Tyler Reddick discusses disappointing Championship 4 race at Phoenix in 2024

Tyler Reddick discusses his disappointing Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway in 2024. Check out what Reddick said about his No. 45 car!

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] was the only Championship 4 driver without experience in the big event, and it simply didn’t go his way on Sunday afternoon. Reddick never took the championship lead and was consistently the fourth driver all day. The 23XI Racing driver needed chaos at the end of the day; however, it didn’t come to be, and he finished in sixth place as the last Championship 4 driver.

Following the event, Reddick climbed out of the No. 45 car and talked about his disappointing race at Phoenix. It wasn’t the showing that 23XI Racing wanted to put forth, but there is still much to be proud of during the 2024 NASCAR season.

“Yeah, I think we definitely got our Beast Camry better throughout the day,” Reddick said. “Yeah, there was that one time there we were behind the other Championship 4 cars, and they just kind of were able to pull away over time. It was a good year for us and everyone at [23XI Racing] to get to the Championship 4 and have a shot at it was nice. But yeah, we’ve got to get a little bit better here in Phoenix. Obviously we’re heavily motivated to do that knowing the championship is decided here.”

JOEY LOGANO DOES IT! ❤️‍🔥 pic.twitter.com/k06vXoW8DZ

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 10, 2024

“Good year for us. Proud of the effort. It’s a lot to do, all the preparation, all the work that goes into it. It takes everybody. We were close. We were just not quite good enough, unfortunately…We fought really hard. A lot to be proud of, but obviously when you come here, you want to leave here a champion. We’ll work on it and think about what we can do in the off-season to get better here.”

Reddick’s future with 23XI Racing is unknown as the organization is going through a lawsuit with NASCAR. If 23XI Racing is forced to run the 2024 season with charters, it could be a tough path moving forward. Either way, Reddick’s 2024 season is one to remember as he finally put the pieces together to make the Championship 4.

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‘We did all that we could’ – Reddick

Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing came up short in their quest for the NASCAR Cup Series championship in Phoenix on Sunday, but Reddick believes they left everything they had out on the track. Reddick was searching for speed from the No. 45 Toyota all …

Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing came up short in their quest for the NASCAR Cup Series championship in Phoenix on Sunday, but Reddick believes they left everything they had out on the track.

Reddick was searching for speed from the No. 45 Toyota all weekend. After a disappointing practice session on Friday, he very nearly failed to make it through the first qualifying round on Saturday. While the team continued to improve the car throughout the weekend and during the race, he struggled to keep pace with title rivals Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney from Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsport’s William Byron on Sunday. He finished sixth.

“I feel like Stage 2 when we broke out and got right behind the No. 24 (Byron), No. 22 (Logano) and No. 12 (Blaney), I thought, ‘OK, let’s see where this goes,’” Reddick said.

“Over time, they kind of got away. I was within range of William and tried to make a move, and it didn’t work out. Then settled back in, and they steadily pulled away over time. That’s what happened in Stage 3, as well.

“We’ve got to find a little bit more speed, but we made the car better throughout the day. We maintained on pit road. We did all that we could, I think. But certainly it’s tough when they just get further and further away over time.

“We put up a good fight. We didn’t make any mistakes that took ourselves out of it. We fought as hard as we could. We made the car better throughout the day. We did what we needed to do. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have the speed or the restarts we needed to get ahead and hold those guys up, or really put up a fight there at the very end. If we got the restarts, we could make old moves and most of the time make something of it. But I feel like with what we could control, we did all we could do.”

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While Phoenix didn’t work out according to Reddick’s script, he can still bank the experience of being part of a championship fight.

“It was a fun process, getting ready for this,” he said. “I felt like myself and the entire team’s mindset, we were all in a really good place going into the race. I thought we were where we needed to be. We’ve just got to do some digging and try to bring a faster Camry when we come back in the spring, and give it another shot.

“You keep telling yourself in the car, ‘Anything can happen — a caution could come, you’ve got to stay ready.’ And when the checkered flag finally fell, the year is over, it’s time to re-gather yourself, reset, and think about what you need to work on in the off-season to show up better in 2025 than how you left 2024.”

