One week after rolling over in dramatic style at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Tyler Reddick responded in a monstrous way by notching a dramatic last-lap NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, October 27.
The two-time Xfinity Series champion from Corning, California, led eight times for a race-high 97 of 267-scheduled laps in an event where he started on pole position and led the first 31 of 32 laps. Despite losing the lead during the event’s first round of green flag pit stops that started on Lap 32, Reddick would cycle back into the lead on Lap 55 and proceed to claim the first stage victory. Amid another cycle of green flag pit stops during the second stage period, he would collect an additional seven stage points by settling in fourth place at the stage’s conclusion.
Then through various pit strategies that occurred within the final stage period that started with 95 laps remaining, Reddick, who restarted in the top five and spent a majority of the period racing towards the front and battling with his fellow Playoff contenders, attempted to pull a strategic move by stretching his fuel tank to the distance while leading, a move that started with 46 laps remaining. Ultimately, the Californian would then pit from the lead with 16 laps remaining as he plummeted below the leaderboard.
After Playoff contender Kyle Larson spun with 13 laps remaining in his bid for the lead, Reddick remained on the track while the rest of the field pitted. Reddick would then lose the lead to team owner Denny Hamlin on the ensuing restart with seven laps remaining and spend the next six laps tracking both Hamlin and Ryan Blaney to remain in contention for the lead. Then after overtaking Hamlin for the runner-up spot at the start of the final lap, Reddick used the first two turns and the backstretch to reel in Blaney before he executed a bold race-winning pass to Blaney’s outside through Turns 3 and 4. With the momentum to his advantage, Reddick claimed his third Cup victory of the 2024 season and clinched a Championship 4 berth for the first time in his career.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 26, Playoff contender Tyler Reddick notched his third Cup pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 167.452 mph in 32.248 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Kyle Larson, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 167.053 mph in 32.325 seconds.
Prior to the event, Playoff contender Joey Logano, who is guaranteed a spot in this year’s Championship 4 field by winning last weekend’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry. Chris Buescher also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Tyler Reddick launched his No. 45 The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry XSE ahead with an early advantage. He was followed by Playoff contender Christopher Bell while Kyle Larson struggled to launch from the outside lane. The field then fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Bell and Larson.
Then entering Turn 3, the event’s first caution flew as Justin Haley, who was running in sixth place, turned across the right-front fender of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and spun his No. 7 Chili’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 towards the bottom of the track through the turn as the field scattered to avoid him. With Haley managing to continue without sustaining any damage to his entry, Reddick proceeded to lead the first lap under caution.
When the race restarted under green on the fifth lap, the field fanned out through the first two turns as both Reddick and Bell dueled for the lead. They continued to duel for the lead in front of Larson through the backstretch and through Turns 3 and 4 before Bell led the following lap by a fender. Larson then tried to make a move beneath Reddick through the frontstretch, but Reddick fended him off as Reddick stormed into the lead. Behind, Martin Truex Jr. challenged Larson for third place as Bubba Wallace tried to join the battle.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Reddick was leading by half a second over Bell as Larson, Wallace and Playoff contender Chase Elliott were racing in the top five. Behind, Truex was back in sixth place ahead of Playoff contender Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and rookie Josh Berry while Daniel Hemric, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top 15 ahead of Noah Gragson, Daniel Suarez, rookie Carson Hocevar, Playoff contender William Byron and Michael McDowell. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Joey Logano was mired in 27th place.
Ten laps later, Reddick stretched his advantage to more than a second over Larson as Elliott was up to third place. Behind, Wallace and Hamlin, both of whom nearly had an incident as Wallace got loose in front of Hamlin in Turn 1, trailed in the top five while Bell, Truex, Berry, Bowman and Briscoe followed suit in the top 10 ahead of Blaney, Keselowski, Byron, Stenhouse and Suarez.
Another 12 laps later, the event’s first cycle of green flag pit stops occurred as Byron pitted his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. More names including McDowell, Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Corey LaJoie also pitted before the leader Reddick pitted during the next lap. Elliott, Hamlin, Blaney, Briscoe, Berry, Hocevar, rookie Zane Smith, Hemric and Erik Jones also pitted before Larson, who assumed a brief lead, pitted along with Wallace by the Lap 34 mark. Truex, Bell, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek would follow suit to pit road as Keselowski, who was among 11 competitors who had yet to pit, remained on the track and inherited the lead.
