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 cut line heading to Daytona — where, oh by the way, he won last year.
Larson’s race came to an early end on lap 116 when his No. 5 Camaro snapped loose in turn 3. After collecting numerous other cars, the driver that led the regular-season standings coming in to Michigan was relegated to a 34th-place finish and is now staring down a 32-point deficit with two races remaining.
Michigan-native Brad Keselowski contributed to a banner day for RFK Racing, though a fifth-place finish could’ve been slightly better if not for an issue on the final restart. Keselowski failed to get a good launch on the race’s final restart, leaving Byron without a pusher. It’s always good to see drivers run well at their home tracks, however, and Keselowski’s top-five run was likely made a bit sweeter due to it coming at home.
When… was the moment of truth?
With 25 laps to go, Reddick made perhaps the most important pass all day, getting around Busch after the field’s final round of green flag pit stops.
Byron would later get around Busch, but due to a somewhat questionable caution for Martin Truex Jr., Reddick would have to hold off the field on not one, but two overtime restarts.
Thanks to a timely push from Gibbs, Reddick was able to do so, finally closing the deal after struggling in the clutch for much of the year.
Why… should you be paying attention this week?
The word ‘Daytona’ should be enough to entice you into spending four hours of your Saturday night on the couch, but if it isn’t, let me paint a more vivid picture: Four playoff spots are still open for the taking, and the 22 drivers still chasing one all have a chance to get to victory lane and set the playoff grid ablaze.
A win from Buescher or Wallace wouldn’t do too much to shake the grid up, but what if Busch, Harrison Burton or Michael McDowell were to win? The chaos of Daytona is always intriguing, and so too is the regular-season championship battle, which has the top four drivers in the series separated by just 32 points. Daytona may not officially be the regular-season finale this year, but for the drivers 18th in points on down, it might as well be.
How… did Kyle Busch inspire hope at Michigan?
Busch has suffered the worst season of his career in 2024. Until Monday, it’d been a long time since his name had been mentioned as a contender.
A fourth-place finish at Michigan doesn’t do much in terms of playoff positioning for Busch — he still needs a win at Daytona or Darlington to make the postseason — but the No. 8 team finally unloaded a fast car and Busch drove one of his best races with Richard Childress Racing.
Superspeedway racing relies on luck first and foremost, but who’s to say Rowdy can’t summon a miraculous, season-saving win at Daytona?
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.