2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race odds, picks and predictions

Looking at the odds for Sunday’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race with NASCAR expert picks and predictions.

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The NASCAR season wraps up at Phoenix Raceway Sunday with the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. The green flag drops at 3 p.m. ET (NBC) for the final start of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NASCAR odds around the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race odds, and make our expert NASCAR picks and predictions.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race: What you need to know

After 9 playoff races, including 3 elimination races, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron make up the final 4 as they’ll compete to win the Cup title Sunday.
Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney aims for a 2nd consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. He had the best practice time with a 132.480 mph top speed heading into Sunday’s race, in which he’ll start 17th.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron was also sharp in practice, posting a best speed of 132.004 mph, as he vies for his 1st Cup title. He’ll start 8th.
Penske’s Joey Logano qualified 2nd with a time of 134.69 mph. He’s aiming for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series championship, all since 2018.
23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick qualified 10th as he looks for his 1st series title. He was just 21st in practice with a best speed of 130.795 mph.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., who is retiring from full-time NASCAR competition after this race, won the pole with a speed of 134.741 mph. He has 1 win in 37 career starts in Phoenix with 6 top-5’s out of his 16 top-10’s.
Blaney has never won at Phoenix, but he leads all Championship 4 drivers with a 10.9 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in 17 career Cup starts at the flat track. He has finished inside the top 5 on 8 occasions, leading 431 laps with 2 DNFs.
Byron has a checkered flag in his 13 Cup races at Phoenix, while posting 7 top-10 finishes and 186 laps led with 0 DNFs and a 93.6 Average Driver Rating.
Logano leads all Championship 4 drivers with 3 checkered flags in Avondale, while posting 8 top-5 runs and 16 top-10 finishes with 908 laps led and 3 DNFs with a 13.5 AFP in 31 career Cup starts.
Reddick has just 9 Cup starts in his career at the Arizona flat track, going for only 2 top-5 finishes and 3 top-10 runs with 1 DNF and a dismal 82.6 Average Driver Rating.
JGR driver Denny Hamlin has a 10.8 AFP in 38 career Cup starts with 16 top-5 finishes and 936 laps led at Phoenix. He’ll start 14th.
Hendrick’s Kyle Larson has a win and 8 top-5 finishes in 20 career Cup starts with 382 laps led and a 97.2 Average Driver Rating. He’ll start 4th.

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NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race – Expert pick

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NASCAR odds. Lines last updated at 3:11 a.m. ET.

RYAN BLANEY (+250) is the safe play. He won the championship last season, finishing as the runner-up in the season finale to Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who wasn’t in the final 4 picture. In fact, Blaney and Chastain made contact after a late-race restart last season.

There is safety in numbers here, too. Team Penske has won the past 2 championships. Blaney has his teammate Logano to work with. Now, if it comes down to those 2 in the final lap, obviously all bets are off. But they can each help each other get into a better and safe position during the early to middle laps.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race – Contender

TYLER REDDICK (+1300) didn’t get into the Championship 4 by accident. He is a good driver, even though his results at Phoenix Raceway over his career haven’t been great. In practice, Reddick was just 21st with a 130.795 mph, so he has work to do.

In 9 career Cup starts at the flat track in Phoenix, Reddick has managed just 2 top-5 finishes, 3 top-10 runs and only 5 placements inside the top 20, posting 72 laps led, 1 DNF and a mediocre 82.6 Average Driver Rating.

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Cup Series title contenders spread throughout field for Phoenix start

There will be 16 grid spots separating the Championship 4 when the green flag waves for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series title-decider at Phoenix, but all of them feel good about their chances. “I do,” said Team Penske’s Joey Logano when asked if he felt …

There will be 16 grid spots separating the Championship 4 when the green flag waves for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series title-decider at Phoenix, but all of them feel good about their chances.

“I do,” said Team Penske’s Joey Logano when asked if he felt like the championship was his for the taking. “I feel like our car is strong. We did a good job in qualifying, feel strong about our team, and we feel really solid about these type of pressure situations. We’re just executing our plan. We’ve had two weeks to put our plan together; just have to execute it the best we can now.”

