Tyler Reddick outdueled Ryan Blaney on the final lap, winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway to earn a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series championship race.
It’ll be the first appearance in the Championship 4 for 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan, who was watching Reddick’s win from the team’s pit stand.
“Little kid drove his ass off,” Jordan told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “I’m proud of him. Oh man, he just let go. He just went for it, and I’m glad. We needed it. We needed it.”
Jordan gave Reddick a big hug as he exited his No. 45 Toyota, telling him, “Yeah, baby! Good job, kid! Man, good job.”
Results, points, Championship 4 picture after NASCAR 2024 Cup playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Tyler Reddick joined Joey Logano in the Championship 4 field.
Reddick, who started from the pole position, finished 0.241 seconds ahead of Blaney and joined Joey Logano in the championship round one week after a flip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway put him in a must-win situation.
He appeared out of contention for a victory Sunday when he pitted from the lead for fuel with 15 laps remaining, handing the lead to Blaney. But the caution flew four laps later, and Reddick stayed out to take the lead when the rest of the lead-lap cars pitted.
Reddick lost the lead on the Lap 262 restart to Hamlin, who then was passed by Blaney for first with a lap remaining.
On the final lap, Reddick went from third to first, passing Hamlin and then Reddick with a power move to the outside in Turn 3 to take the lead for good.
“We were backed in the corner, man, and we had no other choice,” Reddick told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “We were going to do what it took to win this race and fight for a championship.
“I couldn’t believe It. I just knew I needed to get on his right-side door. He raced me clean, I appreciate it.”
Reddick joined Las Vegas winner Joey Logano in locking up half of the spots in the four-driver championship field for the Nov. 10 season finale at Phoeninx Raceway.
Seeking to defend his 2023 Cup championship, Blaney came up one spot of returning to the Championship 4 for the second consecutive season.
“Obvious disappointment,” Blaney told NBC Sports’ Kim Coon. “Had a great shot to win and I didn’t have a very good last lap. Man, I thought I got into (Turn) 3 hard.
“And Reddick just blasted off in there and it stuck for him, which is pretty impressive. Yeah, I hate to give one away like that. I don’t know if we gave it away. We got the lead back after losing it on the restart, just the last lap didn’t play out for us.
“I appreciate everyone on the 12 team for bringing a really fast car. Had a great shot to go to Phoenix. We still got one more chance to look forward to that. Shame, I’ll be thinking through it all night what I should have done different. Really proud of the effort.”
The remaining two spots will be determined in the Nov. 2 race at Martinsville Speedway between Blaney, Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson.
In a 400-mile race that featured a track-record 33 lead changes, every remaining playoff driver but Byron and Logano led at Homestad-Miami Speedway.
Hamlin finished third Sunday, followed by Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott and William Byron as playoff drivers took the top six spots.
Larson finished 13th after causing the final caution with a Turn 4 spin on Lap 256, setting up a final seven-lap shootout for the victory.
Larson started second and ran inside the top five until his right-rear tire went flat on Lap 48. His No. 5 Chevrolet already was beside the wall before impact, but the incident still affected his handling through the end of Stage 2.
After falling as deep as 35th, the 2021 Cup Series champion was trying to pass Blaney for the lead when he lost control of his No. 5 Chevrolet.
Stage 1 winner: Reddick
Stage 2 winner: Hamlin
Next: The Round of 8 will continue Sunday, Nov. 2 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC)
Read the full article here
