2 weeks Ago
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Denny Hamlin leaned against his car and tried to process what had just happened. Ryan Blaney stood a few feet away and tried not to dwell on what more he could have done.
As they sorted through the chaotic final laps Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, over near the finish line, Michael Jordan yelled “Yeah, baby! Yeah!” and lifted Tyler Reddick in a bearhug after Reddick’s dramatic win sent him to the Championship 4 . Sunday was a reflection of what these playoffs have been — an emotional roller coaster that has twisted, tormented and thrilled. “Up and down,” Blaney said.
“Up and down, man. Just gotta ride the wave.” The series next heads to Martinsville Speedway — and its history of dramatic playoff moments — with the final two spots in the title race still to be determined.
Blaney faces a must-win situation at Martinsville to advance. It appeared as if he would win at Homestead. Until he lost it.
Same for Hamlin. The final three laps saw three different leaders. Christopher Bell, who finished fourth, watched all the action in front of him.
“It was wild,” he said. “This place is awesome. It leads to some amazing races.
” The race-record 33rd lead change took place on the final lap when Reddick, trailing Blaney, angled his car toward the wall in Turn 3 to build as much momentum as possible. “If I drove in that deep that I hit the wall and ripped the right side of it off, so be it,” Reddick told NBC Sports. There was no contact with the wall and only a checkered flag in front of him as he exited Turn 4.
Now, Reddick could be within two weeks of being the Cup champion — a title that didn’t seem as likely after he finished outside the top 10 in the previous six races. While each driver has gone through an emotional journey this season and in the playoffs, Reddick’s experience has been unique. He won the regular season championship in August at Darlington Raceway on a night where he felt so ill, he provided a raw image on the radio of what he felt he was going to do in the car.
No clean up was needed and he later celebrated the regular season accomplishment with Jordan and the team. Six weeks later, Reddick had to drive his way through the field at the Charlotte Roval to earn what was thought to be the final spot in the Round of 8. Turned out it was the next-to-last spot when Alex Bowman’s disqualification after the race put Joey Logano back in the playoffs.
The next week in the opening race of the Round of 8, Reddick had one of the best cars at Las Vegas. But his move to pass two other cars backfired and he made contact with Chase Elliott, triggering a multi-car crash that sent Reddick rolling over once on the fronstretch grass. After facing questions this weekend about if he was too aggressive at Las Vegas, Reddick came back to win the pole Saturday and then went from third to first in the last two laps to take the victory Sunday.
“It’s been intense,” Reddick told NBC Sports of these playoffs. “We’ve had a lot of moments that very easily could have derailed our season, derailed our mindset going into the next weekend. We didn’t let any of that bother us.
” Hamlin, who co-owns Reddick’s car, was happy for his organization’s triumph, but his mind was more focused on not winning Sunday’s race. “Mentally you can’t really put yourself in that place quite yet,” he said shortly after the race. “I’m still soaking in kind of the driver’s side of it.
” What was going through his mind? “Certainly, I was kind of resigned to the fact of finishing third there before the (final) caution and then certainly when we got the restart that we needed, you know, I was thinking I was going to be strong enough to hold him off but, for whatever reason, couldn’t do it.” Blaney passed Hamlin for the lead and was first when the white flag waved. Reddick was second.
Hamlin third. Reddick went low in Turns 1 and 2 while Blaney went high. “I missed the bottom in 1 and 2,” Blaney said.
“I wish I could have sealed the bottom off. That’s how I got to (Hamlin) the lap before. I kind of missed it and gave (Reddick) some air.
” Reddick then charged down the backstretch and closed on Blaney. “Where he got to my bumper ..
. it was just the perfect timing for him and the worst for me,” Blaney said. “He got to me right as the corner started.
” Blaney didn’t know if Reddick would dive low in Turn 3 and slide up the track in front of him or take the high line around. “But, my God, he entered (Turn) 3 so fast at the wall, I don’t know how he did it,” Blaney said. “It was pretty impressive.
I thought I had a decent plan, but, obviously it didn’t work out.”.
