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October 27, 2024

Playoff Pulse: Ryan Blaney misses golden ticket to Championship 4


A 267-lap race for the ages at Homestead-Miami Speedway ended with a pass in Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap as Tyler Reddick rode the outside line to the checkered flag, passing Ryan Blaney to punch his ticket to Phoenix Raceway to fight for the Bill France Cup. All Round of 8 drivers were on their A-game at Homestead, with six of the remaining title contenders claiming the top-six finishing spots.

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Tyler Reddick rides high line to Homestead victory, clinches Championship 4 berth Tyler Reddick rides high line to Homestead victory, clinches Championship 4 berth

WINNER

Capitalizing on a late-race caution after a Kyle Larson spin, Reddick found a second life on a restart with seven to go as the No. 45 23XI Toyota led the way back to green. Despite falling behind Blaney and team owner Denny Hamlin, Reddick rode the wall on the final lap to get around the No. 12 in perfect fashion to take the checkered flag at Homestead. It’s Reddick’s first trip to the Championship 4.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

WHO’S HOT?

Ryan Blaney. Like Christopher Bell last week at Las Vegas, Blaney will leave Homestead heartbroken after looking like the man to win it after the final green-flag pit stops. But after a gutsy move from Larson to try to take the lead from the defending champ, the No. 5 driver spun to rack up the field one more time. Blaney was able to grab ahold of the lead on the final lap, but as the No. 12 took entry into the final corner, he chose the slower bottom and opened the door for Reddick to clear on the outside, settling for a runner-up result.

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin nearly stole the show during the final restart as he initially had the advantage before being passed by Blaney and Reddick at the finish. The No. 11 collected a Stage 2 checkered flag, and with his third-place result, Hamlin is just 18 points below the elimination line heading to one of his best tracks in Martinsville Speedway.

WHO’S NOT?

William Byron. Despite another top-10 performance from the No. 24 team, they were among the slowest of the Round of 8 drivers all day Sunday. It was a clean day for Byron, but with Reddick winning, Byron holds just a seven-point gap to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson on the elimination line before the cutoff race at Martinsville.

Kyle Larson. Another grind of a day for the No. 5 team puts them in the hole heading to Martinsville. Always a sure-fire favorite at Homestead, Larson held point early before a flat right-rear tire put him in the wall in Stage 1. Larson failed to collect stage points, but when he was in a position to take the lead and steal the checkered flag, he was too antsy for position and spun trying to squeeze between Blaney and Austin Dillon in Turn 3 for the race lead. Larson settled for a 13th-place result.

BUBBLE WATCH

RANKDRIVERCUTOFF
1Tyler ReddickADV
2Joey LoganoADV
3Christopher Bell29
4William Byron7
ELIMINATION LINE
5Kyle Larson-7
6Denny Hamlin-18
7Ryan Blaney-38
8Chase Elliott-43

MUST WATCH