Double Overtime was the right time for Tyler Reddick. Reddick was able to hold off William Byron on the second of two overtime attempts Monday to score his second win of 2024 and the seventh of his career.
Behind Byron, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski completed the top five.
Like your irritating little sister who sneaks into your room when you are trying to make out with someone rain was a persistent annoyance Sunday. It delayed the start for over two hours but not before frustratingly waiting until the pace laps were underway before arriving. Then it held off for 51 laps during which there were periods of sunshine, and hope. Stage 2, however, never got underway as a dark wall rolled in, the rain fell once more, and NASCAR finally gave up.
Fast forward nearly 18 hours, and with abundant blue skies and the irritating little sister exiled, the field took the green flag. Chase Elliott charged to the lead from third then swapped between Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Ryan Blaney, who had won Stage 1 on Sunday.
On lap 117 three-time Michigan winner and the driver who had led the most laps to that point, Kyle Larson decided to remind us all that even the best can stumble. Shortly after a somewhat bizarre caution that saw three cars, driven by David Gilliand, Joey Logano and AJ Allmendinger all suffer flat tires on the same lap, Larson who had pitted under the yellow was trying to charge forward from 11th and looking for some Stage points as the end of Stage 2 neared. Unfortunately, Larson would ensure Stage 2 ended under caution when he went for a solo spin entering Turn 4. Bubba Wallace just behind him made contact with Larson’s car as did Gilliland shortly after. Behind them last year’s winner Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell were also swept up. Larson’s day was done as was Gilliland and Bell.
Busch, who had grabbed the lead a lap prior won the Stage that ended under caution. But that wasn’t the end of the bizarre incidents.
On lap 136, Corey LaJoie decided to add a dash of the surreal when his Chevy suddenly went airborne after a seemingly innocent tap from Noah Gragson. The car skidded on its roof before flipping multiple times near Turn 3. Miraculously, LaJoie walked away unscathed.
Video: NASCAR will have some explaining to do after bizarre flip involving Corey LaJoie at Michigan
The race for the actual win didn’t come at the front but deeper in the field with just over 30 laps to go as green flag stops were cycling. In 24th place Busch, who pitted on lap 166, was fighting with Byron who had pitted on lap 154. Those ahead of them still needed to stop for fuel. Reddick slipped by Byron on lap 171 and started hunting down Busch. Reddick was able to power past Busch, followed by Byron on lap 176.
Meanwhile a slow countdown continued at the front of the field as cars continued dropping and heading to the pits for fuel. With 14 laps to go Reddick was second and only Josh Berry stood between him and the win. With 12 to go Berry gave up, pitted and Reddick set sail.
But just when it looked like smooth sailing, Truex Jr., known for his Monday victories, got loose and tagged the wall on lap 196, scattering debris and forcing NASCAR to wave the caution with just five laps to go. Reddick’s smooth ride suddenly turned bumpy.
The caution set up an overtime finish. Reddick’s frustration only multiplied shortly after the leaders took the green flag for the first overtime attempt. Deeper in the field cars began bouncing around like pinballs on the backstretch and moments later Berry was sliding across the pavement and the caution waved. Byron was shown as the leader at the time of the caution. That left Reddick wondering where to choose for the restart.
On the first attempt at overtime, Byron had gotten past then-leader Reddick by starting on the inside and Reddick returned the favor choosing the inside lane.
And that turned out to be the right choice. Reddick was able to pull well ahead of Byron who was slowed as he dueled with Gibbs. Byron was able to clear Gibbs after the white flag and made one last charge but came up short by .168 of a second.
“I’ll relive that restart, what lane to choose overnight, for sure,” Byron said. “It seems like always as the leader you want to take the top. I’ve gotten beat twice here by the bottom. I had the lead on the bottom barely over him, but he had a better car than us. He was a little bit faster.
“Second sucks.”
Reddick meanwhile gave credit to a fellow Toyota driver.
“Just great teammate, fantastic push by Ty Gibbs,” Reddick said. “That’s what it’s all about. The Toyota family tries to take care of each other.”
Buescher recovered from his earlier contact with Larson to finish sixth, Zane Smith was seventh, Daniel Suarez eighth, pole sitter Denny Hamlin ninth and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top 10.
As the NASCAR Cup Series inches closer to the Playoffs, the unpredictability of Daytona awaits next Saturday night.
Photos: NASCAR at Michigan International Speedway Sunday – Monday Aug. 18-19, 2024
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.