TC Daily Pit Stop: It's Playoff Media Day; How One Tenth Could've Changed The Season of Four Teams at Daytona
TC Daily Pit Stop: Wednesday, August 27th, 2025
It’s Playoff Media Day! Today, all 16 drivers competing for the championship in the NASCAR Cup Series will have an opportunity to talk to members of the media about their chances at a title. Stay tuned to TobyChristie.com and Racing America OnSI for content from today’s media scrums.
How One Tenth Could've Reinvigorated Four Teams' Seasons at Daytona
When it comes to racetracks such as Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and even the newly reconfigured EchoPark Speedway, one tenth of a second can seem like an eternity.
Throughout the NASCAR Cup Series’ 2,822 points-paying events, only 62 times has the gap between the top two finishes been less than that, including Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, where Ryan Blaney beat Daniel Suarez to the line by 0.031 seconds (26th closest points-paying finish in NASCAR).
In this instance, though, a tenth of a second wouldn’t have just been the different maker for runner-up Daniel Suarez… Justin Haley finished third (0.036 seconds behind Blaney), Cole Custer was just behind in fourth (0.049 seconds back), and even fifth-place Erik Jones (0.091 seconds back).
The kicker? None of those four drivers (Suarez, Haley, Custer, and Jones) will be competing in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. To make the post-season, those drivers needed to win on Saturday, proving just how much a tenth of a second can make in not just a race, but a season.
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