Culture Chevrolet16021041Running
161788Shane Van Gisbergen #Red Bull Chevrolet16000021Running
173442John Hunter NemechekPye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota16004027Running
18106Brad KeselowskiConsumer Cellular Ford16000019Running
19824William ByronLiberty University Chevrolet16005024Running
203551Cody WareArby’s Jamocha Shake Ford16000017Running
212745* Tyler ReddickMcDonald’s Toyota16000016Running
222310Ty DillonSea Best Chevrolet16000015Running
23919Chase BriscoeBass Pro Shops Toyota16096021Running
2473Austin DillonBreztri Chevrolet16000013Running
25611Denny HamlinKing’s Hawaiian Toyota16000012Running
262116AJ AllmendingerCelsius Chevrolet15900012Running
27422Joey LoganoShell Pennzoil Ford15963023Running
284044* Joey Gase(i)NFPA Chevrolet1570000Running
293966* Casey MearsSI Yachts Ford1560008Running
303633* Austin Hill(i)United Rentals Chevrolet1550000Running
311338* Zane SmithAaron’s Rent To Own Ford1540006Running
323878* BJ McLeod(i)Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster Chevrolet1370000Accident
33148Kyle BuschCheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet950004Running
341677Carson HocevarModo Casino Chevrolet810003Engine
352547Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Jack Link’s Duos Chevrolet280002Accident
36248Alex BowmanAlly Chevrolet270001Accident
372223* Bubba WallaceColumbia Toyota270001Accident
38324* Noah GragsonZep Ford270001Accident
3952Austin CindricMenards/Maytag Ford270001Accident
403335* Riley Herbst #Chumba Casino Toyota270001Accident
Are you a die-hard NASCAR fan? Follow every lap, every pit stop, every storyline? We're looking for fellow enthusiasts to share insights, race recaps, hot takes, or behind-the-scenes knowledge with our readers. Click Here to apply!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Angie Campbell
Angie Campbell
A native of Charlotte, NC, Angela (Angie) was first introduced to racing by her father. An avid fan of NASCAR, she found a way to combine her love of racing with her passion for writing. Angie is also an award-winning member of the National Motorsports Press Association. Follow her on Twitter @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

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