Austin Dillon wins the 2022 Cup Series "Coke Zero Sugar" 400 at Daytona

 

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    The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoff field was set in stone at the finish of the "Coke Zero Sugar" 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Austin Dillon managed to pull off the victory, claiming himself a playoff seat after being in a "must-win" situation before the event.

After avoiding serious damage in a wreck off of Turn 4 on lap-125, Dillon survived a subsequent 13-car tussle in Turn 1 and took the lead before rain halted the race. Dillon had gained the free-pass position the caution prior to the caution-turned-red flag for rain/multi-car wreck, placing him back on the lead lap. After a red-flag period of 3 hours, 19 minutes, 57 seconds, Dillon fell behind 2022 "Daytona 500" winner Austin Cindric and trailed him from the restart on lap-145 of 160 until he made the race-winning move on lap-158.

Dillon’s victory knocked Martin Truex, Jr. out of the Playoff and handed the final berth to Ryan Blaney, who finished three points ahead of Truex in the final regular-season standings. Blaney and Truex had been the highest-ranking drivers, 2nd and 7th respectively in points, before the playoff reshuffle and the drop-out of Kurt Busch.

Here are your complete race results from Daytona:

NASCAR.com

 

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