NASCAR Misery Index: 5 saddest drivers after the Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, has an on track incident with Kasey Kahne, driver of the #95 Procore Chevrolet, and Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 18: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Peak Ford, leads Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /

2. Ryan Blaney

There’s a special brand of “what could have been” melancholy reserved for the driver who has the fastest car and doesn’t end up in Victory Lane. You couldn’t miss Ryan Blaney for most of the Daytona 500, as his bright yellow Team Penske Ford was out in front for more than half the race.

Even when Blaney made a rare wrong move in the draft with the laps ticking down, he managed to survive being hung out to dry in the middle of a three-wide situation and make progress toward retaking the lead. And then, with less than two laps to go, disaster. Blaney wasn’t knocked out of the race, but he suffered enough damage that he was not a factor during overtime.

He finished seventh, five spots behind BFF Bubba Wallace. If you had told Blaney that before the race, he might have been okay with it, given the uncertain nature of restrictor plate racing. Instead, he’ll have to deal with the misery of knowing he could have led a long, boring parade to claim the Harley J. Earl Trophy over the second half of the Daytona 500 had things not turned dicey toward the conclusion.

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