In the season’s biggest moment, the eight remaining drivers vying for the NASCAR Cup Series championship paid off Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Six of the eight postseason contenders led 250 of the 267 laps of Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400, halfway through eight rounds of racing. 97 of them were driven by race winner Tyler Reddick. Ryan Blaney (47) and Chase Elliott (81) were the must-wins and led nearly 48 percent of Sunday’s 400 laps. But in the end, the 2024 Cup playoffs changed in 14 decisive minutes on an afternoon outside South Beach. From Reddick’s final stop to the race’s final restart, see how the Homestead-Miami postseason changed quickly.
After running out of fuel, Tyler Reddick took over the lead with 15 laps to go. Toyota 23XI Racing no. The 45 was fifth, about 3.5 seconds behind then-leader Ryan Blaney, when the final round of green-flag pit stops began with 50 laps remaining. Team manager Billy Scott decided that dropping the game was the team’s best chance to beat the top seed in the playoffs for the final victory. “Hey, the bed is here.” Scott said to Reddick. “Your only chance is if you get a yellow flag now and run out of gas.”
That warning didn’t come until Reddick ran out of fuel and had to leave in the 15th. Exiting the pit lane, Reddick enters the track behind runner-up Kyle Larson, but passes Larson and Blaney in turn four to remain on the lead lap.
PLAY-OFF IMPACT: With 15 laps to go and four new tires, Reddick needed one last caution and some fast speed. Otherwise, team no. 45 would finish well below the qualifying line heading into Martinsville Speedway.
A critical warning has arrived. In a tight battle for the lead with 255 laps remaining, Larson charged three wide into the middle of the trailing car of Blaney and Austin Dillon entering turn three. Larson’s swing was no. 5 Hendrick Motorsports destroyed the Chevrolet’s control and caused it to slide in Turns 3 and 4. The 2021 Cup champion eventually lost a spot to Denny Hamlin, but a yellow flag in the closing stages meant a late restart.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATION: Blaney or Larson appear intent on securing the Championship Four with a win if no caution is issued. At the time of the caution, Larson was three points above the elimination line. Instead, a yellow card saved Reddick, and Reddick was able to hold on to his lap lead and take advantage of drivers pitted again due to cautions.
The last pit stop of the day is very important. Ryan Blaney held the lead out of the pit lane and Hamlin finished second. Chase Elliott has earned three spots and is currently in third, ahead of Alex Bowman (fourth), William Byron (tied), Christopher Bell (2 wins), AJ Allmendinger (tied), Carson Hotzevar (2 wins) and Kyle Larson. exist. (6 losses) Chase Briscoe (3 wins). Larson fought his way back into the top ten, but lost several positions when his team had to repair his car’s rear diffuser cover after a problem developed mid-lap. Faced with a yellow flag, Reddick tries to advance two laps around the green flag on his tires. Reddick chooses the top lane for the restart and Blaney chooses the front lane next to him. Behind Reddick, Hamlin, Bowman, Bell and Hotcevar; Behind Blaney are Elliott, Byron, Allmendinger and Larson.
Playoff implications: Reddick leads the restart after suddenly sliding into the Cat’s Seat and making it to 25 before receiving a yellow card. If Reddick had been the first car to receive a free pass after a lap, he would have had to start from the back again. Blaney, Hamlin and Elliott were all united in their goal of beating Reddick immediately after the restart.
The green flag was waved on lap 261 to activate the remaining seven laps. Blaney appeared to stumble on the restart and Elliott put the taller Hamlin three wide of Blaney for second. On laps 1 and 2, Hamlin broke the high line and passed in the short 4 laps, with Reddick, Blaney and Elliott taking the lead on the backstretch.
Despite a frontstretch bobble, Blaney moved into second on the straight, while Elliott moved into third. With six laps remaining, Blaney ran to Hamlin’s left in an attempt to regain the lead, but to no avail. However, Reddick uses the high lane in Turn 2 to send Elliott to third. Larson also disappeared from the top ten.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATION: Hamlin’s 22-game winless streak finally appears to be coming to an end. After a disappointing start to the season, Hamlin leads the final stage with the chance to cement his name in the championship’s Group Four for the first time since 2021. Blaney, Reddick and Elliott are all under-qualified, with Hamlin in the lead.
With two laps remaining, Blaney used a big launch on the high side of turn two to charge Hamlin’s left on the main line. #12 Team Penske Ford uses the center slot entering Turn 3 and moves up to prevent Hamlin from spinning in the turn leading to the white flag.
PLAYOFF IMPACT: The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion now has a chance to return to the Championship 4 with 1.5 miles to go. With Blaney in the lead, Hamlin second and Reddick third, Hamlin is 18 points behind Reddick and 17 points from the line of elimination.
White flag. Last round. Reddick dived at the bottom of turns 1 and 2 and pulled past Hamlin, a Reddick team co-owner. The three leaders take separate lines through the first set of turns (Blaney in the middle, Hamlin on top and Reddick on the bottom). Reddick fired a shot down the lane, past Hamlin and into the back of the net. There was one set of edges left. Blaney again chooses the middle, as he did with Hamlin in the previous round. But this time Reddick came into the corner on a big line with a lot more speed. Despite two more laps on the tires, Reddick grabbed the wall long enough to pass Blaney. A stuffed flag flutters. Reddick beat Blaney, Hamlin, Bell and Elliott.
PLAYOFF IMPACT: Tyler Reddick earned his sixth win in two seasons in his first Championship Four with 23XI Racing. Despite both finishing in the top five, Hamlin, Blaney and Elliott left Homestead under-qualified. Hamlin was 18 points back, Blaney 38 points and Elliott 43 points. Larson moved up to 13th, down at least 11 places from 12 minutes ago. Instead of being three points above elimination, Larson leaves Martinsville with seven points. Bell, who finished fourth on Sunday, is 29 points ahead of sixth-place William Byron, while Reddick and Las Vegas winner Joey Logano advances to the Championship Four.
