Riding the Reddick Line Tyler Claims Wild Win at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 27: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 27, 2024 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
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Some call it the Reddick line—a daredevil’s lane he picked up in his early days and perfected when he snagged the NASCAR Xfinity title at Homestead-Miami Speedway back in 2019. It’s a razor’s edge route that skims the outside wall, a place where most drivers don’t dare to flirt, and a position that puts Reddick just milliseconds away from calamity.

On Sunday, that same white-knuckle line, with a dose of good old Lady Luck, that launched Reddick to a last-gasp victory at Homestead in the final two laps, giving fans a thrill and leaving a couple of drivers scratching their heads, probably wondering, “What just happened?”

Ryan Blaney, who had regained the lead from Chase Elliott after the final green flag stops with 50 laps to go, found himself in a battle royale with Kyle Larson—a man who’d clawed his way back into the fight after a flat tire early on.

Reddick had been dazzling up front, leading much of the early laps and bagging a Stage 1 win. But after that, it was a dogfight between Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin, who all took turns at the top. Hamlin snagged Stage 2, yet Elliott jumped out front again after the restart. Then came the final green flag pit stops, and while the others cycled through, Reddick stayed out, almost daring the racing gods for a caution. After six races without a top 10 finish, his team was banking on a Hail Mary—and a miracle.

That gamble? It paid off in full, but not without a little nail-biting. Reddick finally got the call to pit from the lead on lap 254. Just two laps later, while Larson was battling Blaney for the lead, he spun out, triggering a caution and bringing the leaders in for fresh tires. All of them, that is, except Reddick, who’d just pitted and now had a set of fresh rubber to stay out.

With seven laps to go, Reddick restarted in third behind Hamlin and Blaney. It looked like Hamlin had it in the bag—until, on the white flag lap, Blaney swooped in and took the lead, with Hamlin breathing down his neck. Running first in the low line, then flicking back up to his high line, Reddick made his move, squeezing past Hamlin and then surging past Blaney out of Turn 3 into Turn 4 to claim victory by a mere .241 seconds.

“We were backed into a corner, man,” Reddick said. “We had no other choice. I know we were on a 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.”

Blaney was left reeling in disbelief after finishing second.

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

Hamlin walked away disappointed in third with only a Stage win as consolation. “Tried to cover all lanes, but just couldn’t quite get off the corner as good as I needed to there on that short run,” Hamlin admitted. “Short run wasn’t my specialty all day, obviously. Either way, controlling the race with two to go, you gotta try to find a way to finish it. Just didn’t.”

Christopher Bell and Elliott rounded out the top five. Among the playoff contenders, six drivers needing a win to advance finished inside the top 10, with William Byron in sixth. Larson was the odd man out, finishing 13th after a final spin shattered his rally and his chance at the top 10.

Joey Logano, already locked in for the Final 4 at Phoenix after his win in Vegas, essentially just needed to show up and cruise, wrapping up his day at Homestead with a 28th-place finish. But it was Tyler Reddick, who’d ended up upside-down in Vegas, who pulled off a show-stopping final lap, besting reigning Cup champ Blaney and keeping his championship hopes alive.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Reddick said, still breathless from the win. “I just knew I needed to get 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.”

With a record-breaking 33 lead changes among a whopping 15 different leaders, and the all-or-nothing final lap, this race will live on in highlight reels for years. And for fans, it’s a race that begs the question: why isn’t the championship still decided here at Homestead, like it used to be?

RACE RESULTS

Greg Engle