The end of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway created a wild end to the 2021 NASCAR Regular Season.
When the Coke Zero Sugar 400 began there were 15 drivers locked in the post-season for the NASCAR Cup Series. There were 15 drivers that had a chance to get in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by filling the final spot following the race.
There were two drivers battling for the Regular Season Championship which came with a bonus of 15 Playoff Points for the winner of the title.
The drivers locked in wanted to head to the post-season with momentum by winning the final race before the Playoffs.
The Saturday night (8/28) race was full of hard racing and plenty of excitement from start to finish. To give you an idea of the racing the lead was officially exchanged 45 times between 15 drivers. Chase Elliott was the winner of Stage One while Joey Logano was the winner of Stage Two.
The race saw the yellow flag issued eight times. The most consequential of those caution flags were the few that came in the final 15 laps of the race.
The race was sent to a NASCAR Overtime of a green-white-checkered finish. During that final two laps Ryan Blaney was able to get out front for the lead. He was in the lead on the last lap when calamity would strike on the track again to end the race under the yellow flag. The win gave Ryan his second consecutive 2021 win and three total for the season.
Bubba Wallace was able to claim a runner-up finish. Ryan Newman finished in third place. Ryan Preece finished in fourth place with Tyler Reddick rounding out the top five. See the complete race results for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 here.
The most important results of the race at Daytona International Speedway were: Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship and claimed the bonus 15 Playoff Points; Ryan Blaney is heading into the Playoffs with momentum; Tyler Reddick claimed the final spot in the 16-driver Playoff field.
See the NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings/Playoff Standings here.
The drivers in the post-season will begin their pursuit of a championship in the Cook Out Southern 500 at “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” Darlington Raceway, Sunday, September 5th.
By: Buck Stevens
