There’s a new leader in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, and his name is Tyler Reddick.
Reddick picked up his second win of the season in the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Monday, Aug. 19, at Michigan International Speedway and leapfrogged Kyle Larson for the points lead.
After weather on Sunday postponed the race with 51 laps complete, Reddick survived a pair of overtime finishes after Martin Truex Jr. slammed the turn 4 wall with six laps to go. William Byron looked to have a strong push from the top lane on the final restart, but Reddick pulled ahead thanks to a push from Toyota teammate Ty Gibbs.
“Just great teammates,” Reddick said in a post race interview with USA Network. “I got a fantastic push from Ty Gibbs and that’s what it’s all about. The Toyota racing family tries to take care of each other.”
Reddick now leads Chase Elliott by 10 points in the standings after collecting his seventh-straight finish of sixth or better. After the race, Reddick dedicated the win to dirt racing mentor Scott Bloomquist after a fatal plane crash last Friday.
“I can’t help but sit here in victory lane and think of Scott Bloomquist,” Reddick said. “Huge mentor to me, an incredible role model and legend of motorsports. The last couple days have been tough and this really helps it. This win should go to him, his family, his friends and I know it would mean a lot to them.”
Byron finished runner-up at just 0.168 seconds behind Reddick. The No. 24 Chevy now has five top-five finishes since their last win at Martinsville.
“I’ll relive that restart and choose the top overnight for sure,” Byron told USA Network. “As the leader, you want to take the top but I’ve gotten beaten twice by the bottom and I had the lead over the bottom. But he had a better car than us, so he was a little bit faster. Second sucks but I’m really proud of the effort.”
Gibbs took third, Kyle Busch finished fourth and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five.
Chris Buescher, Zane Smith, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin and Carson Hocevar made up the rest of the top 10.
Drivers at the playoff cut line all saw issues shakeup their positioning with two races remaining in the regular season. Bubba Wallace and Buescher were involved in a lap 115 accident, with Wallace’s performance severely hindered the rest of the day. Ross Chastain saw a good points day upended on the first overtime attempt when he spun into the turn 3…
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