If Tyler Reddick scoring the win in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway wasn’t a statement-making win, then I don’t know what is. Pole position, Stage 1, and just when you think he should have been thankful for a late race mulligan, a Hail Mary move for the ages on the final lap. Third to first for the win. I had the pleasure of watching it all unfold from the grandstands. Tyler Reddick is truly a driver defined by determination and grit.
Tyler Reddick‘s day went from nearly over with his final pit stop to back on top thanks to a late race caution when Kyle Larson over aggressively tangled with the lapped car of Austin Dillon.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Tyler Reddick, it’s that he places his car in the right place at the right time. Take, for example, the 2022 Texas race. A demolition derby plagued by tire blowouts and constant caution flags. Reddick stayed calm, keeping his car in the hunt that night, and ultimately got the job done. He doesn’t make silly mistakes, for example, during late restarts in the 2022 Indianapolis Road Course and 2023 COTA races. It takes a lot for a modern-day NASCAR Cup Series driver to not let aggression get the best of him. Even Kyle Larson falls short with that.
Tyler Reddick stays patient and only drives aggressively when it matters, putting together finely executed race wins such as this spring’s Talladega 500 when he bolted around Brad Keselowski in the trioval. Let’s also not forget both Homestead-Miami Speedway races in 2018 and 2019 respectively to win back to back NASCAR Xfinity Series championships.
If there’s anything to learn about Tyler Reddick’s driving, it’s that his win Sunday at Homestead was no different from all the other times that he’s gone to victory lane. It explains why he won the 2024 regular season title and why he’s in the Championship 4.
Perhaps Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and even Denny Hamlin should consider taking a page out of Tyler Reddick‘s playbook this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Header Image: James Gilbert/Getty Images
Other At-Track Photos/Video: Joseph Landy-Pavlon
