Current:Home > BackChris Buescher wins NASCAR's regular-season finale, Bubba Wallace claims last playoff spot-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Chris Buescher wins NASCAR's regular-season finale, Bubba Wallace claims last playoff spot
View Date:2024-12-23 19:54:46
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Chris Buescher won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, eliminating fan favorite Chase Elliott from the playoffs and sending Bubba Wallace into the postseason.
Buescher and teammate Brad Keselowski finished 1-2 for RFK Racing, with Buescher winning for the third time in the last five races. Because Buescher already had won, Wallace got the 16th and final playoff spot on points.
Ryan Preece flipped about a dozen times after sliding into the infield grass with six laps to go and came to a halt in his mangled No. 41 Ford. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was able to get out with help before emergency personnel put him on a gurney and into an ambulance for a quick trip to the infield care center.
Preece’s crash with SHR teammate Chase Briscoe sent the race into overtime. Buescher was out front for the restart and Keselowski stayed in line to keep them 1-2 at the checkered flag.
Seventeen drivers started the night with hopes of securing the final spot.
Elliott needed a victory that never came, even at his favorite tracks. He knew Daytona was a wild card, but he still managed to get to the front and lead two laps early.
He missed six races after breaking his left leg in a snowboarding accident in early March and was suspended for another for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Those absences left NASCAR’s most popular driver trying to dig out of a huge hole all summer.
Martin Truex Jr. took the regular-season championship over Denny Hamlin, giving Truex an extra 15 playoff points. Truex and Hamlin were the only drivers vying for the regular-season title at Daytona.
The more notable race was for the final postseason spot. Seven of the 17 drivers vying for the final berth were eliminated in a 12-car melee a little past the midway point.
Ty Gibbs was one of those knocked out of contention. Christopher Bell was pushing Gibbs near the front of the field but got him sideways in Turn 4. Gibbs slammed into race leader Ryan Blaney, turning Blaney’s No. 12 Ford into the outside wall. Blaney hit so hard that at least two tires lifted off the ground.
“I feel like I got pushed in a bad spot,” Gibbs said.
At least nine others were collected in the crash, including Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric. NASCAR red-flagged the race for nearly 10 minutes to clean up the carnage.
“It stinks. A lot of cars got tore up. Not fun,” Blaney said.
veryGood! (81941)
Related
- Pistons' Ausar Thompson cleared to play after missing 8 months with blood clot
- Golden Bachelorette Contestant Gil Ramirez Faced Restraining Order Just Days Before Filming
- Conor McGregor, who hasn't fought since 2021, addresses his status, UFC return
- New Jersey Devils agree to three-year deal with Dawson Mercer
- New wildfires burn in US Northeast while bigger blazes rage out West
- Why Bella Hadid Is Thanking Gigi Hadid's Ex Zayn Malik
- The politics of immigration play differently along the US-Mexico border
- Spotted: The Original Cast of Gossip Girl Then vs. Now
- Former Disney Star Skai Jackson Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Her Boyfriend
- A lost cat’s mysterious 2-month, 900-mile journey home to California
Ranking
- Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
- Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield says Tom Brady created 'high-strung' environment
- An appeals court has revived a challenge to President Biden’s Medicare drug price reduction program
- See Khloe Kardashian’s Delicious Chocolate Hair Transformation
- Two 'incredibly rare' sea serpents seen in Southern California waters months apart
- FBI agents have boarded vessel managed by company whose other cargo ship collapsed Baltimore bridge
- The first day of fall is almost here: What to know about 2024 autumnal equinox
- David Beckham shares what Lionel Messi wanted the most from his move to MLS
Recommendation
-
Lou Donaldson, jazz saxophonist who blended many influences, dead at 98
-
Federal authorities subpoena NYC mayor’s director of asylum seeker operations
-
Ford recalls over 144,000 Mavericks for rearview camera freeze
-
GM recalls 450,000 pickups, SUVs including Escalades: See if your vehicle is on list
-
Missouri prosecutor says he won’t charge Nelly after an August drug arrest
-
'Golden Bachelorette': Gil Ramirez's temporary restraining order revelation prompts show removal
-
Freddie Owens executed in South Carolina despite questions over guilt, mother's plea
-
It was unique debut season for 212 MLB players during pandemic-altered 2020