DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A downpour that plagued the east Florida coast this weekend could not stop the NASCAR Cup Series from completing the final race on the regular season schedule at Daytona International Speedway.
Austin Dillon had to wait through a rain delay that pushed the race from Saturday to Sunday, nearly 140 laps of racing, and a red flag period that lasted for over 3 hours due to rain and a massive crash before winning at Daytona to get into the playoffs.
"You just never give up and have faith. We've had some tough finishes this year," Dillon said. "Today we finished it off and I'm so proud of these guys."
Dillon led 10 laps, including the last 3 as one of only 10 cars that finished on the lead lap. Dillon first got the lead after a massive crash with just over 20 laps to go. With the win, Dillon secured a playoff spot in the final race he was able to do so.
The topsy turvy Coke Zero Sugar 400 had a dark cloud hanging over it from right at its scheduled time to begin on Saturday night... that's because thunderstorms lasted at the track throughout the night and pushed the race to begin on Sunday at 10 a.m.
When the race began, the field stayed packed together in a fashion synonymous with restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega.
The lead swapped often between several contenders. Chase Elliott led the first laps after starting 2nd, but Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, and Joey Logano, among others, all led in Stage 1 as things sorted out.
Kyle Larson, who started on the pole, was the first car out of the race after a mechanical issue ended his day on Lap 15. He finished 37th.
On Lap 31, a wreck happened when Denny Hamlin lost control while drafting and caused a multi-car crash involving Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Kevin Harvick, among others. Blaney's team did all they could to salvage his torn-up car as he needed all of the points necessary to ensure he would be included in the NASCAR playoffs after Sunday's race.
During Stage 2, the lead swapped amongst even more drivers. Corey LaJoie, Chris Buescher, and Jones were some of the drivers who got to lead during this period. Meanwhile, Blaney's car limped around the track and he continued to lose ground on Martin Truex Jr. If a new winner were to finish 1st, it would knock one of them out of the playoff grid.
Kyle Busch won Stage 2 with Truex finishing 2nd, securing himself some solid points in the race.
But Truex got himself his own damage on Lap 102 after Michael McDowell wrecked after a push from Tyler Reddick and collected several cars. Truex, like Blaney, was damaged but not finished. LaJoie, William Byron, and Ross Chastain were all also involved.
The tight racing continued for about 20 laps before another major crash happened. Chase Briscoe was turned by Alex Bowman while they battled for the lead. The crash damaged both of them, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Todd Gilliland, and others.
No driver seemed like a favorite throughout the day and it looked like things would not be decided until the final laps. No matter what part of the race you tuned into up to that point, a different pair of drivers would be leading.
The threat of rain was present throughout the day. Most teams did not wonder if it would rain but when. As Daniel Suárez and Hamlin battled for the lead on Lap 138, rain began to pour down on Turn 1, which caused the front two cars to spin out. A majority of the field was wrecked in the process.
One of the few survivors was Dillon, who narrowly avoided the crash and came out in the lead.
A three-hour red flag followed as NASCAR waited for the rain to dissipate to dry the track.
Eventually, the rain cleared and those that were left got ready to resume the race. The damage caused during the last caution left some unfamiliar faces running in the Top 5.
Following Dillon in the running order were Austin Cindric, Cody Ware, Landon Cassill, and BJ McLeod. Harvick was slotted to restart 2nd, but his team opted out of continuing the race in their severely damaged No. 4. Harvick believed he should have been the leader of the race during the red flag as he was ahead of Dillon when the caution flag came out and maintained minimum speed.
"I think they're making it up as they go along," Harvick said during the red flag.
When the race resumed with 16 laps to go, Dillon held the lead but was passed by Cindric. A single file line of the Top 5 cars formed with Dillon holding 2nd place.
While those cars battled for the win, most eyes were focused on Blaney and Truex. If Cindric held on for the win, both Blaney and Truex would make the playoffs, but if Dillon were to win, only one of them could make it, depending on their total points.
Truex restarted near the Top 5 in his damaged car. Blaney was around 30th, six laps down, but knew he would gain positions after passing about a dozen cars that were out of the race.
As Blaney slowly gained positions, Truex began falling back which tightened the points battle.
With three laps to go, Dillon bumped Cindric out of the way and took over the lead. Reddick, Dillon's Richard Childress Racing teammate, glued onto his bumper in 2nd.
Noah Gragson and Cassill made some attempts to get around the front two in the closing laps but to no avail. Dillon held on to capture his fourth career win and qualify for the NASCAR playoffs.
Reddick held on for 2nd, Cindric finished 3rd, Cassill finished 4th for his first Top 5 since 2014, and Gragson finished 5th, earning his first career Top 5. Other notable finishers included Ware in 6th for his first career Top 10, McLeod in 7th, and David Ragan in 9th.
Truex finished 8th and Blaney finished 15th, leaving Truex three points shy of Blaney for the one playoff spot open for drivers without a win this year. Truex will miss the NASCAR playoffs for the first time since 2016.
"We gave away plenty of points throughout the season," Truex said after the race. "It is what it is."
Blaney was thankful to survive through it all despite wrecking early.
"We're very fortunate. Thankfully we were able to get enough cars in the wrecks," Blaney said.
Blaney grabbed the third most points this season and won five stages but has been unable to win a race this year. He'll start the playoffs in 7th place.
With the regular season closed, 16 drivers will now have a chance to win the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship. The playoff grid is as follows:
- Chase Elliott - 2,040 points
- Joey Logano - 2,025 points
- Ross Chastain - 2,020 points
- Kyle Larson - 2,019 points
- William Byron - 2,014 points
- Denny Hamlin - 2,013 points
- Ryan Blaney - 2,013 points
- Tyler Reddick - 2,012 points
- Kevin Harvick - 2,012 points
- Christopher Bell - 2,011 points
- Kyle Busch - 2,010 points
- Chase Briscoe - 2,009 points
- Daniel Suárez - 2,007 points
- Austin Cindric - 2,006 points
- Alex Bowman - 2,006 points
- Austin Dillon - 2,005 points
Drivers were given playoff points for race wins, stage wins, and if they ranked in the Top 10 in the points standings.
The NASCAR postseason begins at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 4 for the Cook Out Southern 500.