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Ryan Blaney rallied from 13th place to win at Daytona on August 23.
With two laps remaining in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Daytona International Speedway, Ryan Blaney found himself in 13th place.
But not for long.
With a little help from his friends, the Team Penske driver rallied to capture the Coke Zero Sugar 400 title, finishing 0.031 seconds ahead of runner-up Daniel Suarez following a four-wide dash to the line. While he enjoyed a front-row seat, Blaney anticipated watching the comeback develop from different vantage points.
“I bet it’s pretty cool,” Blaney said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “I have a unique view of it, but I can’t see what’s all around me, so I’m excited to see it from a bird’s-eye view.”
The 2023 Cup Series titleholder downplayed his achievement, citing “circumstantial stuff (that) just kind of worked.”
Circumstantial or not, Blaney’s comeback boosted Alex Bowman, who claimed the 16th playoff seed. The Hendrick Motorsports driver offered to repay Blaney with “seven million beers.”
Blaney negotiated down, accepting “five million.”
‘I Was Fired Up’: Ryan Blaney
Known as a superspeedway ace, Ryan Blaney visited Victory Lane at Atlanta, Daytona and Darlington, but during his past six outings at tracks at least one mile in length, he placed P37 or worse three times.
“I was fired up, man,” Blaney said Saturday. “Whenever you win at these speedways, it pumps you up.”
An afterthought for much of the regular season, will Saturday’s win at Daytona fuel Blaney’s bid for a second circuit championship in three seasons?
He attempted to stay humble entering next weekend’s playoff-opening outing at Darlington Raceway.
“A lot of things go into it,” Blaney said. “I can’t do it by myself.”
Driver Derek Kraus Takes Over No. 44 Chevrolet
With the Cup Series’ 16-team playoffs opening with Saturday night’s Cook Out 500, a crown jewel event, part-time pilot Derek Kraus, 23, will command the No. 44 Chevrolet.
Klaus, who placed P32 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, will make his second Cup appearance this season. Of the 38 entries, Klaus joins Josh Bilicki as the lone two open drivers.
Bilicki will pilot the No. 66 Ford, marking his sixth race with Garage 66 this season. He posted a season-best P21 at Chicago Street Course in July.
Cook Out Southern 500 Entry List
NASCAR Cup Series officials released the entry list for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
21, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
22, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
24, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
25, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
27, Derek Kraus, No. 44 Chevrolet
28, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
29, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
30, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
31, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
32, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
33, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
34, Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Ford
35, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
36, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
37, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
38, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
Jeff Hawkins Jeff Hawkins is a career sportswriter who has collected 12 industry awards, including two Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) honors. Author of four youth sports books, Hawkins has served as a beat writer for the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, Adirondack IceHawks, Adirondack Lumberjacks and Hickory Crawdads. A husband and father, Hawkins enjoys live eclectic music, mountain biking and watching Film Noir. More about Jeff Hawkins
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