DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Blaney achieved a thrilling win at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, earning Alex Bowman’s place in the NASCAR playoffs and preventing several underdogs from pulling off a Cinderella story.
Blaney’s victory at Daytona enhanced his team’s playoff momentum and highlighted NASCAR’s fiercely competitive system, where any race outcome can significantly alter the championship standings. Racing for Team Penske, Blaney advanced from 13th place to win by a narrow margin of 0.031 seconds ahead of Daniel Suarez, with Haley and Custer remaining close behind. His victory secured playoff qualification for Bowman, who had crashed earlier in the race.
Channel 9 sports reporter Alex Walker was there, and if you check below, you’ll see his social media post from the winners’ circle.
Signing off from Victory Lane at @DAYTONA.
— Alex Walker (@AlexWalkerTV) August 24, 2025
Team Penske's @Blaney wins in a wild 4-wide finish.
Bowman + Reddick make the playoffs on points. @WFTV pic.twitter.com/Fe9CjJa62y
“What a wild couple of last laps,” Blaney said after the race, reflecting on his late charge to the front. “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.”
The race was the regular-season finale, and Blaney’s win ended an 11-race losing streak for Team Penske and Ford. The team, with a history of overcoming challenges, has won the last three Cup Series championships.
The playoffs will begin next Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, marking the start of the championship race for the 16-driver field.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
Sign Up
