Blaney wins at Daytona; Cup series playoffs set

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. >> For all the potential outcomes that could have occurred at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale was somewhat predictable.

Ryan Blaney ended up in victory lane for the second straight week. Kyle Larson, the most dominant driver all year, took home the regular-season trophy. Tyler Reddick ended up with the 16th and final playoff spot. And the race ended in overtime with a fiery crash that involved nearly half the field.

Drivers ripped the revamped aerodynamics package and bemoaned the usual aggressive driving that caused three wrecks in the final 20 laps.

Reddick got caught up in the first one but rebounded to finish sixth. He needed only to beat Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon and hope for a repeat winner to earn his first playoff berth.

Reddick and Dillon were both in contention to make a desperate, last-gasp push for the win in the two-lap overtime sprint to the finish. But Blaney, who was second on the restart, cleared traffic thanks partly to a bump from Corey LaJoie and was well ahead of the pack when a crash ended the race.

Daniel Suarez, one of 10 drivers in the front pack trying to win the race to earn the automatic playoff berth, turned Kevin Harvick to trigger the multi-car melee. Suarez seemed to be pushed into Harvick from behind by Kurt Busch.

Blaney, the winner in Michigan last week, heads into next week’s playoff opener at Darlington Raceway with three wins this season in his Team Penske Ford.

The regular-season finale had fairly low stakes since 15 of the 16 playoff slots were claimed beforehand. It meant only a first-time race winner could edge Reddick or Dillon for the final The only other competition at Daytona was for the regular-season title, which went to Larson, a five-time winner this season. The race for the regular-season championship and its playoff points was between Larson and Denny Hamlin, who entered Daytona trailing Larson by 28 points.

Chris Buescher finished second, one spot short of earning the automatic playoff berth he was seeking. But it was a 1-2 finish for Ford.

Bubba Wallace was a season-best third.