Who… should you be talking about after the race?
Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 team have been hotter than the southern sun over the past two months, culminating in Reddick’s second victory of 2024 at Michigan International Speedway.
Reddick received a hearty push from Ty Gibbs on the race’s second overtime restart, giving the No. 45 enough of a gap to navigate the final lap without a challenge from William Byron.
If you haven’t been paying attention to Reddick this season, it’s past time to do so. The 28-year-old has 10 top-10 finishes in the last 11 races, and his second win of 2024 catapulted him into the regular-season points lead with two races to go. If a Cup Series championship favorite can be crowned in August, Reddick has to be near the top of the list.
And don’t forget William Byron.
He may have been considered a title threat in the spring, but after a lackluster summer, not many had the No. 24 team circled going into Michigan. However, NASCAR’s trip to the Irish Hills ended up being the best race for the No. 24 team in a long time, and a runner-up finish shows that Byron is still capable of a winning performance on any given week.
What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
Anything and everything regarding the playoffs seems to be a complete mystery with two races remaining in the regular season. Could the superspeedway acumen of Denny Hamlin get him back into the regular-season race at Daytona?
Who, among Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace, makes the playoffs? Who’s the championship favorite? Will we see an upset winner at Daytona?
These are, of course, multiple questions, but they all tie into what’s quietly been one of the craziest seasons of the playoff era. With the points changing nearly every lap and an aforementioned underdog potentially laying in the weeds at Daytona, there’s no rest for the weary who partake in the playoff hunt.
Where… did the other key players wind up?
Pole-sitter Hamlin was rightfully considered a favorite to win at Michigan and he backed up his odds by battling Kyle Larson for the lead early in the race. After an early spin, however, the veteran was forced to claw his way back through the field, bringing home a ninth-place finish.
Defending Michigan winner Buescher didn’t quite have the same horses under the hood at the 2-mile track this year, but a sixth-place effort puts him 16 points above the playoff…
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