The closing laps of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona played out like a movie script, leaving fans on edge until the checkered flag waved. In the end, Ryan Blaney, who had started from the pole, powered through a four-wide finish to claim victory in NASCAR’s regular-season finale. Yet it was runner-up Daniel Suárez who drew nearly as much applause for his valiant charge to the line.
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As expected, chaos reigned with playoff spots on the line. Erik Jones and Justin Haley led the field to the final restart, with Kyle Larson behind Jones and Chris Buescher tucked in behind Haley. With five laps to go, Larson’s bump unsettled Jones, sending him up the track. Though Jones saved the car, he slipped out of contention.
With two laps to go, Larson, running behind Ryan Preece, moved high and brought Chase Elliott and a line of cars with him, leaving Preece stranded in the middle. That move fizzled, and the high lane fell back, opening the door for Cole Custer, still seeking his first win, to push through with Blaney locked on his bumper. Custer grabbed the lead at the white flag, but in the final dash, Blaney held momentum in the middle lane, fending off Haley and Suárez in a four-wide sprint to the finish.
Blaney was dead and buried in P13 before the final two laps, but he pushed his No. 12 Ford to the front and edged Suárez by 0.031 seconds, Haley by 0.036, and Custer by 0.049. Suárez, who started 12th, fell one spot short of the playoffs, climbing out of the No. 99 Chevrolet visibly crushed. Trackhouse Racing’s post-race clip of Suárez drew waves of fan reactions on X.
“I just wanna cry right now man. So frickin close mannnnnnn,” one fan wrote. Another added, “Mad respect for Daniel and the 99 team! Great strategies to stay back and fight. Thank you for a great race and keeping the fans on the edge of our seats till the end. Congrats Daniel!!!!”
One spot away from the playoffs. https://t.co/BSY4Qqd0jt pic.twitter.com/ihByFsOxVI
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) August 24, 2025
A third said, “So heartbroken One of, if not the best drives of his career. He put everything into those last 2 laps!” Others pointed to the role of luck, with one remarking, “Not much you can do, lots of luck involved in these things.” Another simply sighed, “That one hurts! .”
Suárez has only 10 races left now with Trackhouse Racing after the team announced in July that the two sides would “mutually part” at season’s end. With Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen already under contract, Trackhouse cleared the way for Connor Zilisch to step into a Cup ride in 2026.
Even so, Suárez’s performance at Daytona was a reminder of his talent, and based on that effort, fans believe another Cup team will waste no time offering him a seat for 2026.
