Daytona just went down this last weekend, officially locking in the 2025 playoff picture. I for one was so sad to see Daniel Suarez and Justin Haley come so close yet so far from slipping their way into the playoffs, finishing in a respected but heartbreaking 2nd and 3rd place on the weekend. Not to say I was disappointed with Blaney winning, he just didn’t need it really, and I was honestly pulling for Suarez to pull it out there at the end and squeak his way into the playoff picture. Blaney was one of the drivers throughout the race that wasn’t near the top of the leaderboard but found his way up there near the end of it. Daytona was still one of the more entertaining races of the year and a great one to end the regular season with. The end of Stage 2 and the final few laps of the race were really nail-biting and neck and neck with multiple drivers swapping places near the front of the pack. Maybe not the outcome I would’ve preferred from a fandom aspect, but a fun and highly entertaining race none the less. Sometimes the races feel like they can kind of drag on and are kind of ugly to watch with multiple cautions and delays for one reason or another, not at Daytona this year. There was one massive wreck in Stage 1, and it was pretty quiet after that, most likely because the track was cleared up a bit.
Regardless, Ryan Blaney came out with the 1st place finish, his 3rd of the season, tying Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Christopher Bell. Denny Hamlin and Shane van Gisbergen are tied for #1 in first place finishes, the only drivers with 4. SVG is just entirely dominant when it comes to road courses man, there’s no stopping him, but he’s still struggling with the standard oval tracks. If he can get that under control and start finishing consistently in the Top 10-15 in those as well, he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come. Some familiar faces stand at the top of the leaderboard heading into the Round of 16 playoffs though as the field is led by Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell in that order. Austin Dillon snuck his way in right at the end of the year by finishing 1st in Richmond, he’s still below the cutoff line, currently sitting in 15th place in the playoff standings, but the win got him in and that’s all that really matters. Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman are also below the cutoff line, at 14th and 16th respectively, but they’re the only 2 drivers in the playoff field this year that don’t have a win under their belt yet heading into the playoffs. They’ve just finished in good positions at the end of enough stages and the end of enough races that they’ve found their way in.
I still don’t fully agree with or understand the playoff picture for NASCAR, but I can see why the way it’s done makes things more exciting. If you win a race near the end of the regular season, you’re practically guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, regardless of where you’ve finished a lot of the rest of the year. That makes it exciting for viewers and gives every racer on the track a reason to drive hard for the entirety of the season, with a win and you’re in kind of layout and mentality. On the flip side, drivers who have already won this year and especially those who have won multiple races can breathe a bit of a sigh of relief the last few races as long as they’ve garnered enough points throughout the season to kind of pad themselves. Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric for example didn’t even finish the race at Richmond because they got tied up in that wreck in Stage 1, but they both have won a race this season and have enough stage points to already guarantee their spot in the playoffs. I won’t be disappointed or upset regardless of how this plays out, mainly I just want to see some fun and exciting racing heading into the championship, but it would be neat to see a 1st time winner crowned as well. I like Chastain and Cindric quite a bit and they’re in the playoffs and would be first timers.
Byron, Hamlin, and Bell are all in the Top 5 and would be first time Cup Series champions as well. It may be a bit of a controversial take, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Denny raise that cup up, he’s one of the best and most decorated drivers in NASCAR history (although controversial), he has over 50 wins in his Cup Series career, and this is the one thing he hasn’t been able to accomplish yet. I know not everyone would agree, but I would definitely like to see him hoist that Cup up before he calls it a career. Byron and Bell would definitely be fun to see as well, they’re both extremely talented and at times underrated drivers who deserve a Cup Series Championship in their careers at some point. SVG is a quiet contender too, sitting at 6th place! Road courses are what got him to the dance, and he won’t see another one of those till the last race in the Round of 12 when they hit the ROVAL, so it won’t be the easiest road ahead, but he may have garnered enough points throughout the season that if he can hang near the front end of the pack for the next few races he can just keep advancing through the rounds. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out though because positioning can change vastly within 1 race now depending on where guys finish and how calculated they are out on the track. If you’re a playoff driver you want to stay out of as many wrecks and hangups as you can now. We’re truly in crunch time as the playoffs begin this weekend in Darlington, followed up right down the street from me at the WWT Raceway, and then ending the Round of 16 at Bristol before the first round of eliminations down to 12 drivers. It’s all about who can race smarter and better now. Every man for themselves once playoffs come and everyone is chasing towards the Cup, and we just get to sit back and take it in!
That’s all for this one though folks! Make sure to like the page on social media or bookmark the website so you can stay up to date on all my latest posts covering the NASCAR Cup Series, WWE wrestling, NFL football, newly released movies, and old & new horror movies alike! Thank you!
