Las Vegas turned into heartbreak for several Playoff drivers on Sunday, with disaster striking on lap 89 during the restart for Stage 2. Martin Truex Jr., who had led 7 laps earlier in the race, was battling for a top-five position coming out of Turn 4. In the midst of a three-wide fight, Truex’s Toyota drifted up the track, making contact with Chase Elliott. That contact sent Elliott up the track and into Tyler Reddick, who slammed into the outside wall.
Reddick’s Toyota spun through the tri-oval, hit the pavement sideways, and flipped multiple times before finally landing upright. Despite the wreck, Reddick managed to steer his mangled car back to the pits. But the damage was too extensive, ending the day for the driver who had fought his way into the Round of 8 at the ROVAL, won Stage 1 Sunday, and led a total of 10 laps.
Elliott was able to return to the pits for repairs and rejoined the race, but it was clear his car wouldn’t be competing at the same level. Ryan Blaney, who started at the rear of the field after a crash in Saturday’s practice, also got caught up in the aftermath while running in the top 15. Blaney attempted to avoid Brad Keselowski, but ended up in the outside wall as well. Like Elliott, he continued after repairs, but his chances of a strong finish vanished.
Elliott made minimum speed and cleared the DVP clock, but by lap 106, he headed to the garage for further repairs and would rejoin the race 26 laps down. After the dust settled, Reddick took responsibility, admitting he had gone for a gap that simply wasn’t there.
“I kind of saw them both have a moment, and I just had to split second make a decision,” Reddick said. “You have to be aggressive on the restart. It is hard to pass after a while.
“Being myself on a mile and a half, being aggressive – by the time I realized I was in trouble, the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) started sliding and the 9 (Chase Elliott) was coming up and I was pretty much already on their outside at that point, with nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them sliding to be more conservative to avoid an incident – just not who I am, but it is unfortunate. It took us out of the race.”
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.
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