Ryan Blaney closed NASCAR’s regular season with a flurry, winning at Daytona International Speedway and moving into fourth in the Cup Series standings heading into the playoffs

It happens every fall -- in NASCAR’s Next Gen era, at least. As reliably as jack-o’-lanterns populate the front porches of America with Halloween approaching, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs take a turn toward a certain Ford team when the end of summer nears.

Ryan Blaney accomplished a feat Saturday night at Daytona not seen in NASCAR in several years. He went from outside the top 10 with two laps to go to win a race at a drafting track. No driver had done that at a drafting track in a decade.