The playoffs were a popular subject during Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Who will be the last NASCAR Cup Series driver to qualify for the Round of 16?
Who will be left behind?
With one open playoff spot remaining, Saturday’s regular-season finale drama developed along the points cutoff line …
You can feel the intensity building.@DAYTONA | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/E50HWaCV9r
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 26, 2023
Kurt Busch, the 2017 Daytona 500 titleholder, spoke on why he decided it was time to walk away …
🗣️ “It’s just been a lot of heavy weight on my shoulders and on my heart. I’m happy.”
2004 Cup champion @KurtBusch speaks on his retirement from #NASCAR ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8vuIujYx9D
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 26, 2023
With 34 career wins in 776 Cup starts, Busch, the 2004 points champion, deserved a standing ovation …
As #NASCAR … Ovation in drivers meeting for Kurt Busch, who announced his retirement from the Cup Series on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/rSTl2366yG
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 26, 2023
Saturday night’s alright for fighting …
The push for the #NASCARPlayoffs culminates at the World Center of Racing!
Don’t miss a second from @DAYTONA right now on NBC! pic.twitter.com/bCQI1iCTgh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 26, 2023
Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 Cup champion, entered Sunday with a 45-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the regular-season driver standings. In Stage 1, the two leaders worked together to get to the front …
Here comes Hamlin!
A big push from @MartinTruex_Jr puts the No. 11 out front in Stage 1. #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/aJWufEOzKV
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 27, 2023
Truex then pulled off a masterclass move, helping Hamlin to the lead on Lap 23, only to take it away 13 circuits later, claiming the Stage 1 win and edging to within 12 points of clinching the drivers’ title …
STAGE 1 WINNER: @MartinTruex_Jr
The No. 19’s march towards the regular season title becomes even more likely after his 6th stage win of the season.#NASCAR #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/95GfJFFcNI
— NASCAR on TSN (@NASCARonTSN) August 27, 2023
The third lane ruled Daytona …
Watching them race 3-wide like this is both awesome and scary. #NASCAR | #NASCAR75🟢 | #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/GnlrmaMXEF
— JJ (@TomcatNASCAR_2) August 27, 2023
Eight-ish rows of three-wide racing was …
D
I
C
E
Y#NASCAR— Chris Knight (@Knighter01) August 27, 2023
Needing a win to qualify of for the playoffs, Chase Elliott, the 2020 points champion, claimed the lead on Lap 50, but four rotations later, he was pushed out to dry and fell to P12 …
THIS BATTLE!
Chase Elliott grabs the lead, then AJ Allmendinger takes it! #NASCAR
📺 : @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/KKC6J9Qhhm
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
Joey Logano anticipated playoff-hungry drivers would be “frickin’ crazy” attempting to grab the No. 16 seed …
🤯 “You have some guys that just have to win. And they’re gonna be frickin’ crazy.” #NASCAR@joeylogano is expecting chaos tonight @DAYTONA. Are you? 🏁
Listen to the #CokeZeroSugar400 LIVE on Ch. 90 at 6 pm ET 🎧 pic.twitter.com/ILdPekCG0W
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 26, 2023
Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell proved Logano correct as Gibbs got a push in the corner by Bell, a Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, and couldn’t hold it. The pileup at the end of Stage 2 took out 18 cars …
THE BIG ONE AT DAYTONA!@TyGibbs goes around at the front of the field with @Blaney taking a massive hit into the outside wall with over a dozen cars involved.@keselowski wins Stage 2.#NASCAR #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/aMz2nwZQhD
— NASCAR on TSN (@NASCARonTSN) August 27, 2023
Blaney talks about the hard crash …
Hear from Ryan @Blaney after a hard crash at @DAYTONA. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/c4rdHhK3By
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
Going in circles on the backstretch for a purpose, Stage 2 winner Brad Keselowski believed he had a fire under his machine, but all he did was ignite a flurry of memes …
Imma just let y’all meme this one pic.twitter.com/YmCoo8nOHo
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) August 27, 2023
Truex sealed the regular-season drivers’ title at the end of Stage 2 …
REPOST to congratulate @MartinTruex_Jr!
The @JoeGibbsRacing driver wraps up the #NASCAR regular season championship and picks up valuable playoff points. pic.twitter.com/JHx33vC6ce
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
Ryan Preece flips out …
This has to be one of the craziest crashes EVER🤯
Preece is out of the car with the AMR Safety Team pic.twitter.com/rs4RAPMflA
— Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) August 27, 2023
Chris Buescher continues to find ways to win …
BUESCHER LEADS AN RFK 1-2 FINISH AT DAYTONA!
The No. 17 finishes off as the hottest driver in the sport after winning 3 of the last 5 races to end the regular season.@BubbaWallace has pointed his way into the final #NASCARPlayoffs spot.#NASCAR #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/LeW3UhRssY
— NASCAR on TSN (@NASCARonTSN) August 27, 2023
The 2023 postseason bracket …
16 ➡️ 12 ➡️ 8 ➡️ 4
The #NASCARPlayoffs are here. pic.twitter.com/UZMox8UGoG
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 27, 2023
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