NASCAR: Ryan Blaney avoids setting unfortunate record
By Asher Fair
Ryan Blaney avoided setting an unfortunate NASCAR Cup Series playoff record, one which was broken on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney managed to stave off elimination in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway by finishing ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. in the regular season point standings and therefore becoming the only driver to qualify for the playoffs on points.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon won the rain-delayed Coke Zero Sugar 400 to lock himself into the playoffs as one of 15 postseason eligible winners.
The regular season did see 16 different winners total, but one of them, 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch, withdrew from the playoffs.
Busch has been sidelined since his qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway, and while his medical waiver would have secured him a playoff spot since he won the race at Kansas Speedway in mid-May and was guaranteed to finish in the top 30 in the point standings, plus the fact that there could no longer be more than 16 different winners, he requested that this waiver be withdrawn.
That freed up a playoff spot, and it was Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney who ended up securing it.
If there was a new winner at Daytona International Speedway, the recipient of the final playoff spot would be determined by a points battle between Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. Without a new winner, both would qualify on points.
With Dillon being a new winner, it was Blaney who held on by three points to take the spot over Truex. Blaney took it with a “late rally” which saw him simply ride around six laps down, passing cars that had been scored ahead of him when they had wrecked out a few laps earlier.
Blaney and Truex finished the regular season in third and fourth place in the point standings, respectively.
Truex set a new record for highest finishing driver not to qualify for the playoffs.
But had it not been for Busch’s waiver withdrawal request, that record would have gone to Blaney — one spot higher — and two of the sport’s top four drivers would have been battling for 17th place in points as opposed to a championship.
Next. First points leader misses playoffs. dark
The four-round, 10-race playoffs are scheduled to begin this Sunday, September 4 with the Cook Out Southern 500, which is set to be broadcast live from Darlington Raceway on USA Network beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. Don’t miss your chance to start a free trial of FuboTV now!