By Cole Cusumano

Admittedly, there had been concerns when NASCAR revealed it would be uprooting Daytona International Speedway’s Fourth of July tradition and moving it to the regular season finale. All those notions of doubt can now be put to rest, as the Coke Zero Sugar 400 provided one of the most entertaining races of the year, and left everyone pondering why this decision hadn’t been made sooner.

The fluorescent haze of the lights illuminating the 2.5-mile tri-oval accompanied by the glowing sparks trailing beneath the 40 stock cars set the tone for the night at the drop of the green flag. Tensed muscles, nail-biting and mental exhaustion highlighted the range of nerves felt from the near-20,000 spectators in attendance and millions watching from home, as intensity was proudly on display.

Entering the night there were three spots up for grabs for the postseason. Nine points ahead of the cutoff was 2019’s breakout star, Matt DiBendetto, racing for his first Playoff berth and a shot at building a new legacy for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team. Behind him was William Byron, the heir to Jeff Gordon’s throne still in search of his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. Finally, there was Jimmie Johnson — the seven-time Champion on the outside looking in with one final chance for an elusive eighth title.

Between these clashing personalities with their seasons on the line and the flawless execution by all three teams, the bubble battle was the center of attention. Throughout the entire night, the trio maintained their composure and maximized their opportunities. It ended up being a textbook example of ‘may the best man win,’ after all-around impeccable performances.

The important thing to note about this night is many people weren’t on board with a wild card event determining settling the grid for the playoffs. This race was truly a test of strategy and composure, and it honestly felt as if the pairing of the regular season finale and Daytona were made for each other.

DiBenedetto ran by far the most conservative race, and as a result, pointed his way into the postseason by staying out of trouble. Johnson was very much on offense, picking up the second most stage points of the day with 12. This was not enough to keep the chase for eight alive, as the seven-time Champion was involved in a wreck with two laps remaining.

Johnson and his fans were left wondering what could have been, had he not missed the Indianapolis 400 due to COVID-19 and his runner-up disqualification in the Coca-Cola 600 not been accounted for. Regardless, the No. 48 team fought valiantly and put themselves in the best position possible all night. 

This doesn’t define Johnson’s career, and as he stated post-race, “We did all we could this year — 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase.”

In the end it was William Byron who stunned the NASCAR world and picked up his first Cup Series victory in a do-or-die moment. Chills radiated throughout the racing community in seeing the iconic No. 24 in victory lane once more. It was also a “very important” win for Chad Knaus, who said he needed to know he could succeed without Johnson.

As for the overall racing on display, it’s clear the new restrictor plate package is a success. There hadn’t been a physical caution until the final stage and, much like Talladega Superspeedway earlier this year, it went unnoticed. Constant jostling for positions, frequent three and four-wide passing in the pack and even the element of pit strategy was enough to satisfy the hunger of spectators.

Clean through two stages, the customary unnerving feeling of impending doom was lingering in the back of everyone’s minds. What would Daytona be without a little controversy and carnage? 

With seven laps remaining, Tyler Reddick pulled up in front of Kyle Busch for the race lead. Unbeknownst to him, he was not clear and this triggered the first of two ‘Big Ones.’ The Rookie of the Year contender was heavily criticized by Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch and others for his aggressive unintuitive driving style.

The driver of the No. 8 took to Twitter after the race saying, “Why not try to make up for a season filled with mistakes with YET ANOTHER MISTAKE.”

In the end, Reddick put himself in a position to win the race and make the Playoffs. It’s harsh to point fingers, when almost every driver in the field would have done the same thing in his position. No one willingly compromises the safety of their competitors. This was not a blatant act of ignorance, but inexperience. 

Ultimately, The World Center of Racing should serve as the regular season finale for as long as possible. Not only did it provide lap-by-lap emotion, drama and adrenaline, but it put an emphasis on performing well in the prior 25 races. DiBenedetto, Johnson, Byron and the many drivers below the cutoff would probably agree you don’t want to rely on competing for points or going all in for the win at Daytona 

The 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 will go down in history as one of the most entertaining events in the sport’s history and being the regular season finale should be embraced as a new tradition for years to come.