For the sixth time this year, and first time in six months, Tyler Reddick returned to Victory Lane with a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series victory at Phoenix Raceway.
He threaded the needle on the final restart, cutting through the middle to take second in an aggressive four-wide pass. He then ran at Chase Briscoe, using his new right side to take control of the race.
Reddick was excited after this victory and climbed the fence before celebrating with the fans.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Race
Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
“It’s way too long,” Reddick said of the wait between wins. “Man, the way we worked there, I mean, thinking about Phoenix, we wanted to be a lot better when we got back here. I think we checked that box.
“For us, this group never lost motivation, never lost the will to keep looking and trying to find ways to improve, just to be a better team in every way.
“I don’t know, something about today. It didn’t really start out well. Just something about today, I had a really good feeling. Practice was amazing. Yeah, we’re back at Victory Lane. First win for Rockstar Energy too.”
Ryan Blaney was second, Chase Elliott third, Christopher Bell fourth and Corey Heim fifth. Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs round out the rest of the top ten.
The championship picture tightened considerably after Kyle Larson crashed with a broken tire. He still leads the standings, but only 56 points cover the top seven drivers.
Bell is 5 points behind Larson, Briscoe is 24 points and Denny Hamlin had a rough day but still gained ground to be 31 points back of the lead. Blaney is -40 pts and Logano is -44 pts while both Penske drivers have gained a ton of ground. With this victory, Reddick is at 56 points.
Step 1
Blaney controlled the race from pole position, and while Larson made rapid progress, he stalled in 17th position.
The first incident of the race involved Michael McDowell and Riley Herbst. After making contact on the backstretch, Herbst pushed McDowell into Turn 3 and wrecked both cars.
The running order suddenly changed when Hamlin, Byron, Elliott and Larson all made two-tire calls. Logano was the best driver with four fresh tires in fourth, while Blaney fell to eighth on the same strategy due to a slow stop.
It was a ten-lap race to finish Stage 1, and as Hamlin struggled to clear Byron, Logano passed them both.
Logano won Stage 1 over Hamlin, Bell, Blaney, Briscoe, Byron, Elliott, Chastain, Reddick and Berry.
As for Larson, he slipped completely outside the top 20, struggling mightily as track positioning didn’t work.
Step 2
On pit road during the stage break, Briscoe had to stop briefly to avoid a collision with Allmendinger, then Z. Smith was penalized for dragging his fuel can into pit road.
Several teams opted for two tires, with Logano retaining the lead. Blaney was the first driver to take four new tires in ninth position.
On the ensuing restart, Bell took the lead while Hamlin was hit while fighting the midfield and moved deeper into the pack, near Larson.
There were many tense battles, including a moment when Suarez kicked out Van Gisbergen, who the Kiwi repaid later in the race. Byron slid into the wall, but everything remained green as the pit stops began.
Keselowski spun after hitting the rear of Zilisch on pit entrance, and although he was sitting sideways in the pits, there was no caution when he started rolling again.
Bell, who stopped early in the sequence, suddenly had an eight-second lead as things progressed, but Logano quickly began to chip away at him.
Jones and T. Dillon suffered punctures, but it was A’s puncture. Dillon finally drawing a yellow as he crashed into the wall.
During that yellow, Larson was among several drivers who took the opportunity to go around and get back on the first lap.
Logano barely won the race out of the pits and held the lead on the restart as Berry and Cindric slammed the doors behind him.
The next puncture was Nemechek’s, but he returned to the pits without problems.
Logano also won Stage 2, followed by Briscoe, Bell, Berry, Wallace, Blaney, Reddick, Hamlin, Gilliland and Elliott.
The wave gamble worked for Larson, getting his turn back at the end of the stage.
Step 3
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports
Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Logano held the lead off pit road, while Blaney and Bell lost ground due to messy stops. In the next round, Logano was still in control, but a new player appeared to challenge him as Wallace closed the gap.
Before they could compete, a sudden tire problem for Hamlin sent the number 11 to the track. He kept it off the wall and dove toward pit road, where he was hit with a speeding penalty.
Shortly after, Cody Ware lost a tire and crashed into the wall, triggering a caution. Due to the speeding penalty, Hamlin was now stuck one lap behind.
Wallace took the lead on pit road as Logano fell all the way to fifth. Suarez, who was in the top ten, was hit with a speeding penalty and sent to the back.
Wallace held the lead on Briscoe and Reddick, never letting them get too close. Logano was reporting voltage issues and there were some concerns about the alternator in the No. 22 Ford.
With 50 laps to go, Larson called to the pits for tires and was already running outside the top 20. Logano and Blaney were the first of the frontrunners to dive onto pit road.
Wallace spun off from the lead with 44 laps to go, stalling out a bit at the pit entrance. Briscoe headed off with 40 to play, giving Gibbs the lead. He stopped a few laps later, handing the lead back to Wallace, with teammate Reddick about a second behind.
T. Dillon and Nemechek both suffered a flat tire, but neither resulted in a caution. Shortly after, championship leader Larson suddenly blew a tire entering Turn 1 and hit the wall.
Briscoe, Elliott and Gibbs moved to the front of the pack after opting to stay away. Reddick, Logano, Blaney and Bell led those with a two-tire call.
As for Wallace, he moved from the lead to ninth place by switching to four new tires, but was caught speeding and was sent to the back of the field.
The caution was extended for several laps because the order was not correct at the time of choice and the peloton had to start all over again.
Finally, the green flag flew 19 laps from the finish. Briscoe had the lead, but Reddick slipped through the middle of a four-way battle for second to suddenly find himself right behind Briscoe with a tire advantage. He quickly took the lead and never looked back.
Blaney was following the same tire strategy, but he was unable to catch up to challenge Reddick, who crossed the finish line eight-tenths behind the race winner.
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