MOTORSPORTS MONDAY -- Reddick Comes in Clutch; Home Sweet Homestead; Best of The Rest
Tyler Reddick's dramatic victory in Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the poster child for NASCAR Playoff races.
The 23XI Racing driver won the regular-season championship and came into the post-season schedule as a solid favorite to compete for the title. But, a funny thing happened in the Playoffs began, Reddick and the No. 45 team performed like anything but a championship contender.
Things were going so sour; Reddick came to Homestead a week after barrell rolling in a crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the week prior, and getting air-time with the rear tires the week before that at Charlotte Motor Speedway's ROVAL.
But taking a page out of co-owner Michael Jordan’s legendary basketball career playbook, Reddick and crew chief Billy Scott rose up when it mattered most pulling off a win Sunday and advancing to the Championship 4 in Phoenix.
Reddick was able to get around Ryan Blaney on the final lap and drive off to the checkered flag and a Championship 4 berth.
“We were backed in a corner, man,” he said after the race. “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. I couldn’t believe it.
“I just knew I needed to get to even with (Ryan Blaney) on his right-side door. I didn’t care what he did. He raced me clean. I appreciate it. It would mean the world (to win a championship for Michael Jordan). We thankfully can take off for Martinsville a little bit, get ready for Phoenix. But we’re pumped.”
None of those last lap theatrics would have taken place if not for a late caution for a spinning Kyle Larson, who tried an aggressive move to gain the lead, but lost control doing so. The yellow allowed Scott to keep Reddick on track and not give up position pitting for fuel. Once the green flag flew, Reddick thanks to a shove from team co-owner Denny Hamlin jetted back toward the front before finally getting by Blaney on the high side on the final circuit.
It was a clutch performance coming from a driver whose team owner was the king of clutch on the basketball court.
“It’s special, man,” Reddick said. “He’s dedicated a lot of his time, his efforts, his money into elevating 23XI to where it is right now. He’s fully committed to this team, to our organization.
To be able to reward him with the days like we had today, it’s a true honor. It was really cool to see how happy he was. We’re all very happy about it. He believed in me. He believes in this team.”
HOME SWEET HOMESTEAD
Nobody is building a brand-new racetrack in this day and age. The track construction boom of the late 1990s to early 2000s is a fond memory when facilities popped up in places like Kansas, Texas, Nashville, Chicago, Fontana, and Kentucky. There have been some reconfigurations and modifications to tracks in recent years, but not one has been built from the group up in decades.
However, should some well-funded racing entrepreneur of investment group determine building a new motorsports facility is a sound business decision, the perfect blueprint was on display last weekend.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is not just the top 1.5-mile track in NASCAR it is the best in the sport. There isn’t another facility that regularly delivers the kind of competition and on track product like Homestead and last weekend was no exception.
The worn-out surface, multiple grooved track allows drivers to do what they plea for every weekend of the season, put things back in their hands. From the drop of the green flag to the chaotic and dramatic finish of Sunday’s Cup race, it was evident there might not be a more driver impacted track than Homestead.
The clamor to come back to the South Florida facility to end the season was loud over the weekend and there are more than enough whispers to believe that will happen. While nothing official has been announced, Homestead will host its 2025 NASCAR weekend in March after which a renovation and improvement project will begin at the track in anticipation of 2026 Championship Weekend.
Updating the facility, amenities and infrastructure will be great. But just don’t touch the racing surface, which is about as perfect as perfect can be.
BEST OF THE REST
While NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers occupied the first six finishing positions in Sunday's event, positions seven through 10 deserve some attention and a shoutout.
Alex Bowman continued his admirable drive to finish the season on a positive note after his Charlotte post-race disqualification extracted him from the Playoffs. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has five top-10 finishes in the last eight races.
AJ Allmendinger is set for the Xfinity Series Championship 4, as he tries to win a title before returning to full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2025 for Kaulig Racing. He came from the 32nd start spot on Sunday to finish eighth.
Carson Hocevar keeps improving on a near-weekly basis and did so again at Homestead taking the Spire Motorsports No. 77 to another top-10 finish. Finally, Ryan Preece, still in limbo about his potential plan to join RFK next year as a third driver thanks to the charter legal battle, started 35th and gave Stewart-Haas Racing a tenth-place finish with just two races left in that organization’s existence.
SHORT TRACK ROUND-UP
The return of the prestigious World Crown 300 was a welcomed addition to this year’s pavement Super Late Model schedule. Sunday’s race run under the UARA National Series sanction at the renovated Cordele Motor Speedway in Georgia featured a stellar field of drivers and cars. Michael Hinde scored the $35,000 payday outrunning veteran Johnny Sauter, Connor Okrzesik, Stephen Nasse and Seth Christensen.
This weekend’s All-American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway will see many of the same competitors as the late season schedule of big events rolls on with the Snowball Derby in early December now right around the corner.
Martinsville Speedway hosts a NASCAR tripleheader this weekend and the Virginia short track held a unique doubleheader this past Friday and Saturday. Justin Bonsignore won the Whelen Modified Tour season finale the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 and with it this year series championship. There was also some good news for the tour in terms of the 2025 season as next year’s schedule was released in addition to news series sponsor Whelen had signed an extension to continue support of the series as well as a much-needed purse increase across the board.
Martinsville also held the first oval track race for the Mazda MX-5 Cup. Jared Thomas took the checkered flag marking the first time open-top cars have raced at Martinsville Speedway since the 1950s, and the first time the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup has raced on an oval.
Pete Pistone is a veteran motorsports and general sports reporter/journalist with nearly 30 years experience. During his career he has worked for media outlets such as WGN Radio, The Chicago Sun-Times, Chicagoland Television (CLTV), CBS Sports, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM. Pistone has been with SiriusXM since 2008 and co-hosts “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) with Mike Bagley, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 am ET. He is also the host of “Fantasy Racing Preview,” a weekend show focusing on NASCAR gambling and fantasy racing, which is part of the channel’s NASCAR Cup Series pre-race programming. Additionally, Pistone is a member of the SiriusXM College Sports team as an on-air personality and contributor on Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372). He is one of the hosts of “Big Ten Today” and can also be heard on “Big Ten Whip Around,” a weekly hour-long program spotlighting a variety of sports around the conference. Pistone is also the host of several specials as well as providing a range of digital content for both the NASCAR and Big Ten channels. A Chicago native, Pistone resides in the northern suburbs of the city with his wife and daughter.