Tyler Reddick Wins Thriller at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Tyler Reddick emerged victorious in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A week after flipping over in Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Tyler Reddick decided to flip the script with his NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs prospects at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Reddick did not have to worry about his car landing on its roof in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400. His sole concern was how he would stand on the door rail after a race that lasted 3 hours and 5 minutes and frantic, wild restart.

Before the path to victory was within sights for Reddick, he started from the pole alongside Kyle Larson. Leading 32 of the first 33 laps, it looked like a showdown between Reddick and Larson, two racing products from California and the dirt track scene.

Larson’s race went from promising to troubling when a right rear tire went down on Lap 48 leading to light contact with the Turn 2 wall. A caution ensued when a carcass from Laron’s right rear tire came off in Turn 4, ultimately keeping him on the lead lap.

While Larson had his work cut out for him for the remainder of the race, Reddick clearly had the pace, winning Stage 1 ahead of Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar.

A caution-free Stage 2 offered plenty of lead changes with Blaney, Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch taking turns in the front. Hamlin emerged victorious as he bested Elliott, Christopher Bell, Reddick and Blaney.

Strategy came into play in Stage 3 with the lead quintet becoming a sextet. Larson rejoined the fray as he climbed from 35th to second in the final 12 laps of the race. Blaney and Larson opted to pit within the tire window while Hamlin pitted laps later.

On Lap 256, Larson tried to squeeze himself between Blaney and the lapped car of Austin Dillon going into Turn 3. On the edge of control, Larson spun in Turn 4, prompting the race’s final caution.

Tyler Reddick hugged the high line to win the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)

It was an eight lap dash to the finish with Reddick, opting to stay out on older tires, falling back to third as Hamlin took the lead on Lap 261 before Blaney drove past the Virginian on the penultimate lap.

Going into the final lap, Blaney held a slender lead over Hamlin and Reddick. With two corners and a portion of the frontstrech left for the defending Cup champion to punch his Championship 4 ticket, Reddick, who took second from Hamlin off Turn 2, had other plans.

As the trio made their way into Turns 3 and 4. Blaney took the middle lane while Reddick committed to the outside near the wall as if shot from a cannon. Clearing past Blaney off Turn 4, Reddick snookered the Team Penske racer by 0.241 seconds.

Following the race, Reddick recalled how crew chief Billy Scott kept him on the track.

“I can’t walk you through the last few laps. But my emotions were all over the place,” Reddick said. “Yeah, when we went long, I didn’t know how that was going to play out. I was worried that caution wasn’t going to come. We pit, lose a lap. Oh, damn. We get back on the lead lap

“I was not expecting it, right? Nick [Payne, spotter] says caution. Great, we’re at the back, whatever else. It was like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to stay out.’ I was like, ‘Oh, snap, we’re going to stay out?’ We’re going to figure this out.”

Scott’s belief in Reddick paid dividends even when the odds seemed against him with Hamlin and Blaney having fresher tires.

“Yeah, Turn 1 went about as good as I thought it could have went. I saw Denny (Hamlin) get to my outside,” he shared. “That wasn’t great. We settled in there. I didn’t know how bad we were going to bleed. I drove into Turn 3 kind of, I don’t know, out of desperation, something, I kind of held serve. I was very shocked by that. Then as laps just kept winding down, it didn’t truly feel like we were at a big tire deficit. You come to this place, you know tires are a premium.

“Early in the race we saw the 8 [Kyle Busch], a number of other cars, on three-, four-lap tires stay out and get their doors blown off. I was completely shocked we were able to stay in the mix like we were. Yeah, going into one, I made the right guess. I got the bottom. I got clean air. I got up in front of the 11 (Hamlin). I had a good run on the 12 (Ryan Blaney). I was just blown away that I had that kind of momentum going into Turn 3. I thought there was no way the 12 was going to leave, Blaney, was going to leave me the outside.”

Michael Jordan will vie for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship as a team owner with 23XI Racing. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)

Michael Jordan, 23XI Racing co-owner and six-time NBA champion, was proud of Scott, Reddick and the No. 45 team for their heroic Homestead win.

“Actually, everybody. Billy made a call. Looked a little scared because we were going to run out of gas. Anything could happen,” Jordan said. “As you could see, Denny was up there. Little kid drove his ass off. 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.”

Like Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1993, Reddick has a chance to win a championship at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, 20 miles west of Phoenix.

From a surprise announcement in late 2020 to battling for the Cup championship four years later, Reddick has the chance to make history for himself and Jordan. Along with Reddick pursuing his first Cup championship, Jordan has the opportunity to become the first African-American team owner to win the coveted NASCAR title.

The possibility is not lost upon Reddick’s mind in terms of the historical significance for Jordan. In two weeks, Jordan, Reddick and Hamlin could be hoisting the big trophy in Phoenix.

Tyler Reddick burned it down after winning the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)

“It’s special, man,” Reddick said. “He’s dedicated a lot of his time, his efforts, his money into elevating 23XI to where it is right now. He’s fully committed to this team, to our organization. To be able to reward him with the days like we had today, it’s a true honor. It was really cool to see how happy he was. We’re all very happy about it. He believed in me. He believes in this team.

“The people, him, Denny, everybody else, has put together to create what 23XI is. He’s put a lot towards it. It’s really cool in these critical moments to be able to deliver for him and for everybody else that’s a part of the team.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Tyler Reddick
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Chase Elliott
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Carson Hocevar (R)
6. Christopher Bell
7. Denny Hamlin
8. William Byron
9. Alex Bowman
10. Martin Truex Jr.

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Chase Elliott
3. Christopher Bell
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Ryan Blaney
6. William Byron
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Carson Hocevar (R)
9. Ryan Preece
10. AJ Allmendinger (i)