By james art
TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Michael Jordan won a championship in Phoenix in 1993. Tyler Reddick is making sure the owner of his car will have a chance to win another title there this year.
Reddick rode high and passed Ryan Blaney in the final turn to win at Homestead-Miami on Sunday to secure a spot in the NASCAR finale in Arizona in two weeks. Reddick led 98 of the 267 laps, the last of which was the most important.
“The little kid worked his ass off,” said Jordan, whose 1993 title — the third of six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls — came in Phoenix against the Suns. “I’m proud of him. … He just let it go and just did it. I’m glad I’m glad We needed that.”
Reddick loves the Homestead track and his favorite part of the place is Turns 3 and 4 — the last two turns. He might like them even more now, as this was the stretch of track that secured him a title fight with a thrilling finish.
“I took a risk and it paid off,” Reddick said. “I don’t know what else to say really. … When the timing is right, you can do some pretty crazy things there.
Reddick’s walk in the end was the 33rd leadoff change of the day, a Homestead record. Blaney was second and Denny Hamlin – part owner of Reddick’s car was third. The playoffs took the top six spots, with Christopher Bell fourth, Chase Elliott fifth and William Byron sixth.
Reddick — the regular-season champion and the driver who started from the pole Sunday, a week after spinning upside down in Las Vegas — and Joey Logano are now assured of two of the four spots in NASCAR’s final four in Phoenix.
“He’s got an abundance of talent,” Dave Rogers, 23XI Racing’s director of performance, said of Reddick. “He is determined to win. He puts in the work.”
Reddick was third behind Blaney and Hamlin entering the final lap. He dropped low and got around Hamlin and the three cars lined up along the wall before Reddick stayed high to pass Blaney.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to win this race,” Reddick said, moments before Jordan hugged him and moments before teammate Bubba Wallace — fists raised like a fighter celebrating a title — came to offer his congratulations. “We are fighting for a championship.”
Reddick became the ninth different Homestead winner in the past nine years, joining Jimmie Johnson in 2016, Martin Truex Jr. in 2017, Logano in 2018, Kyle Busch in 2019, Hamlin in 2020, Byron in 2021, Kyle Larson in 2022 and Bell last year.
Logano was the only one of the eight playoff drivers who came to Homestead guaranteed a spot in the season finale. He spent much of the day in the middle of the pack.
The remaining seven playoff drivers raced up front for the majority of the 267 laps. Hamlin led with two laps to go, Larson by one lap at the end, then Reddick at the end.
“I had a great shot to win and I didn’t have a very good last lap,” said Blaney, who was also second at Homestead last year.
Bell and Byron have the inside chance to grab the final two spots in the final four, although any of the six drivers who have yet to earn a spot could just win at Martinsville next week.
And Championship Week now has another twist. A hearing in Jordan’s revenue-sharing lawsuit against NASCAR is scheduled for Nov. 4, six days before Reddick tries to win him a title in the desert.
Next up
NASCAR moves to Martinsville next Sunday for the penultimate race of the season, where the remaining spots in the Phoenix Final Four will be decided. Blaney won the fall race at Martinsville last season, and Byron won when NASCAR made its first of two 2024 visits there in April.