Blaney wins thriller at Daytona; playoff field set
Briefly

Ryan Blaney captured the win, denying underdogs a Cinderella moment and securing Alex Bowman a spot in the championship despite Bowman's early crash and long wait to learn his fate. The top 19 finishers were separated by less than half a second, and William Byron clinched the regular-season title. Blaney timed an aggressive late-race push to navigate traffic and seize the victory. Daniel Suarez and Todd Haley, both facing team changes, missed the playoffs and expressed disappointment. Chris Buescher lamented coming up short despite strong speed and handling. Tyler Reddick crashed early but still clinched a playoff spot.
But Blaney -- a former series champion already locked into the field -- denied them of the Cinderella moment. His victory assured 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. The first 19 cars across the finish line were all within a half-second of Blaney,
Daytona 500 winner William Byron had already wrapped up the regular-season title. "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."
Read at ESPN.com
[
|
]