RICK WARE RACING
Straight Talk Wireless 400
Date: Oct. 27, 2024
Event: Straight Talk Wireless 400 (Round 34 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)
Race Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
RWR Race Finish:
● Kaz Grala (Started 27th, Finished 32nd/Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
● Corey LaJoie (Started 33rd, Finished 35th/ Running, completed 266 of 267 laps)
RWR Points:
● Corey LaJoie (32nd with 482 points)
● Kaz Grala (35th with 193 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Grala’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at Homestead.
● This was LaJoie’s ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at Homestead. His best finish remains 20th, earned in October 2023.
Race Notes:
● Tyler Reddick won the Straight Talk Wireless 400 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Homestead. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Blaney was .241 of a second.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 30 laps.
● All but five of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● This was the second race in the semifinal Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs. Reddick secured his spot in the Championship 4 via his win and joined last week’s winner, Joey Logano. Christopher Bell and William Byron are the other two drivers above the top-four cutline while Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Blaney and Chase Elliott are currently below the cutline with one race remaining before the final, winner-take-all Championship 4 Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
Sound Bites:
“It was just a tough day for us overall. I wish we could’ve had a better showing for Meat N’ Bone at their home track, but we’ve got two more races and I feel like we’ll be able to finish the season strong.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 Meat N’ Bone Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the XFINITY 500 on Sunday, Nov. 3 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The penultimate race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
