Who made the NASCAR Cup playoffs? Field set in wild finish at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —  It was a night of chaos, attrition, and heartbreak at Daytona — especially for those fighting for the final two NASCAR Cup Series playoff spots.

Alex Bowman entered the race 60 points ahead of the cutline but 29 points back from Tyler Reddick a spot ahead. No wrecks, clean racing and a repeat winner would lock them both of them in but Daytona loves to put on a show for NASCAR.

The tension kicked off early in stage one, on lap 19, when Todd Gilliland and Tyler Reddick got caught together off of Turn 4 — in a move similar to two cars merging for the same spot. The No. 45 car suffered front-end damage, seemingly knocking them out of contention.

For Bowman, the path to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs looked straightforward at Daytona: Earn stage points and finish inside the top 20.

Daytona had other plans for him.

Lap 27 provided The Big One on Saturday night. Joey Logano washed up the track to the inside of Bubba Wallace as they exited Turn 4. Kyle Larson tried checking up but clipped the rear-end of Wallace, which veered into Logano and sparked the wreck.

The night’s biggest incident collected Bowman, when the careening car of Kyle Busch swept up the tri-oval and into the No. 48 car. The damage was terminal.

With Bowman in the garage and out of the race, Reddick locked himself into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs before the end of the first stage at Daytona. Bowman was cleared from the care center and back in the garage.

Mitigated from contender to spectator, his only hope of advancing was a repeat winner.

From Wrecked to Relieved

The laps clicked off until the final laps heightened the drama. With eight laps to go, a clean run to the finish left several non-playoff drivers with a chance to punch their playoff ticket with a win.

On the final lap, Justin Haley led Cole Custer out of Turn 2. Custer, with a strong run, attempted to pass Haley but it stalled their momentum halfway down the backstretch.

That opened the door for Ryan Blaney. He powered past them three-wide on the high side. Blaney claimed the lead into Turn 4 and held off the field, taking the checkered flag in a close four-wide finish.

Blaney’s march from 13th to the win within two laps saved the night for Alex Bowman. With a repeat winner, the 48 team clung onto the final playoff spot.

It was not the way they hoped the night would go but it was just enough to keep their championship hopes alive.

Alex Bowman and the 48 team sit 16th and five points back from the cutline to start the round of 16. The next stop on the calendar is Darlington for the Southern 500, Sunday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. ET.