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With 11 laps to go in the Straight Talk Wireless 400, Tyler Reddick’s race was effectively over. Knowing he had to win either this week or next in order to race for a championship, crew chief Billy Scott made a desperate strategy call where he kept Reddick on the track while the other contenders came to pit road for fresh tires.
The plan was to run as long as possible on that fuel tank and hope for a caution, placing all drivers on the same strategy again and giving Reddick vital track position. No caution came, and Scott was eventually forced to call the No. 45 Toyota to pit road on lap 251.
But when all hope seemed lost, Kyle Larson spun while attempting to take the lead from Ryan Blaney.
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
That brought out the yellow flag and Reddick had just pit two laps earlier. That meant he could stay on the track while the rest of the drivers pit, placing him in the lead for the upcoming restart. What would ensue on the final seven laps is one of the greatest battles for the win in series history.
Mad Dash To Finish
Coming into the race, the four drivers below the elimination line to make the Championship 4 were Reddick, Blaney, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. On the final restart, those drivers made up the top-four positions. Hamlin surged to the lead in turn 1 while Reddick fell back to fourth. It appeared Hamlin, who has the most wins for a driver without a championship all-time, was going to punch his ticket to his fifth Championship 4 and first since 2021.
With two to go, however, the picture would change again. Blaney, the defending Cup Series champion, passed Hamlin in turn 3, while Reddick found his way back to third. Now, he was the one poised to win the race and compete to become the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row from 2006-10.
Blaney took the white flag and entered turn 1 in the middle lane, while Hamlin went high and Reddick went low. Exiting the turn, Reddick completed the pass on Hamlin and had momentum on Blaney. He would get one shot at the win.
After seeing Reddick clear Hamlin on the bottom in turn 1, Blaney took a defensive line into turn 3, hoping to block the lane Reddick chose. By doing that, though, he gave the preferred outside line to Reddick, who surged before Blaney could react to make the pass and take the checkered flag. The regular-season champion would fight for the playoff championship at Phoenix.
WHAT A WILD FINAL TWO LAPS AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI.
Relive the battle for the win between Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin for a spot in the NASCAR championship race. pic.twitter.com/JfLU59krvx
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 27, 2024
Playoff Picture
Reddick and Joey Logano are locked into the Championship 4 by virtue of winning Homestead-Miami and Las Vegas. Now, the final two spots will be decided at Martinsville Speedway, a half-mile short track nicknamed “the paperclip” due to its tight turns.
Christopher Bell is in the best position of the six drivers who will fight for the transfer spots, with a 22-point advantage against William Byron and 29 points against Larson, the first driver below the line. Byron will enter seven points above Larson and 18 points above Hamlin.
Blaney and Elliott, who are 38 and 43 points back, respectively, are in a must-win position if they hope to race for a championship. Both drivers have won in this exact situation before, and both went on to win the championship the next week.
Tempers are sure to flare at a track as short as Martinsville, especially with the added drama of the playoffs. The green flag for the Xfinity 500 will fly at 2 p.m. and the race will be broadcast on NBC.
