NASCAR News: Reddick rides high line to Homestead Cup victory

A clutch last-lap pass following a late-race restart saw polesitter Tyler Reddick clinch a Championship 4 berth with his NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday evening.

The race will go down as one of the all-time great NASCAR Classics.

It came as it so often does for Reddick on the high line, with the driver of the No. 45 23XI Toyota putting his car inches away from the wall to sweep past Blaney in the final corners.

Blaney, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, finished runner-up. Denny Hamlin – who held the lead until the final frenzy – was third, followed by Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott. William Byron, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar and Ryan Preece completed the top 10.

The win set off a jubilant celebration both inside the car and in the team’s pit box. Although he started from the Busch Light Pole, Reddick needed a bit of strategy to be in position for the win. Crew chief Billy Scott ran the No. 45 until the very end of the final long run hoping for caution. It came just after Reddick pitted for fresh tires, when Kyle Larson spun out making a move for the lead.

“We were backed in a corner, man,” Reddick said after emerging from his car. “We had no other choice. I know we were on tire deficit. Here at Homestead-Miami Speedway, that’s a death sentence. We did what it took to win this race. We’re fighting for a championship.”

Kyle Larson, who suffered a blown Goodyear tire in Stage 1 and spun out during the final stage’s waning portions, finished 13th. It puts the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet seven points below the elimination line, unofficially, heading into the Round of 8 finale next weekend.

KYLE LARSON SPINS RACING RYAN BLANEY FOR THE LEAD!

A restart with under 10 laps left on NBC coming up! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/VNyTXMRUci

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 27, 2024

“These f***ing cars are stupid,” said Larson afterward. “How can you get a flat tire and be done … or you get a flat tire and wear out a little bit of your diffuser and your race is killed. Stupid.”

Joey Logano, who clinched his Championship 4 victory last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and started at the rear, finished 28th.

The Round of 8 will conclude next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

Tyler Reddick

Tyler, I saw you pull it off. How did you pull it off?

TYLER REDDICK: I don’t know (smiling). We were backed in a corner, man. We had no other choice. I know we were on tire deficit. Here at Homestead Miami Speedway, that’s a death sentence. I don’t care. We did what it took to win this race. We’re fighting for a championship.

What was your thought process going into turn three? Did you think there was any way to pull that move off?

TYLER REDDICK: I couldn’t believe it. I just knew I needed to get to even with him on his right side door. I didn’t care what he did. He raced me clean. I appreciate it.

Just really, really excited that we’re going to get to have a shot at this championship.

What would it mean to bring a NASCAR championship to the man who just hugged you, Michael Jordan?

TYLER REDDICK: It would mean the world. We thankfully can take off for Martinsville a little bit, get ready for Phoenix. But we’re pumped.

Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney comes up one spot short. I saw you get out of the car shaking your head. What are you feeling in this moment?

RYAN BLANEY: It’s obvious: disappointment. Yeah, I had a great shot to win. Didn’t have a very good last lap. Man, I thought I got into three hard. The 45 just blitzed off in there. It stuck for him, which is pretty impressive.

Yeah, 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 on the restart. Yeah, just last bit didn’t really play out for us. Definitely stinks.

Appreciate everybody on the 12 team for bringing a really fast race car. Had a great shot to go to Phoenix. Still got one more chance. Look forward to that.

Appreciate Menards, Ford Performance, Richmond, Advance Auto Parts, Body Armor, Wabash, everybody.

I’ll be thinking through it all night, what I should have done different, probably. That’s just the way it goes. Overall, really proud of the effort. Hopefully, we can bring it to them next week.

Disappointment right now, but you mentioned next week. You won last year to get into the Championship 4 at Martinsville. Is it optimistic at this point or you’re going to have to sort through these feelings first?

RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, it will suck for the night, then we’ll look forward to Martinsville tomorrow morning. We try to forget things quick. I’ve tried to do that more and more as I’ve gotten older, move on to the next thing, good, bad or indifferent, focus on the task. This team will do it.

Yeah, I can’t say how proud I am of them coming in and understanding what we needed to do. Just a shame it didn’t work out.

Yeah, we had good fortune at Martinsville last year. Hopefully, we can bring the same kind of speed and be in contention to win.

2024 Homestead-Miami NASCAR Cup Race Results