Logano’s confidence in the homework the No. 22 team has done ahead of this weekend was reinforced by his being the highest qualifier among the title contenders. He will roll off from second on the grid after being edged out by Martin Truex Jr.

“I’ve said all week, I feel like we’ve had the upper hand,” he said. “I feel like we’re in a great spot. Obviously a lot of things can happen from here, but when you look at what we accomplished today, getting a solid starting spot, that’s something we should be proud of, but it’s also exactly what we were trying to do. We feel confident. This race team’s been doing this a long, long time. We feel solid about where we’re at. When you prepare for what’s coming your way, it’s easy to feel confident.”

Logano is chasing his third Cup Series crown, while Penske teammate Ryan Blaney is looking to add a second to the one he earned last year. Blaney triumphed last year from 15th on the grid – an experience that he can lean on this time around after qualifying the No. 12 Ford 17th.

“Our lap didn’t go well, just got really free into Turn 1 and kind of ruined it all and couldn’t really make it back up,” Blaney said. “I was surprised, honestly, that it ran what it did for how loose I got.

“I think the car is pretty good. Still nice to have a decent pit stall and things like that. We’ll just take it how we can get it tomorrow; try to work through the first handful of laps and then start marching forwards. Pretty similar to last year – hopefully it will end the same and we can charge through the field. I think the race car is good enough to where hopefully we can make that happen.”

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Starting roughly halfway between the two title-contending Penske entries are their two rivals, led by Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron in eighth.

“I think we do [have a car that’s good enough to win],” he said. “It sucks; just didn’t quite get the second lap I wanted to in the second (qualifying) round, so bummed about that. I feel really good about our race car, getting first pit pick, which is huge. Excited about all those things, and just [have to] put together a good start to the race. It’s such a long race; it’s just going to be about getting to the finish and having what you need there.”

Tyler Reddick will be immediately behind him on the starting grid after qualifying the No. 45 23XI Toyota in 10th. He endured the most nerve-wracking trip through qualifying of the four contenders after narrowly hanging on to a top five spot in the opening round.

“Round one, obviously we just barely got in; did just enough there,” he said. “That second run, I wasn’t expecting it to lose that much lap time from round one, and when you’re first car out you’re kind of going off what you need to do, and the last thing I thought was that it would lose that much across the board. Definitely wish we could have had that one back.

“We’re right there with William; Joey’s a little further ahead obviously, but we had a pretty solid day.”

Reddick came into qualifying off the back of a disappointing run in practice on Friday, but is optimistic that the team is gotten the car to where it needs to be.

“There were moments in practice where our car was doing what we wanted it to do,” he said. “Just across the board, the fire-off speed wasn’t really there. We’ve been talking about it and coming up with a plan for Sunday. Going into the race, I have a good sense of direction for what I need to be focused on, and what we as a team need to keep up with on the race car.”

Reddick not letting 23XI lawsuit affect championship focus

Tyler Reddick competes for the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway with added attention. Reddick competes for 23XI Racing, one of the race teams involved in an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. Given that situation, there’s a …

Tyler Reddick competes for the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway with added attention.

Reddick competes for 23XI Racing, one of the race teams involved in an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. Given that situation, there’s a potentially intriguing visual of NASCAR having to present Reddick and team owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan with the championship trophy.

Add in that the team found out Friday the preliminary injunction request had been denied by the courts. There will be an appeal. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsport are asking to race as charter teams next season but without giving up their rights to sue NASCAR.

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“I haven’t really had to try to block it out; it pretty much came naturally with what lays ahead of us,” Reddick said of blocking out the outside world this week. “They’ve got a team of people that are taking care of that. I’m taking care of what I can do as the driver. Yeah, it hasn’t been difficult at all to not think about that stuff.

“I didn’t really have to tell myself to ignore it because I’m so locked in on this week, the trophy (sitting) over there, all the banners and signage. We know what we’re racing for, so it’s been very easy to stay focused.”

Reddick and the No. 45 team have been locked into the championship race since winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 27). It has given the team and the driver, who won the regular season championship, added time to prepare for the finale.

