Never bet against a late-race restart at Kansas Speedway.
Tyler Reddick didn’t, and he was able slip out front on the final restart to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ Hollywood Casinos 400 on Sunday (Sept. 10).
The big win came at the expense of his team owner. Denny Hamlin had a comfortable lead over Reddick with 7 laps remaining, until Chris Buescher‘s tire let go to bring out the caution. That caused myriad pit stops and strategies that put Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Joey Logano out front.
Reddick quickly dispatched them, getting his second win of the season, and locked himself into the next round.
“Just an outstanding job by this whole 23XI team,” Reddick told NBC Sports after the race. “We had really good pace, just couldn’t get ahead of Denny there. Chaos ensued, some people stayed out some took two tires, the bottom lane opened up. It was pretty crazy.”
It’s his fifth career win and the third for his No. 45 car at Kansas with its third different driver in the last four races in the Heartland.
Hamlin, Jones, Kyle Larson and Logano rounded out the top five.
“The 5 was just laying back so much, I was trying to back up to him,” a disappointed Hamlin said. “I could’ve just focused forward probably, and that gave the 45 the opportunity to get up there in front of us … had another really, really fast car, just didn’t that caution at the end.”
Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.
Larson and Keselowski were the respective stage winners. Larson essentially dominated stage one on his way to the win, but stage two featured an exciting battle between Elliott, Keselowski and Hamlin to the checkered flag. On the final lap, Keselowski was able to carry enough to momentum to get by the No. 9, bringing Hamlin with him to second.
Among the variety of playoff contenders having bad days was regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. Truex had a mechanical failure on lap four, resulting in a last-place finish for the 2017 champion. He now finds himself seven points behind the cut line heading to Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend. No regular-season champion has ever failed to make the Round of 12.
William Byron went for a big slide after Austin Dillon‘s Chevrolet Camaro bounced off the wall. He didn’t hit anything, but the league leader in wins wasn’t able to find the speed again, and he finished 15th.
Bubba Wallace, last year’s winner, looked poised for a repeat … or at least a top-two finish. Wallace was running second when his No. 23 Toyota Camry cut a tire and smacked the wall.
Wallace’s crew was able to put the car back together enough to make minimum speed to beat the Damaged Vehicle Policy Clock, but his wounded car was too damaged to do much more. He finished in 32nd and is 19 points behind the cut line.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell also had minor issues, but the speed was never really there for them to compete. Stenhouse could still point his way into the next round, but McDowell is essentially in a must-win situation.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday (September 16) for the Round of 16’s elimination race. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
About the author
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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Tires. Tires. Tires. The goal for an inanimate object is just do your job and don’t make the headlines. Once again Goodyear has influenced the outcome. Thank you for taking one away from Hamlin, but I still hate the worst tires on the public market controlling NASCAR$$$ and it’s finishes. Go Hoosier, Firestone, Michelin Pirelli and all the rest. Please someone send your best salesperson with the shortest skirt to Charlotte. Millions to be made. Congrats to Reddick
I’m glad Reddick beat Hamlin. Every little doubt in Denny’s head adds up as the pressure keeps mounting on him. My ideal ending, Larson punts Denny for the championship.
Anyone who wants to see real dirt racing with real dirt cars check this out:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1700729823880987043
I would still love to know the back story of why Reddick was SO anxious to get away from RCR. There certainly seems to no love lost between he & Dillon.