With two laps remaining in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Daytona International Speedway, Ryan Blaney found himself in 13th place.
But not for long.
With a little help from his friends, the Team Penske driver rallied to capture the Coke Zero Sugar 400 title, finishing 0.031 seconds ahead of runner-up Daniel Suarez following a four-wide dash to the line. While he enjoyed a front-row seat, Blaney anticipated watching the comeback develop from different vantage points.
“I bet it’s pretty cool,” Blaney said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “I have a unique view of it, but I can’t see what’s all around me, so I’m excited to see it from a bird’s-eye view.”
The 2023 Cup Series titleholder downplayed his achievement, citing “circumstantial stuff (that) just kind of worked.”
Circumstantial or not, Blaney’s comeback boosted Alex Bowman, who claimed the 16th playoff seed. The Hendrick Motorsports driver offered to repay Blaney with “seven million beers.”
Blaney negotiated down, accepting “five million.”
‘I Was Fired Up’: Ryan Blaney
Known as a superspeedway ace, Ryan Blaney visited Victory Lane at Atlanta, Daytona and Darlington, but during his past six outings at tracks at least one mile in length, he placed P37 or worse three times.
“I was fired up, man,” Blaney said Saturday. “Whenever you win at these speedways, it pumps you up.”
An afterthought for much of the regular season, will Saturday’s win at Daytona fuel Blaney’s bid for a second circuit championship in three seasons?
He attempted to stay humble entering next weekend’s playoff-opening outing at Darlington Raceway.
“A lot of things go into it,” Blaney said. “I can’t do it by myself.”
Driver Derek Kraus Takes Over No. 44 Chevrolet
With the Cup Series’ 16-team playoffs opening with Saturday night’s Cook Out 500, a crown jewel event, part-time pilot Derek Kraus, 23, will command the No. 44 Chevrolet.
Klaus, who placed P32 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, will make his second Cup appearance this season. Of the 38 entries, Klaus joins Josh Bilicki as the lone two open drivers.
Bilicki will pilot the No. 66 Ford, marking his sixth race with Garage 66 this season. He posted a season-best P21 at Chicago Street Course in July.
Tune in now on NBC
Cook Out Southern 500 Entry List
NASCAR Cup Series officials released the entry list for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
- 16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 21, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 22, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 24, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 25, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- 26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 27, Derek Kraus, No. 44 Chevrolet
- 28, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 29, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
- 30, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 31, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 32, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 33, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 34, Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Ford
- 35, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 36, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 37, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 38, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
The field is set for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs!
NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out Southern 500: Ryan Blaney, Derek Kraus Headline Entry List