Tyler Reddick conquered all his early race troubles to win the 2019 MoneyLion 300 at Talladega on Saturday, April 27. Reddick drove aggressively from the front of the field in the final two laps, blocking huge runs by eventual runner-up Gray Gaulding and Chase Briscoe (finished fourth).
Burned it down 'til he can't see anymore.@TylerReddick | #NamesAreMadeHere pic.twitter.com/4SuFyYppDM
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) April 27, 2019
Reddick was busted for speeding on pit road on lap 27 (along with Ross Chastain) and served his penalty. He also suffered damage after hitting the wall earlier in the race, which his pit crew successfully taped up. Later on, around lap 52, he ran over a jack stand, and was penalized for the equipment leaving the pit box.
He came back from these issues and not only won the race, but also won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize. This was the first victory for Richard Childress Racing at Talladega Superspeedway in the Xfinity Series.
Gaulding, driver of the No. 08 car for SS Green Light Racing, finished just behind Reddick — 0.127 seconds, as a matter of fact.
Christopher Bell, Briscoe, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.
Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, had radio issues earlier in the race.
John Hunter Nemechek came back from a lap 23 penalty, which he incurred for locking bumpers with Brandon Brown, to finish sixth. NASCAR waved the black flag with the white cross, indicating that they had stopped scoring him until he completed the pass-through.
Justin Haley, Josh Williams, Landon Cassill and Chris Cockrum completed the top 10.
Talladega was a mixture of quiet moments and action. There were seven cautions in the race, including two for the stage breaks.
Brandon Jones spun in the grass on lap nine, when Reddick and Chastain were fighting for the lead. There were no other issues in Stage 1, and Reddick earned the stage victory.
Ray Black Jr. left some oil on the track, bringing out a caution on lap 68. He nearly ran into one of his crew members after sliding through the oil in his pit stall.
Stage 2 was mostly a single file line behind Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier. Gragson would later spin out of the pack, sustaining damage to the front of his Chevrolet after contact with the inside wall. His team made repairs and he was able to finish the race in 11th.
The sixth caution of the day came when Austin Cindric pushed the right rear bumper of Michael Annett and spun Annett around. Annett tagged Allgaier, who spun in the middle of the group without being hit. Annett also made contact with Cole Custer.
Ryan Sieg and Stephen Leicht were also involved, and Annett and Custer had to retire from the race (crash clock expired on Annett).
Part of Sieg’s bumper was off the racing surface, and NASCAR waved the caution with 11 laps to go for debris. He and Chastain came down pit road for repairs, when it was determined that Chastain had a possible oil leak.
The semi-big one came with just five laps to go in the race. The pack was four-wide, with Jeffrey Earnhardt getting out of sequence, and the turbulent air turned him into Jeremy Clements. Allgaier ran into them and his car caught fire, but quickly burned out. He finished 28th in the race.
Timmy Hill, David Starr, and Alex Labbe were also involved in the wreck.
The red flag waved to allow NASCAR to clean up the track and lasted 14 minuutes and eight seconds.
Earnhardt was nearing the front of the pack at one point, and was hoping to continue the Earnhardt legacy at Talladega. His grandfather, Dale Earnhardt Sr., won 10 times at this track, and his son Dale Jr. won six times.
This was a particularly emotional race for the Earnhardt family (and JR Motorsports), as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s mother, and JR Motorsports employee, Brenda Jackson passed away earlier in the week. Her name was on Allgaier’s car.
Editor’s note: There is no direct relation from Brenda Jackson to Jeffrey Earnhardt. Jeffrey Earnhardt is the son of Kerry Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s nephew. Kerry Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. do not share the same mother.Â
Jeffrey Earnhardt finished 26th.
The Xfinity Series heads to Dover next Saturday (May 4). The OneMain Financial 200 will air at 1:30pm ET on Fox Sports 1.
Complete Results — MoneyLion 300 from Talladega Superspeedway
About the author
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
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I swear Tyler Reddick has eyes in the back of his head. Kudos to Tyler AND his spotter.