Just past the Lap 40 mark, Keselowski continued to lead as he was ahead of Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Logano and Austin Cindric on the track while Elliott, who managed to cycle ahead of Larson and Reddick following his green flag pit stop, trailed in eighth place. By then, Stenhouse, Kaz Grala and Chris Buescher had pitted earlier. Not long after, Busch, Logano and Cindric would pit their respective entries before Keselowski pitted from the lead on Lap 42. Once Gilliland pitted a lap later, Elliott would cycle past Haley, who has yet to pit, and assume the lead from teammate Larson and Reddick.
Nearing the Lap 50 mark, the caution flew when Larson, who was running in second place, scraped the outside wall entering the backstretch after he blew a right-rear tire, which the tire rolled out of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 4 as Larson limped to pit road. During the caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Elliott returned to pit road for service while the rest including Busch, Logano, Austin Dillon and Haley remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Elliott exited pit road first as he was ahead of Wallace, Reddick, Blaney, Bell, Byron, Hamlin, Truex, Bowman and Hocevar.
As the race restarted under green on Lap 53, Busch retained a brief advantage through the frontstretch before Wallace, who restarted in sixth place, threaded the needle between three competitors and proceeded to zip by both Logano and Busch to assume the lead through the first two turns. Elliott would follow suit in second place through the backstretch as the field fanned out. With a bevy of competitors jostling for spots, Wallace led the following lap as teammate Redick made his way into second place over Elliott while Blaney followed suit. Playoff contenders Bell, Byron and Hamlin would also make their way into the top seven while Logano was slowly fading back on his worn tires.
Then on Lap 55, Reddick made a move beneath teammate Wallace through Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead as he led the following lap. Reddick would proceed to lead to the Lap 60 mark while Wallace was fending off Elliott and Blaney for the runner-up spot. By then, six of eight Playoff contenders were racing in the top 10 on the track while Logano was drifting out of the top-20 mark. Meanwhile, Larson, who remained on the lead lap despite drawing the previous caution period, was trying to carve his way back into the top-25 mark on the track.
At the Lap 70 mark, Reddick’s advantage grew to three seconds over teammate Wallace while third-place Elliott trailed by four seconds. Behind, Blaney and Bell followed suit in the top five while Hocevar was up to sixth place ahead of Byron, Bowman, Hamlin and Truex.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Reddick, who came into Homestead 30 points below the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 round, captured his sixth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Wallace followed suit in second ahead of Elliott, Blaney and Hocevar while Bell, Hamlin, Byron, Bowman and Truex were scored in the top 10. With six of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points by finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders including Larson and Logano were mired outside the top 20 on the track.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Reddick peeled off the track to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Blaney exited pit road first as he was followed by Wallace, Hocevar, Elliott, Bell and Hamlin while Reddick exited seventh as he lost six spots due to a slow pit service. Amid the pit stops, Buescher spun in his pit stall after he was bumped by Stenhouse. In addition, Kyle Busch was penalized for a safety violation.
The second stage period started on Lap 87 as Blaney and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott steered his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 beneath Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse through the frontstretch as both along with Wallace went three wide for the lead in front of the field entering the first turn. Elliott and Wallace would then duel for the lead through the backstretch while Blaney was left pinned with Reddick and Hamlin in a three-wide battle for third place. As Bell joined the battle for third place, Elliott would muscle ahead of Wallace and lead the following lap. With Elliott leading by the Lap 90 mark, Hamlin and Blaney battled for third place in front of another battle involving Bell, Reddick and Bowman before Reddick gained a strong run through the frontstretch to challenge both Blaney and Hamlin for third place.
At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Blaney as Hamlin, Reddick and Hocevar were scored in the top five. Behind, Wallace fell back to sixth place as he was ahead of Bell, Byron, Zane Smith and Bowman while Ryan Preece, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Logano and Berry followed suit in the top 15.
