Ryan Blaney kicked off the night from the pole and closed it with a win, but what happened in between shook up the playoff picture. While one Ford driver celebrated, another saw his playoff hopes slip away. And in the shuffle, a rival from a different camp quietly clinched a postseason spot.

Blaney’s Daytona run began strong, leading early and setting the tone for a pivotal night. Piloting the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, he wasted no time asserting himself, clearing Alex Bowman in Turn 2 on the very first lap. What followed flipped the playoff picture- for Bowman, who secured a postseason spot, and for Cole Custer, who missed out.

Ryan Blaney admits to going to the top with fellow Ford driver

With a strong push from teammate Joey Logano early on, he kept the field in single-file formation, leading every lap through the opening stages and posting a blistering lap time of 46.34 seconds at 194.217 mph. Even when Daniel Suarez briefly challenged him on lap 11, Blaney softly countered, showing the speed and composure that made him a threat from the drop of the green flag.

As the race unfolded, Blaney remained a constant presence at the front, ultimately leading a race-high 26 laps in the opening segment. He finished Stage 1 in third, behind Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain, setting himself up for the long grind ahead.

Strategic calls shuffled him deeper in the back at times, including 14th place during the lap 86 caution period, but Blaney kept his Ford in the lead draft and avoided trouble during a night filled with big moves, drafting duels, and pit road shake-ups.

That final push came dramatically. On the last lap, Cole Custer and Justin Haley were locked in a fierce battle for the win, trading blocks and momentum down the stretch. As they exited Turn 4, Blaney saw an opening and charged hard, threading his way past as the leaders’ momentum broke. With perfect timing and a surge of speed, he powered to the checkered flag, claiming an electrifying Daytona victory.

Reflecting post-race, Ryan Blaney said, “Yeah, man, I don’t know. What a wild last couple laps. Honestly, I was with Cole. I kind of asked him on the restart, “If you go to the top, I’m going with you.” And we kind of just waited and waited, and then the opportunity came, and he made a good move into the top. We were able to really get good shoves, a couple good guys behind us, and then it just kind of cleared the way for me. Then the 7 and 41 got racing, and I was able to clear on the top and just barely hold out for the win. So, thanks for coming, man. This is so cool.”

But here’s the catch. Ahead of the Daytona finale, Austin Cindric, a fellow Penske driver, emphasized the importance of Ford-brand unity, explaining that having multiple Fords in the playoff would bolster their collective championship chances.

He said, “It would be good to get another Ford in the playoffs, so you might get some additional help,” stressing collaboration across teams like RFK, Penske, and more to boost the blue oval in victory lane. However, this display of solidarity apparently did not extend to aiding Cole Custer, who was driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Haas Factory Team specifically; no strategic cooperation materialized to lift Custer into the postseason.

Midway through the race, as Ryan found himself in the back of the pack, the Team Penske driver admitted, saying, “I mean, I think we kind of just took what was given to us, you know? Like how we played Stage 1, and I think a lot of guys in Stage 2… I wasn’t going to make any ground, so I just really went into max fuel-save mode so maybe I could go a little bit earlier than other guys. And so, yeah, it’s definitely not the traditional way we like to run them — we like to lead laps and things like that — and I just couldn’t really get there until the end. But I got there when it mattered, so it’s cool to win here again. I won here a few years ago, and it’s nice to be back.”

Moreover, Blaney’s victory not only marks his own triumph but also an influential result in the playoff picture that helped to shift the balance for Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman.

Starting on the front row and already holding the final playoff spot on points, Bowman benefited from Blaney’s win because it removed the scenario of a points-advantage competitor below the cut stealing the spot with a victory, thereby securing Bowman’s postseason berth. Sadly, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a nightmare for Penske star Joey Logano.

Joey Logano’s Daytona win aspiration gets muddy

Joey Logano looked unstoppable for much of the race at Daytona International Speedway, carving his way to the front and leading an impressive 23 laps, a statement of intent in a Super Speedway showdown filled with chaos. But just as destiny seemed within reach, fate had other plans.

With only 12 laps to go, Logano got loose off turn 4, spun out, and found himself stranded in the grass, an agonizing end to a promising run. That late incident did derail his day; it completely rewrote the finale.

While Joey was fighting to keep his car alive, Ryan Blaney surged from 13th to the lead in a breathtaking final two-lap challenge, adding another contender in a wild photo finish to steal the checkered flag. With Logano out of the picture, the race turned into a master class in timing and positioning, one that Blaney executed perfectly.

In the end, the three-time Cup Series champion’s Daytona run ended in heartbreak as he was credited with the 27th-place finish, one lap down. A night that held playoff implications instead turned into a vivid memory of how quickly fortunes can change at NASCAR’s most volatile tracks. He came into the night with power and promise, only to vanish in the blink of an eye on one of the biggest stages.