Tyler Reddick Wins in Overtime to Advance to Round of 12
In an electrifying overtime finish, Tyler Reddick claimed victory in the Hollywood Casino 400, leaving his team owner in frustration at the conclusion of the second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff event held at Kansas Speedway.
Tyler Reddick outpaced Denny Hamlin, a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and co-owner of 23XI Racing, to secure the win with a margin of 0.327 seconds. Hamlin had dominated the race, leading for 63 laps and building a more than two-second lead over Reddick when a right-rear tire failure by playoff contender Chris Buescher triggered the ninth and final caution on Lap 261 of the scheduled 267-lap race.
Diverging pit strategies created an opportunity for Reddick to secure an automatic entry into the Playoffs’ Round of 12. Daniel Suárez, on older tires with 31 laps on them, assumed the lead, while Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano opted for two-tire stops and restarted second, third, and fourth, respectively.
Reddick found himself restarting in the third row on the inside lane while Hamlin maintained his position in the high line. As the field rounded Turn 4 during the restart on the final lap, Reddick made a daring move to the bottom of the track, snatching the lead just before crossing the start/finish line.
During the last lap, Erik Jones, who finished in third place, temporarily blocked Hamlin’s progress on the backstretch, providing Reddick with the space he needed to secure his second victory of the season. Notably, this win marked his first at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway and the fifth of his career.
Tyler Reddick expressed his gratitude to the entire 23XI team, saying, “Just an outstanding job by this whole 23XI team. We had really good pace, but just couldn’t get ahead of Denny there, but chaos ensued, people stayed out, some took two tires, and the bottom lane opened up. Pretty crazy.”
Denny Hamlin, co-owner of Reddick’s team and runner-up in the race, took the defeat in stride, maintaining a 49-point lead over teammate Martin Truex Jr., who is currently positioned just below the Round of 12 cutoff.
Reflecting on the race, Hamlin noted, “Well, the 5 (Kyle Larson, positioned behind Hamlin on the final restart) was just laying back so much. I was trying to back up to him. Should have just kind of focused forward, probably. It gave the 45 (Reddick) an opportunity to get up there in front of us. Just kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rearview instead of looking in the front.”
Kyle Larson, who led the most laps in the race with 99 and claimed victory in the first stage, finished fourth. Joey Logano secured fifth place thanks to a two-tire call by his crew chief, Paul Wolfe. Chase Elliott came in sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell (pole winner), and Brad Keselowski, who won the second stage.
However, for several playoff drivers, this race had dire consequences, putting them in danger of elimination in the upcoming race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr., the Regular Season Champion, suffered an early setback when a cut tire caused him to slam into the wall on Lap 4, damaging his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota beyond repair. Truex retired in 36th place, falling seven points below the Round of 12 cutoff.
Bubba Wallace faced a similar fate, as his hopes of advancing to the Round of 12 took a severe hit when his right-rear tire exploded while running in second place on Lap 108. Despite efforts to repair his No. 23 Toyota, Wallace finished 32nd and now stands 19 points behind the 12th-place Kevin Harvick.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., after brushing the outside wall twice, finished 23rd and is currently 22 points behind Harvick in the standings. Michael McDowell, with a 26th-place result, dropped a significant 40 points below the cutoff line, making it imperative for him to secure a victory at Bristol to advance to the Round of 12.
RESULTS:
- Tyler Reddick
- Denny Hamlin
- Erik Jones
- Kyle Larson
- Joey Logano
- Chase Elliott
- Kyle Busch
- Christopher Bell
- Brad Keselowski
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Harvick
- Ryan Blaney
- Ross Chastain
- Ty Gibbs
- William Byron
- Daniel Suarez
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Preece
- Chase Briscoe
- Carson Hocevar
- Justin Haley
- Corey Lajoie
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Cole Custer
- Todd Gilliland
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher
- Ty Dillon
- Sheldon Creed
- AJ Allmendinger
- Austin Cindric
- Bubba Wallace
- Austin Dillon
- JJ Yeley
- Harrison Burton
- Martin Truex Jr
