Tyler Reddick Capitalizes at Kansas, Joins Round of 12

Tyler Reddick celebrated his Kansas win like Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Prior to the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, Tyler Reddick was within a whisker of winning at Darlington.

With one of the fastest cars at “The Track Too Tough to Tame,” Reddick was unable to pass Kyle Larson for the Cook Out Southern 500 victory. Settling for a runner-up, the 27-year-old Corning, California native looked ahead to Sunday’s battle at the 1.5-mile Midwest speedway.

From the get-go, Reddick had a fast No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry fielded by 23XI Racing. Qualifying fifth, the two-time NASCAR XFINITY Series champion led the speed charts in Saturday’s practice round, best in class on a one lap and 10-lap consecutive average run.

Despite the incredible pace from his car, Reddick was like a seasoned Texas Hold ‘Em poker player. In this case, he did not show his best cards until it counted.

As Reddick bided his time, trouble struck on Lap 5 for one of the title contenders.

Regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. crashed into the Turn 3 wall due to a right front tire that went down. Although Truex was OK, the early accident knocked him out of the race and seven points below the Playoff cutline.

Following the Lap 5 accident, Kyle Larson showcased his No. 5 car’s quick pace, snatching the lead from pole sitter Christopher Bell on Lap 10. For a majority of the race, Larson looked like the man to beat, winning Stage 1 over Bubba Wallace, Bell, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney. Reddick tallied a sixth place finish, tallying five stage points.

Once Stage 2 was underway, the running order would change dramatically. On Lap 109, Bubba Wallace crashed in Turn 2, necessitating repairs that put him four laps behind the lead lap contenders.

Early on, Tyler Reddick initially thought he would have to be best in class with his No. 45 Toyota Camry at Kansas. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

Meanwhile, Larson continued his dominant form until Lap 132, a critical restart that shook up the leaderboard. A plethora of pit strategies, mainly those opting for fresh tires and fuel with a majority of the lead lap contenders, relegated Larson to a 19th place result.

Brad Keselowski bested Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott for the Stage 2 win. Likewise, Reddick did not trail too far behind with a fifth place finish.

Netting 11 stage points, Reddick kept himself inside the top five for the majority of Stage 3. Initially, he was content to finish inside the top five for a second consecutive Playoffs race.

Then, a Lap 262 caution for Chris Buescher forced the race into NASCAR Overtime, prompting a majority of the lead lap contenders to pit for fresh tires and fuel for a bid at a win or best possible result.

Opting for four fresh tires and fuel, Reddick chose to restart on the inside of Row 3, a gutsy call with leader Daniel Suárez on older Goodyear Eagles.

Fearless and cunning, Reddick was like an expert seamstress, threading the needle from the middle line from fifth to third up to Turn 4.

Trailing Joey Logano and Erik Jones, Reddick, who ran the outside line, darted to both drivers’ inside line, parlaying momentum to power at the stripe.

“Excuse me, pardon me” were not likely in Tyler Reddick’s thoughts on Lap 267. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

Taking the lead on Lap 267, Reddick cleared Logano and Jones going into Turn 1. From there, it was smooth sailing for Reddick, besting Hamlin by 0.327 seconds for his second victory of the season.

Following a riveting burnout on the frontstretch, Reddick was ecstatic about his Kansas conquest.

“Chaos,” Reddick said with a smile. “It was perfect honestly. We had a really, really good MoneyLion Toyota Camry TRD all day long. Everyone at 23XI, when we come here, we mean business.

“We didn’t have the outright pace that I think Bubba and Denny had. At times, we were pretty solid, but we were just caught behind them. The caution came, it gave us another opportunity, especially with those cars that stayed out or took two tires.”

For the third time in four races, the No. 45 Toyota Camry reigned supreme at Kansas with its third different driver. Joining Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace as the other races to win in this ride at the 1.5-mile speedway, Reddick was elated about his car’s percolating powerplant.

“I got lucky, and I was able to get to the top of (Turn) 3 to get to the inside of Kyle Busch,” he said. “I was just able to find clean air and was able to carry the momentum onward. It just seemed all day long, when you got beside someone down the frontstretch, this TRD engine would just pull down the straightaways and we would go right by them.”

While Hamlin was short of another Kansas victory, he tallied a runner-up result as a driver but was the winning principal owner of Reddick’s ride. After the race, Hamlin wished he had a replay to win his third race of the season.

“Well, the 5 was just laying back so much,” Hamlin said. “I was trying to back up to him. Should have just kind of focused forward probably. It gave the 45 an opportunity to get up there in front of us.

“Just kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rear view instead of looking in the front. Hats off to the Yahoo! Camry TRD team, just another really, really fast car, just didn’t need that caution at the end.”

On the other hand, Erik Jones had a strong podium finish at Kansas based on pure pace and merit. The pride of Byron, Michigan gave it all he had for the fledgling LEGACY Motor Club No. 43 entry.

“I just needed to clear the No. 22 (Joey Logano) in (Turns) 3 and 4,” Jones said. “I tried to do all I could, it’s just when a guy gets loose under you and kind of runs you up – I had to lift and the No. 45 obviously had a big run there. You want to be frustrated, but you have to be happy with the run.

“All day, the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy was fast and we were up in contention. We were able to drive through the field a handful of times, so it was a good day. That was probably the fastest car we’ve had all year. We would have loved to get one there, but our year has been up-and-down and having a good run like that is just a good day for the team.”

After coming up a position short at Darlington, Tyler Reddick tallied his second win of 2023 at Kansas. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

In the meantime, Reddick can breathe a bit easier as the latest, surefire lock into the Round of 12. In crunch time, the tenacious driver is thrilled about his team’s ability to compete against the Cup elites, answering to the bell with strength after strength.

“We’ve been great all year long,” Reddick said. “It just has been a process getting here. We’ve struggled at times to execute, but we are doing it at the right time.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Finishers

1. Kyle Larson
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Christopher Bell
4. Ross Chastain
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Chase Elliott
10. Kevin Harvick

Stage 2 Top 10 Finishers

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Chase Elliott
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Tyler Reddick
6. Erik Jones
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Joey Logano
9. Chris Buescher
10. Christopher Bell

Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Race Results

NASCAR Cup Series Round of 16 Playoffs Standings