“I think there’s a point where we can almost overdo it when it comes to an oval, but I feel like we’ve had a good balance,” Reddick said. “We worked really, really hard as soon as we left this race in the spring of going back to Airspeed and post-race scaling this tire and it left us in a really good spot for coming back to it when it came time to get ready for this championship.”

Sunday is Reddick’s first chance at a Cup Series championship. It is his second season driving for 23XI Racing.

However, he is not unfamiliar with a championship battle. Reddick is a two-time Xfinity Series champion — albeit having won when the finale was still at Homestead-Miami Speedway — with experience in the elimination format. Those memories are strong for Reddick going into the weekend.

“I feel like I’m right there, mindset-wise,” Reddick said. “It’s hard to think back and remember all the exact little details of it. But just how I felt going into those two Championship 4s, it feels like I’m really close, if not in the same place, mentally going in.”

Why Tyler Reddick will win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship

Check out why Tyler Reddick will win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway this weekend!

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] is one win or great race away from accomplishing many first-time moments in NASCAR. A championship for himself, Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and 23XI Racing would all be first-time moments for the sport. However, why will Reddick pull through to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway this weekend?

Reddick has been the best Cup Series driver of the remaining Championship 4 competitors in 2024. The driver of the No. 45 car won the Cup Series regular-season championship, and despite a below-average playoff run, he still finds himself in position to win the title. Plus, Toyota showed out-of-this-world speed at Phoenix in March.

Toyota, specifically Christopher Bell, made a statement at Phoenix in March, and if Reddick is able to replicate that same speed, it will be borderline impossible for anyone from Team Penske or William Byron to beat him. Yet, 23XI Racing has to bring Reddick a car capable of winning races, which has happened a few times during the 2024 Cup Series playoffs.

It won’t be easy for Reddick as he is the only Championship 4 competitor not to have experience in this situation. Meanwhile, Team Penske is looking for their third straight Cup Series title as Byron has all hands on deck from Hendrick Motorsports. Reddick has the raw speed and talent to win a championship, and he’ll need the speed that Toyota displayed in March for Sunday evening.

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Michael Jordan discusses Tyler Reddick’s big NASCAR win at Homestead

Michael Jordan discusses Tyler Reddick’s big NASCAR win at Homestead in 2024. Find out what Jordan said about his 23XI Racing driver!

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] entered Homestead-Miami Speedway with a large points deficit to the playoff cut-line but left not needing to worry about what happens at Martinsville Speedway. On the final lap of Sunday’s event, Reddick was able to pass Ryan Blaney in the final corners despite having a tire deficit for his third victory of the 2024 NASCAR season.

The victory locked Reddick into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. Following the event, 23XI Racing co-owner [autotag]Michael Jordan[/autotag] was asked about the driver of the No. 45 car’s “Game 7” moment at Homestead.

“Actually, everybody,” Jordan said. “[Crew chief Billy Scott] made a call. Looked a little scared because we were going to run out of gas. Anything could happen. As you could see, [Denny Hamlin] was up there. Little kid drove his ass off. I’m proud of him…Oh, man, he just let go. He just went for it, and I’m glad. We needed it. We needed it.”

Reddick’s all-time move in Turn 3 has put him in position to give Jordan and 23XI Racing a shot at winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship in under two weeks at Phoenix. It has been a long month for 23XI Racing amidst the charter agreement drama, and Reddick’s victory was much needed for the organization.

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Tyler Reddick wins Cup Series race at Homestead, clinches Championship 4 spot

Tyler Reddick wins the second Round of 8 race at Homestead, clinching a Championship 4 spot. Check out the full results from Homestead!

The NASCAR Cup Series arrived at Homestead-Miami Speedway, providing one of the best races of the 2024 season. Tyler Reddick won Stage 1, and Denny Hamlin won Stage 2; however, it didn’t appear as either driver would win. Yet, Kyle Larson spun out battling Ryan Blaney for the lead with 10 laps to go, causing a dramatic late-race restart.