Twelve laps later, another cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Blaney, who brushed the outside wall, pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Teammate Cindric would also pit along with Byron, Preece, Bowman, Logano, Suarez, Gilliland, Logano, Chastain, Larson and Erik Jones before Elliott pitted from the lead on Lap 116. Bell would also pit with Elliott.
As more names including Stenhouse, Buescher, Gragson, Wallace and Hemric pitted during the proceeding laps, Hamlin then pitted his No. 11 Mavis Toyota Camry XSE from the lead on Lap 123 as teammate Truex, Berry and Hocevar followed suit. Reddick, who assumed a brief lead, then pitted during the following lap as Kyle Busch and Keselowski, both of whom have yet to pit, moved into first and second ahead of Blaney and Elliott. By Lap 126, Blaney cycled into the lead as both Busch and Keselowski pitted. Elliott, however, would overtake Blaney for the lead two laps later.
Just past the Lap 135 mark, Elliott was leading ahead of Bell, who made his way past Blaney for the runner-up spot, as Hamlin started to close in from fourth place. Behind, Reddick cycled to fifth place as Byron, Hocevar, Bowman, Preece and Zane Smith were in the top 10. Elliott would continue to lead by Lap 140 while Hamlin, who had fresher tires than Elliott, was up to second place.
By Lap 150, Hamlin started to close in on Elliott for the lead. Then after spending the next five laps both stalking and closing in more to Elliott’s rear bumper, Hamlin started to make a move beneath Elliott for the lead. Amid lapped traffic, both dueled for the lead during the next five laps through every corner and straightaway before Hamlin used the inside lane in Turn 1 to rocket ahead and clear Elliott with the lead.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Hamlin, who came into Homestead 27 points below the top-four cutline, captured his seventh Cup stage victory of the 2024 season as he had extended his advantage to more than a second. Elliott settled in second and Bell fended off Reddick to settle in third place while Blaney, Byron, Truex, Hocevar, Preece and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10. By then, six of eight Playoff contenders racked up the event’s second round of stage points while both Larson and Logano did not.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted for service. Following the pit services, Elliott reassumed the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of Bell, Hamlin, Blaney and Reddick while Byron, Hocevar, Truex, Preece and Bowman followed suit in the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Kyle Busch was penalized for pitting outside his pit box.
With 95 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Elliott and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott and Bell dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first turn. Bell and Elliott remained dead even for the top spot through the backstretch and for the final two sets of turns before Bell led the following lap by a fender. Elliott would then use the inside lane to muscle back ahead of Bell and reassume the lead. With Elliott leading, Blaney would then muscle past Bell and retain second while Hamlin, Byron and Reddick followed suit.
With 85 laps remaining, Elliott retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney as Bell, Reddick and Hamlin were in the top five. Meanwhile, Larson was back up to sixth place in front of teammate Bryon as Blaney started to close in on Elliott for the lead.
Then with 81 laps remaining, the caution returned as Haley spun in Turn 3 for a second time, this time due to getting hit by Ty Gibbs. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Elliott returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Blaney managed to beat Elliott off of pit road first as they were followed by Bell, Reddick, Larson, Hocevar, Hamlin, Bowman, Byron and Preece.
The start of the next restart period with 76 laps remaining featured Blaney rocketing ahead with the lead entering the first turn as Bell made his way into second place. Behind, Larson moved up to fourth place and battled Reddick and Byron to retain the spot while Elliott tried to battle Bell for second place. Amid a series of battles occurring within the field, Blaney led the following lap. As Blaney retained a steady lead over both Elliott and Bell with 70 laps remaining, Larson continued to fiercely battle with Byron and Reddick for fourth place while Hamlin overtook Hocevar for seventh place.
Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Blaney stretched his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while Larson, who carved his way up to third place, trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Bell and Reddick were in the top five as Hamlin, Byron, Bowman, Hocevar and Allmendinger were in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Blaney stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while Larson continued to trail in third place by more than two seconds. Shortly after, a late cycle of green flag pit stops ensued as Keselowski, Wallace, Busch, Austin Dillon and Gilliland all pitted their respective entries. More names including LaJoie, Berry, Preece, Gragson and Byron pitted over the next three laps before teammates Elliott and Larson pitted their respective Chevrolets with 47 laps remaining. The leader Blaney would then pit with 46 laps remaining along with Bell as Reddick and Hamlin remained on the track to assume first and second.
