“We were backed in a corner, man. We had no other choice. I know we were on 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,” said Reddick, following the win. “Just really, really excited that we're going to get to have a shot at this championship.”
- Tyler Reddick
With an incredible last lap pass, Tyler Reddick clinched a spot in the Cup Series Championship 4 by winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR
Reddick started from the pole position and was the dominant car in Stage 1, leading 57 laps and claiming the stage victory. He stayed in contention throughout Sunday afternoon but had to revert to running long in the final pit cycle for a shot at victory. A caution came just laps after Reddick made his final pit stop, putting him to the lead while others pitted. He lost the lead on the initial restart but passed the cars in front, including in turns 3 and 4 on the final lap, to take the checkered flag. This is Reddick’s third win this season and eighth of his career.
“We started third and finished third! Pretty straightforward if you look at the box score,” said Almirola. “But, really hard fought. We battled the balance of the car all day. Just couldn’t quite get it where I needed to have the balance right. It would fire off okay and then I was just average at best. I was probably a fifth-to-seventh-place car for like 15 laps, and then it would start coming back to me in the long run. But I was struggling. (I) Was skating up on the top of race track. Didn't have the turn I needed and just struggled to get the power down, sideways, with the back of the car. So, hard to fix two problems, but really proud of Tyler (Allen, crew chief) and all the guys on this No. 20 team. They brought me a good enough car to maximize our day, score a lot of points. I think we’re in an okay position going to Martinsville, one of my favorite race tracks.”
- Aric Almirola
Denny Hamlin, who won Stage 2, and Christopher Bell joined Reddick inside the top-five on Sunday, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Hamlin took the lead from Reddick on the final restart and seemed in position to put himself in the title race but came home third as the checkered flew. The result is the 11th top-five for the No. 11 team this season. Bell’s fourth-place result is his 14th top-five of the season, the most in the Cup Series, as well as his 22nd top-10 finish, 11th in the last 13 races.
While Reddick is clinched into the Championship 4, Bell sits 29 points above the cutline heading to the Round of 8 cutoff race in Martinsville next weekend. Hamlin will enter next Sunday below the cutline, 18 points under.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Aric Almirola and Sheldon Creed, came home third and fifth, respectively, in the Xfinity Series race at Homestead on Saturday.
“Overall, a good day for points and what not,” said Heim. “Obviously, the main goal is to get to Phoenix, so yeah, disappointing. We were so fast (here) last year and wanted to come back and redeem ourselves and win the race, of course, but have no complaints as far as points go. Makes Martinsville a little bit easier, but still have to put together a decent day. Proud of all my TRICON Garage Toyota Racing Safelite guys for their efforts. Yeah, just oddly enough, we struggled with long-run speed which typically isn’t our forté. We definitely fired off better than we ended the run, so with that, once we got through the cycle and had a lap better on the 98 (Ty Majeski), as far as tires, and then we had the gap (behind the leaders after his pit stop) and able to drive away, (maybe) see those guys run out of gas, but it just never fell our way.”
- Corey Heim
Almirola raced in the top-five for most of the afternoon before ending the day in the third position. Creed, who started on the front row, finished fifth.
The remaining Toyota GR Supra driver in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, Chandler Smith, led the first 29 laps of the race from pole but ran into handling issues and a problem on pit road late in Stage 3 that resulted in a 13th-place finish. Smith enters Saturday’s cutoff race at Martinsville 28 points below the cutline.
After starting from pole and leading the most laps Saturday afternoon, Corey Heim finished fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race. Heim led a total of 68 laps, and won the first stage, but was put behind in Stage 3 due to flipped strategies. After his final pit stop, Heim fought his way back up the field with fresh tires, finishing fourth.
Taylor Gray joined his TRICON Garage teammate on the front row Saturday. Like Heim, the varying strategies in the final stage put Gray behind but he also gained some spots in the closing laps to finish 10th. Heim now holds a 49-point cushion to the Playoff cutline heading to Martinsville. Gray enters the weekend 24 points below the cutline.
ARCA WEST
Sean Hingorani took home his third win of the 2024 season by leading every lap from the pole at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. Toyota Development Driver Brent Crews finished second.
What’s Next
The Round of 8 concludes at Martinsville Speedway this weekend for all three NASCAR national series. The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races Friday, November 1, at 6 p.m. EST on FS1. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will then race on Saturday, November 2, at 4:00 p.m. ET on The CW. The NASCAR Cup Series closes the weekend on Sunday, November 3 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series holds its penultimate race of the 2024 season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Final round coverage can be seen on Sunday, November 3, at 5 p.m. EST on FS1.