The final race of the 2025 regular-season NASCAR schedule was on Saturday night, with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 from Daytona International Speedway. Under the lights at the iconic track, the stakes were high with two spots in the NASCAR playoffs up for grabs and positioning in the NASCAR playoffs standings on the line.
Let's dive into our winners and losers from the NASCAR race today at Daytona.
There isn't a bigger fan of Ryan Blaney right now than Alex Bowman. Nearing the end of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, it seemed like one of Justin Haley, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones or Cole Custer would steal a playoff spot in the final regular-season race. Instead, Blaney worked his way from outside the top 10 in the final laps to surge through the middle of traffic and cross as the checkered flag waved, just ahead of Suarez and Haley. The margin of victory was less than 0.04 seconds. Not only does the win give Blaney some added momentum before the playoffs, it also pushed him to second-place in the regular-season standings, picking up some extra playoff points.
Chris Buescher was good this season, just not good enough. In a season where he finished fifth at Phoenix, sixth at Homestead-Miami, second at Michigan, fourth at Pocono, and third at Watkins Glen, it seems fitting that the No. 17 fell just short again at Daytona. Buescher had chances on Saturday night; he was just never quite able to take advantage of them. He ultimately placed sixth and will now finish out the season watching 16 of his peers compete for the playoffs while he tries to give RFK Racing something to feel good about before a very long offseason.
Related: Full NASCAR Results Today from Daytona, Stage Results
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Tyler Reddick has been very good all season, but luck clinched his playoff spot on Saturday night at Daytona. Holding a 29-point lead over Bowman, all Reddick needed to do was avoid a wreck, and he'd likely clinch his playoff spot. Instead, on Lap 18, moving up a bit into the middle as Todd Gilliland came down proved disastrous for the No. 45. He lost control, and his front hit the wall, doing enough damage to keep him from racing near the front of the field. Fortunately for Reddick, the wreck involving his teammate (Bubba Wallace) resulted in carnage that dealt race-ending damage to Bowman. Just like that, despite going the entire season without a win, the 2024 regular-season champ is in the playoffs, so he didn't have to sweat out the finish like Bowman.
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As for Bowman, all he could do was watch from the side and hope that Kyle Larson or Joey Logano saved him. When Logano got taken out late in the final stage, the door was left wide open for a surprise winner. Then, Blaney came through and saved Bowman's season. He's still going to be last in the Round of 16, but that's a lot better than not making the playoffs.
Kyle Busch had one shot to make the NASCAR playoffs: win and you're in. Instead, his winless streak is now at 82 consecutive races, and he's missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. In Stage 1, Busch saw an opportunity to get low as Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace were jostling for a spot in the middle. Going for that position in Stage 1 put Busch in a spot where, when Wallace and Logano made contact, the No. 22 hit the No. 8, which caused Busch and Wallace to turn into one another. It effectively ended Busch's night and kept him out of the playoffs.
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Coming into Daytona, Ross Chastain ranked 21st in average finishing position (18.4) in the last 15 races and 25th (22.4) over the last six. Not exactly a favorable spot to be in with just six playoff points. Daytona felt different. Chastain showed the speed that he hasn't had since Charlotte, finishing second in Stage 1 and then picking up a playoff point with a Stage 2 win.
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Carson Hocevar has showcased the kind of speed and aggressive driving that made him a great wild-card pick to win at Daytona, pulling off the win-and-in in the regular-season finale. Whatever ambitions he had of pulling that off came to an end toward the end of Stage 2 when his engine gave out. It's far from the first time the engine on the No. 77 car has given out, and it's cost him repeatedly this year. Playoff drivers are certainly happy that Hocevar didn't sneak his way in. Given his talent and mentality, this will probably be one of the few years he doesn't make it in.
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Kyle Larson seems to have gotten back on track. The results haven't been super consistent lately, as demonstrated by his three finishes of 28th or worse in the last six races. However, he also had three top-six placements during that stretch. At Daytona, he showcased that speed again with a Stage 1 win. He spent most of the night inside the top 10, frequently in the top three, gaining position in the regular-season standings and jumping ahead of Denny Hamlin. Larson has got it going again at the perfect time.