With 40 laps remaining, Reddick, who had yet to pit but opted to stretch his fuel tank to the furthest of its distance, continued to lead ahead of team owner Hamlin while Bowman, McDowell and Briscoe, all of whom had yet to pit, were in the top five. As Truex, Suarez, Logano, Nemechek and Cindric, all of whom have yet to pit, trailed in the top 10, Blaney, the first competitor who pitted, was up in 11th place and racing ahead of Elliott and Larson.
A lap later, Hamlin pitted under green from the runner-up spot. By then Reddick, remained in the lead as he was leading by more than 21 seconds over Blaney. Reddick would continue to lead and stretch his fuel tank before he surrendered the lead to pit under green with 16 laps remaining. As Reddick pitted, Blaney cycled into the lead as he was leading by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson.
Then with 13 laps remaining, the caution flew as Larson, who tried to thread the needle in between Blaney and the lapped competitor of Austin Dillon in a battle for the lead, was lightly bumped into both as he slid sideways and spun to the bottom of the track in Turn 4. Following the spin, Larson managed to proceed as he lost the runner-up spot to Hamlin as Blaney retained the lead.
During the caution period, Blaney led nearly the entire lead lap field back to pit road for service while Reddick remained on the track as he inherited the lead. Following the pit stops, Blaney exited pit road first as he was followed by Hamlin, Elliott, Bowman, Byron, Bell, Allmendinger and Hocevar while Larson, whose No. 5 pit crew repaired the diffuser lap, exited ninth as he lost six spots in the process.
Down to the final seven laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Reddick launched ahead of Blaney from the outside lane to assume the lead through the frontstretch. Then as the field fanned out entering Turn 1, Hamlin seized an opportunity through the first two turns and used the outside lane to dart his No. 11 Mavis Toyota into the lead. Behind, Blaney and Elliott battled for second along with Reddick. Hamlin would lead the next lap before Blaney launched his challenge on the former for the top spot entering the first turn. Despite Blaney having the advantage through the turns from the inside lane, Hamlin used the outside wall to gain the final advantage and retain the lead entering the straightaways. As Reddick and Elliott battled for third place, Hamlin continued to lead with five laps remaining.
Over the next three laps, Hamlin fended off repeated challenges from Blaney through the corners to lead as Reddick tried to close in. Then entering the backstretch, Blaney gained a strong run beneath Hamlin and dueled with him before he muscled his No. 12 Menards Ford ahead in Turns 3 and 4.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney was leading by a tenth of a second over Hamlin as Reddick started to close in on Hamin for the runner-up spot. Reddick then used the inside lane to overtake Hamlin through the first two turns as Blaney remained in the lead. Then after stalking Blaney through the backstretch, Reddick floored his No. 45 The Beast Toyota to the outside lane as he drew even with Blaney through Turns 3 and 4. With the outside lane working to his advantage, Reddick rocketed past Blaney and used the momentum to muscle ahead through the frontstretch as he claimed the checkered flag to cap off a dramatic battle and finish to the event.
With the victory, Reddick notched his eighth Cup Series win in his 180th career start, his third of the 2024 season, his first at Homestead and his first since winning at Michigan International Speedway in August. The victory was also the ninth of the season for the Toyota nameplate and the eighth overall for 23XI Racing.
Above all, Reddick, who is in his fifth consecutive full-time season as a Cup Series competitor, became the second Playoff contender to clinch one of four berths to the 2024 Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway as this season marks Reddick’s first time reaching the final Playoff round in NASCAR’s premier series. As a result, he joins Joey Logano as a championship finalist and will contend for the first Cup Series championship for himself and 23XI Racing.
