What Happened?
When tri-oval turmoil took place on the final lap, Tyler Reddick snuck through to take the victory at Talladega Superspeedway. A double block from Michael McDowell on Brad Keselowski sent the No. 34 spinning up the track while Keselowski had to check up to avoid the crash. Reddick kept his foot in it and leapt to the front coming to the checkered.
The sixth career victory for Reddick marks his first of the 2024 season and his first superspeedway triumph in the Cup Series. Adding to the fun, Michael Jordan finally didn’t jinx his team, watching the win go down in person.
What Really Happened?
Everything was going well. Until it wasn’t. That could be a motto for racing at Talladega.
As the final stage began to play out, the Toyotas chose an alternate strategy. While the pack slowed its pace to save fuel, the Toyotas left nothing to chance and pitted so they could drive all-out.
After just a few laps, it became apparent how much faster the small group ran compared to the pack of fuel-savers. The strategy seemed great for the aggressive Toyotas. In a moment’s notice, that all changed.
While trying to make speed, the pushes became super aggressive, resulting in a four-car crash. Erik Jones went sideways, with Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek and Denny Hamlin joining in. Their strategy went from hero to zero in a turn 3 heap.
At the end of the race, the field kept a tame two-by-two, much like the race last fall. It all seemed fine until McDowell got a little too far out. In just a few hundred feet, everything went from sunny side up to upside-down.
Literally.
The same phrase could be uttered for the racing product.
During the fuel-saving portions of the race, the action passed the eye test. Three-wide for row after row while guys are making runs looks like a lot of fun. Let the drivers complain about going too slow, for the fans, the action stays the same. At least until the switch flips.
When fuel savings drop from the picture, the inability of drivers to make moves and pass becomes glaringly apparent. The two lanes trade minor runs, inflating the number of lead changes in the race.
Meanwhile, the drivers outside of the top four stay locked in position, unable to move forward. The third…
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