DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A look at the winners and losers from Saturday night’s Cup race at Daytona International Speedway.
WINNERS
Wood Brothers Racing — It had been eight years since the organization last won a race until Harrison Burton delivered the team’s 100th Cup victory Saturday at Daytona. The Wood Brothers have now won a NASCAR sanctioned race in eight consecutive decades.
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Harrison Burton — It has been a tough year for Burton, who is losing his ride with the team after this season. Until Saturday night, Burton had one top-10 finish this year, but he took the lead from Kyle Busch on the last lap to score his first career series win and claim a playoff spot.
Cody Ware — His fourth-place finish matches the best result for Rick Ware Racing in Cup. David Ragan finished fourth for the team in the 2020 Daytona 500. Ware’s finish was the best of his Cup career.
Ty Gibbs — His fifth-place finish gives him back-to-back top fives for the second time this year.
Parker Retzlaff — In his second career Cup start, the 21-year-old Xfinity Series regular was in a position to challenge for the lead in overtime. After pushing Harrison Burton to the lead, Retzlaff was shuffled back but still finished seventh.
LOSERS
Kyle Busch — This feels so wrong to put him here after finishing second at Daytona, but the focus for Busch is on winning and he just missed doing so, losing the lead on the final lap. He seeks to extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a victory to 20 and avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Think about this, Busch is .054 seconds from being a two-time winner this year. He finished third by .007 seconds to Daniel Suarez at Atlanta in February and lost Saturday night to Harrison Burton by .047 seconds. On the bright side, Busch has finished in the top 10 in back-to-back races for the second time this season.
Bubba Wallace — He finished sixth but remains the first driver outside a playoff spot. With the cutline moving up due to Harrison Burton grabbing a spot, Wallace goes into the Sept. 1 regular season finale at Darlington Raceway 21 points behind Chris Buescher for the last playoff position.
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A wild night of racing saw two cars get airborne and a first-time Cup winner.
Ross Chastain — He entered Daytona holding the final playoff position but fell behind Bubba Wallace and is 27 points behind Chris Buescher for the last playoff position heading to Darlington. Chastain came back to finish 12th after being involved in a crash.
Daniel Suarez — Denny Hamlin’s exhaust ignited spilled fuel in Suarez’s pit stall and it reached the back of Suarez’s car, burning it. Suarez exited safely but his race was over, resulting in a last-place finish.