“We’re backed into a corner and we had no other choice,” Reddick, who celebrated with his family, No. 45 team, and owner Michael Jordan, said on the frontstretch on NBC. “I knew we were on a tire deficit and here at Homestead, that’s a death sentence, but I don’t care. We did what it took to win this race and we’re fighting for a championship. I couldn’t believe it. I just knew I needed to get even with [Blaney] on his right-side door. I didn’t care what he did, but he raced me clean. I appreciate it, but just really, really excited that we’re going to get to have a shot at this championship. It’d mean the world [to win the championship]. We thankfully can take off from Martinsville [Speedway] a little bit and get ready for Phoenix [Raceway], but we’re pumped.”
As Reddick celebrated both a victory and a locked-up Championship 4 berth, Blaney was left dejected on pit road after having his victory and Championship 4 berth slip out of his grasp on the final lap and final corner. Despite being 38 points below the top-four cutline, Blaney heads into next weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway with a final opportunity to race his way back into the final round and defend his title.
“It’s obvious [I am with] disappointment,” Blaney, who led 47 laps, said. “I had a great shot to win. I didn’t have a very good last lap. Man, I thought I got into [Turn] 3 hard and [Reddick] just blitzed it off in there and it stuck for him, which was pretty impressive. I hate to give one away there like that. I don’t know if we gave it away. I mean, we got the lead back after losing it on the restart. Just last lap didn’t really play out for us. Definitely stings. I appreciate everybody on the No. 12 team for bringing a really fast race car. [I] Had a great shot to go to Phoenix and still got one more chance, so we still got to look forward to that. I’ll be picking through [the finish] all night what I should have done different probably and that’s just the way it goes, but overall, really proud of the effort and hopefully, we can bring it to [the competition] next week.”
Like Blaney, Hamlin, who led 21 laps and fell short of the victory after settling in third place, trails the cutline by 18 points as he strives to return to the Championship 4 round for the first time since 2021.
“I tried to cover all lanes, but just couldn’t quite get off the corner as good as I needed to there on that short run,” Hamlin said. “Short run wasn’t my specialty all day obviously, but either way, controlling the race [with] two [laps] to go, you got to try to find a way to finish it and just didn’t. [Martinsville]’s another opportunity and certainly, you’re not out of it until [NASCAR] throws the checkered flag at Martinsville.”
Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott, both of whom led a combined 84 laps, finished in the top five while William Byron, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar and Ryan Preece finished in the top 10. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson ended up in 13th place while Logano settled in 28th place.
As a result of the final on-track finishes, Bell and Byron occupy the final two vacant spots to the Championship 4 round while Larson, Hamlin, Blaney and Elliott trail entering next weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway.
There were 33 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 30 laps. In addition, 33 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Tyler Reddick, 97 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. Ryan Blaney, 47 laps led
3. Denny Hamlin, 21 laps led, Stage 2 winner
4. Christopher Bell, three laps led
5. Chase Elliott, 81 laps led
6. William Byron
7. Alex Bowman
8. AJ Allmendinger
9. Carson Hocevar
10. Ryan Preece
11. Josh Berry
12. Chase Briscoe
13. Kyle Larson, one lap led
14. Michael McDowell
15. Chris Buescher
16. Daniel Suarez
17. Brad Keselowski, eight laps led
18. Bubba Wallace, two laps led
19. Noah Gragson
20. Todd Gilliland, one lap led
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
22. Erik Jones
23. Martin Truex Jr.
24. Harrison Burton
25. Austin Dillon
26. John Hunter Nemechek
27. Austin Cindric
28. Joey Logano
29. Daniel Hemric
30. Zane Smith
31. Kyle Busch, five laps led
32. Kaz Grala
33. Ross Chastain
34. Justin Haley, one lap down, one lap led
35. Corey LaJoie, one lap down
36. Ty Gibbs, six laps down
37. Chad Finchum, nine laps down
38. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Tyler Reddick – Advanced
2. Joey Logano – Advanced
3. Christopher Bell +29
4. William Byron +7
5. Kyle Larson -7
6. Denny Hamlin -18
7. Ryan Blaney -38
8. Chase Elliott -43
The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to conclude next weekend at Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500, which will determine this year’s Championship 4 field. The event is scheduled to commence next Sunday, November 3, and air at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
