- Tyler Reddick matches Dale Earnhardt’s 1987 record.
- Despite late-race adversity, including low fuel, Reddick still pulled off the win.
- Michael Jordan said Reddick is on fire after his fifth win of the season.
Tyler Reddick started the race from the pole for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 and drove the No. 45 Toyota Camry to Victory Lane, sealing a fifth win of the season for himself and 23XI Racing. With that result, Reddick inscribed his name into the record books of NASCAR as the fourth driver in Cup Series history, and the first since Dale Earnhardt in 1987, to win five of the first nine races in a season.
And while it was no Sunday drive, as the race turned into a scrap, Reddick had to make hay while the sun shone in overtime at Kansas to get the job done.
Everything that happened with Tyler Reddick over 400 miles
- Reddick started from P1 but lost the lead to Denny Hamlin on Lap 4, and the two traded blows early. The tide shifted again when Reddick pitted on Lap 38, opening the door for Kyle Larson to move into second, while Hamlin went on to bag Stage 1. Reddick clawed his way back to rejoin the field in P3 by the end of the first stage.
- By Lap 96, the No. 45 was back up to second, now chasing Larson, but the pass never came. Instead, Hamlin slipped past Reddick again on Lap 158 to reclaim second. Larson went on to win Stage 2, Hamlin followed in P2, and Reddick once more found himself parked in P3.
- The final stage turned into a dogfight for Reddick. On Lap 173, Reddick had to throw elbows to hold third, going three-wide on the backstretch with Bubba Wallace and Larson before Wallace grabbed the spot. Reddick answered back on Lap 208, clearing Hamlin for second, but the deck shuffled again when Christopher Bell took the lead.
- By Lap 224, Hamlin was back at the front and stretched the gap to 4.2 seconds over Reddick. However, on Lap 258, he again reeled Hamlin in and snatched the lead, only to brush the wall between Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 265, handing the advantage right back.
- Then came the turning point of the race. Cody Ware spun on Lap 266, the penultimate lap of regulation, bringing out the third caution just after Hamlin had reclaimed the lead. Meanwhile, Reddick had switched to pump 2 after his car sputtered with two laps to go, and caught a break when the race went to overtime.
- All 16 cars on the lead lap dove to pit road. Hamlin, Reddick, Larson, Bell, Wallace, and several others gambled on right-side tires only. On the overtime restart on Lap 273, Larson made his move, diving low under Hamlin to take the lead. But just behind the HMS and JGR drivers, Reddick made contact with Bell, sending the Joe Gibbs Racing driver into the wall with a broken toe link, effectively ending his charge.
- One lap later, Reddick made his winning move. On Lap 274, he drove past Larson between Turns 3 and 4 and took the checkered flag by 0.118 seconds.
- In the closing stretch, Reddick scraped the wall, dealt with a fuel system stumble, tangled with Bell, dropped behind Larson on the restart, and still found a way to come out on top.
What did Reddick say after the win?
After the race, Reddick handed the checkered flag to team owner Michael Jordan, who had walked from pit road to the finish line to celebrate.
“That’s a guy on the Mount Rushmore of NASCAR drivers,” Reddick said, referencing Dale Earnhardt. “To be able to accomplish things that someone like him (Earnhardt) did is truly incredible.”
Reflecting on the race, he added, “Just really blessed with the late caution. Was that nuts or what? I couldn’t believe it… Man, these late race restarts get crazy. I obviously had a run on the 5 (Larson). I was shocked I was able to get to his inside there. An incredible SupplyHouse Toyota Camry all day long.”
Reddick also owned up to the contact with Bell. “I mean, first off, I feel like I have to say, obviously, just for how I feel. I never like being on the inside of it – really hate that for Christopher Bell. Good, hard racing. The 11 (Hamlin) came up. I mean, I took off tight. Not thrilled I got Christopher there. I hate that for him because he was having a good, solid day.”
MJ backs his driver
Michael Jordan, who has now witnessed all five of Reddick’s wins this season in person, did not hold back either and showed how proud he was of his 23XI Racing driver.
“This kid is on fire. I don’t know how I can ever cool him down. He is unbelievable. Unbelievable last couple laps. I’m proud of the whole team,” Jordan said.
“23XI, all the guys drove well today. That says a lot about the program. When we started to run out of fuel, I didn’t know what was happening. We felt confident we had enough gas in there. It’s some sort of mechanical problem that we’ll dive into this week.”
What lies ahead for Tyler Reddick?
Next up is Talladega on April 26. Reddick heads there with an average finish of 17.8 in 12 starts and one win to his name. On paper, the numbers do not jump off the page, but momentum will be the biggest thing he carries with himself. He has already checked off Kansas, a track where results had been thin in the past.
With a Daytona 500 win already in his pocket this season, Reddick now will be ready for another superspeedway with wind in his sails, looking to strike while the iron is hot.