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] won the 2024 Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead, winning his third race of the season and clinching a spot in the Championship 4. Reddick was able to pass Blaney on the top in the final corners of the race after passing Hamlin for second place in Turns 1 and 2. The driver of the No. 45 simply put together an all-time lap.

TYLER REDDICK PASSES RYAN BLANEY IN THE FINAL CORNER!

HE WINS AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI AND IS GOING TO THE NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP! pic.twitter.com/GtgwGyY6jb

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 27, 2024

Reddick, who entered below the playoff cut-line, needed a win to realistically have a chance at the Championship 4. Meanwhile, Blaney’s devastating loss has put him 38 points below the bubble. It all comes down to Martinsville Speedway next weekend, as NASCAR officially sets the Championship 4.

NASCAR results from Homestead in October 2024:

No. 45 Tyler Reddick (P)
No. 12 Ryan Blaney (P)
No. 11 Denny Hamlin (P)
No. 20 Christopher Bell (P)
No. 9 Chase Elliott (P)
No. 24 William Byron (P)
No. 48 Alex Bowman
No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
No. 77 Carson Hocevar
No. 41 Ryan Preece
No. 4 Josh Berry
No. 14 Chase Briscoe
No. 5 Kyle Larson (P)
No. 34 Michael McDowell
No. 17 Chris Buescher
No. 99 Daniel Suarez
No. 6 Brad Keselowski
No. 23 Bubba Wallace
No. 10 Noah Gragson
No. 38 Todd Gilliland
No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 43 Erik Jones
No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
No. 21 Harrison Burton
No. 3 Austin Dillon
No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 2 Austin Cindric
No. 22 Joey Logano (P)
No. 31 Daniel Hemric
No. 71 Zane Smith
No. 8 Kyle Busch
No. 15 Kaz Grala
No. 1 Ross Chastain
No. 7 Justin Haley
No. 51 Corey LaJoie
No. 54 Ty Gibbs
No. 66 Chad Finchum
No. 44 J.J. Yeley

Reddick wins tooth and nail fight at Homestead to advance to Cup Series Championship 4

Tyler Reddick is headed to the Championship 4 to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship after a third-to-first last lap drive to win Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Reddick wrapped the bottom around Turns 1 and 2 and completed a pass on …

Tyler Reddick is headed to the Championship 4 to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship after a third-to-first last lap drive to win Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Reddick wrapped the bottom around Turns 1 and 2 and completed a pass on boss Denny Hamlin for second position on corner exit on the white flag lap. The 23XI Racing driver then drove around the outside of leader Ryan Blaney to make the winning pass through Turns 3 and 4. The victory capped off a day where Reddick started from the pole, won the first stage, and led a race high 97 laps.

TYLER REDDICK PASSES RYAN BLANEY IN THE FINAL CORNER!

HE WINS AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI AND IS GOING TO THE NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP! pic.twitter.com/GtgwGyY6jb

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 27, 2024

It is the first time Reddick will compete for the Cup Series championship.

“We were backed in a corner, man; we had no other choice,” Reddick said. “I know we were on a tire deficit, and here at Homestead that’s a death sentence, but I don’t care. We did what it took to win this race [and] we’re fighting for a championship.”

Blaney finished second and Hamlin, who won the second stage, finished third. Hamlin was leading with two laps to go before Blaney took the top spot in Turns 3 and 4 coming to the white flag.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Reddick said of the winning pass on Blaney. “I just knew I needed to get even with him on his right-side door; I didn’t care what he did. He raced me clean. I appreciate it. I’m really, really excited that we’re going to have a shot at this championship.”

The run to the finish was seven laps after a caution for a Kyle Larson spin. Larson was racing Blaney for the lead when he spun trying to squeeze in the middle of Blaney and Austin Dillon in Turn 3.

Reddick stayed on track and inherited the race lead having run long on the previous fuel run. Blaney led Hamlin and Chase Elliott off pit road.

“Billy [Scott] made a call that looked a little scary because we were going to run out of gas,” 23XI co-owner Michel Jordan said of the pit strategy. “We knew we needed a caution at the end and anything can happen after that. As you can see, Denny was up there, and the little kid drove his [butt] off. I’m proud of him.

