Tyler Reddick Fastest, Ryan Blaney Crashes in Las Vegas Practice
Tyler Reddick paced Saturday afternoon's practice session for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8-opening race, the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE turned a fastest lap time of 29.478 seconds, 183.187 mph, which was good enough by 0.075 seconds to secure the top lap time in the session for the NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion and current Playoff contender.
Martin Truex Jr., who was eliminated from the Playoffs in the Round of 16, was the second-fastest driver in the session in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Truex was followed on the speed chart by his JGR teammate Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, and rookie of the year point leader Carson Hocevar, who rounded out the top-five fastest in the session.
It was a wide gap from Reddick and the next closest Playoff contender in the practice session as Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, was the next highest Playoff contender in the ninth position.
Rough Start to the Weekend for Defending Series Champion Ryan Blaney
While it was an excellent start to the weekend for one Playoff contender (Reddick), it was a rough start for another as Ryan Blaney cut a left rear tire in the opening moments of NASCAR Cup Series Group B practice on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 contender, and defending series champion, cut a left rear tire entering Turn 1 on his second lap of the session.
Blaney would lose control of his No. 12 Menards / Great Stuff Ford Mustang Dark horse, and would slam driver's side door first into the SAFER barrier in front of the outside retaining wall at the 1.5-mile speedway.
TROUBLE FOR RYAN BLANEY!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 19, 2024
He has a flat and crashes in practice in Las Vegas. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/MwtOIPskbL
"I had no warning, my head hurts," Blaney told his team on the radio after the massive impact into the outside wall. "I had no warning, man. Sorry."
While his head was initially hurting, fortunately, Blaney was evaluated and released from the infield care center and the driver will continue to compete this weekend at the 1.5-mile track.
"Yeah, I'm alright," Blaney said in his post-care center interview on the USA Network broadcast. "Just blew a tire into Turn 1, and it just stinks. I didn't feel anything odd down the frontstretch. And just it's a shame, it ended our practice early."
Due to the crash, Blaney and his No. 12 Team Penske team will have to roll out a back up car to finish the race weekend with. As a result, Blaney will not be permitted to take a qualifying lap, and will start Sunday's South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the opening race of the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs from the rear of the field.
While it's not an ideal start to the penultimate round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Blaney believes in his team around him, and feels they can recover from the early weekend setback.
"There's definitely a lot to overcome for sure. You know, starting at the back, and no laps with this backup car," Blaney detailed. "But I have all the faith in our group, and our 12 group. So, I have confidence that hopefully we can make some hay tomorrow, and do it early and try to get through there. It sets you back a little bit, but this team, they thrive under that type of pressure and things like that."
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.