NASCAR insider doubles down on 'win and you're in' playoff format after epic Daytona finish

The finish to the regular-season finale at Daytona provided plenty of drama, right up until the final laps. In fact, a four-wide photo finish that resulted in a win for Ryan Blaney was just what the doctor ordered, said a pair of NASCAR insiders.

Blaney’s win allowed Alex Bowman to remain in the playoffs despite crashing out of the race at Daytona early. Had a new winner emerged, Bowman would have been out.

“Five drivers behind Ryan Blaney all needed to win to make the playoffs,” The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck said on The Teardown podcast. “They were all eliminated by just this much as Ryan Blaney gets it done and puts Alex Bowman into the playoffs when it looked like all hope was lost for Alex Bowman.

“What a thrilling, spectacular final run there and a great regular-season finale. This is sort of everything you’re looking for out of this race.”

The race went relatively caution free down the stretch, too, never a given at a place like Daytona. That’s not to say there wasn’t some aggressive contact, but the big one happened early in the race, not late.

In the closing laps, several drivers had a chance to secure their first win of the season. Daniel Suarez, Justin Haley, Cole Custer, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher and Ty Gibbs all had a shot. All finished in the top 10.

“Five of the top seven finishers in this race had not won a race this year,” The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi said. “Any of those top five win they move on. This is why I advocate for the ‘win and you’re in.’ This was exciting, because it was so dramatic in how this unfolds.”

Bianchi explained how the finish at Daytona delivered everything NASCAR had hoped it would. It had drama until the last second.

“At various points you had a handful of different drivers who had not won a race and were looking to punch their playoff ticket,” Bianchi said. “It was wild. It was this wild swing, and all the while you’ve got a driver from a powerhouse organization in Alex Bowman who’s sitting there watching this in the hauler, agonizing over this.”

You can only imagine the swings Bowman was going through. Joey Logano led with about 40 laps to go, and few are as good at defending leads as Logano. So Bowman must have been feeling quite confident.

Then Logano slipped up and it turned into a free-for-all at the front. Buescher was pushing, Ryan Preece had a run, then several others were in with a shot on the final lap.

“And at different points he’s like sweating this out going, ‘Wait, we’re going to be OK, so and so is leading. Oh no, now this guy is leading, we’re in trouble,'” Bianchi said. “At the end there it’s like, ‘Kyle Larson is making a big move, go Kyle!’ Then no, it’s Cole Custer. Then you’re rooting for Ryan Blaney — and by the way Alex Bowman says he owes Ryan Blaney 7 million beers for winning. Seven million beers. I have to go back and listen, but I believe it was 7 million beers. That’s a lot of beers.”

The fans at Daytona probably knocked back more than a few, as well. Job well done, NASCAR.