“He just let go, he just went for it, and I’m glad. We needed it.”

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On the final restart, Hamlin took the lead by going to the top in Turns 1 and 2. He drove around Reddick and Elliott, who restarted on the front row. Blaney and Reddick settled into second and third place before the frantic run to the finish.

“It’s obvious disappointment,” Blaney said. “I had a great shot to win and I didn’t have a very good last lap. Man, I thought I got into [Turn] 3 hard and [Reddick] just blitzed it off in there and it stuck for him, which is pretty impressive. I hate we gave one away there like that. I don’t know if we gave it away; we got the lead back after losing it on the restart and the last lap just didn’t really play out for us.

“It definitely stinks. I appreciate everybody on the [No.] 12 team for bringing a really fast race car. We had a great shot to go to Phoenix, and still got one more chance, so we still have to look forward to that.”

Christopher Bell finished fourth and Elliott completed the top five. William Byron finished sixth; Alex Bowman, seventh; AJ Allmendinger, eighth and Carson Hocevar, ninth. Ryan Preece rounded out the top 10.

Larson finished 13th. He was scored third after his spin but lost six spots on pit road when his Hendrick Motorsports team had to knock a diffuser flap back in place. The spin was the second incident of the day for him, after hitting the wall on lap 48 because of a flat right rear tire.

Joey Logano was the lowest finishing playoff driver in 28th position, but he’s under no pressure after clinching his spot in the championship race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

There were 33 lead changes among 11 drivers in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wire 400, plus six caution flags.

The four drivers out of a transfer spot going into the final elimination race at Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 3, 2 p.m. ET) are Larson, Hamlin, Blaney, and Elliott. Larson is at a seven-point deficit while Hamlin is behind 18 points, Blaney is behind 38, and Elliott the furthest behind at 43 points.

RESULTS

Reddick earns pole for Homestead-Miami Cup race

Tyler Reddick (P) completed the NASCAR Cup Series sweep of Saturday activity at Homestead-Miami Speedway by claiming the pole for the Straight Talk Wireless 400. Reddick’s pole-winning lap was 167.452 mph (32.248 seconds) in the final round of …

Tyler Reddick (P) completed the NASCAR Cup Series sweep of Saturday activity at Homestead-Miami Speedway by claiming the pole for the Straight Talk Wireless 400.

Reddick’s pole-winning lap was 167.452 mph (32.248 seconds) in the final round of qualifying. It is Reddick’s ninth career pole in the Cup Series and first at Homestead-Miami.

“It’s a huge deal for us (to start on the pole),” Reddick said. “This Beast Camry is really, really fast, and it was nice to be able to capitalize on qualifying. All things considered with how last week ended, we’re picking up right where we left off to be honest. I’m excited for tomorrow. This is my kind of place and we know what we need to do tomorrow.”

The 23XI Racing driver goes into Sunday’s race sitting outside of a transfer spot into the championship race. Reddick, who won the regular season championship, is at a 30-point deficit after earning a DNF in the opening race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On lap 89, Reddick made contact with the wall and Chase Elliott of Turn 4, and his car rolled over on the frontstretch.

Kyle Larson (P) qualified second at 167.053 mph. Christopher Bell (P), the defending race winner, qualified third at 166.826 mph.

Denny Hamlin (P) will start Sunday’s race in fourth at 166.523 mph, ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fifth at 165.629 mph. Martin Truex Jr. qualified sixth at 166.312 mph.

Chase Elliott (P) qualified seventh at 165.173 mph with Bubba Wallace eighth at 166.128 mph. Daniel Hemric qualified ninth at 163.344 mph and Justin Haley completed the top 10 at 165.664 mph.

There were three playoff drivers who qualified outside the top 10.

Ryan Blaney qualified 20th. The reigning series champion clocked in at 166.272 mph.

William Byron qualified 25th at 165.741 mph and Joey Logano qualified 26th at 165.837 mph. Logano’s team is working through a potential power steering issue that needs to be addressed before Sunday’s race.

RESULTS

*P denotes playoff driver.