TYLER REDDICK FLIPS!
Reddick and Chase Elliott both crash. Reddick was able to drive his car to pit road but is done for the day. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/kBjgRp4TC0
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 20, 2024
Oh. My. Goodness. Tyler Reddick, who won the opening Stage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will not go on to win the opening race of the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Reddick, one of the eight NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contenders, was involved in a multi-car crash, which was triggered by contact from Martin Truex Jr. onto Chase Elliott, another Playoff contender, on the exit of Turn 4 on Lap 89.
Truex’s contact sent Elliott toward the outside wall, but Reddick’s No. 45 machine was already in the high lane above Elliott. The contact sent Elliott and Reddick spinning toward the infield grass, and as Reddick’s car spun over the infield short track road course, the No. 45 Toyota flipped over on its roof, and then back down onto its wheels.
The landing back onto the wheels after the flip, damaged Reddick’s suspension beyond the point of being able to repair the car, which ended his day early. Brad Keselowski, who was also involved in the melee, also retired from the race due to the crash.
Another Playoff contender Ryan Blaney, who started at the rear of the field in a backup car following a hard crash in Saturday’s practice session, spun after the initial incident. Blaney is back on track, but sits 33rd, two laps off the pace.
Elliott was able to continue on in the race, and will attempt to salvage a decent finish. Currently, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is 31st in the running order, but on the lead lap.
Reddick said he was just trying to be aggressive on the restart in an effort to regain the track position he had lost. Reddick decided to fire it to the outside of Elliott and Truex when he started to see that things probably weren’t going to end up too great. But by then, he had reached the point of no return.
“By the time I realized I was in trouble, it was just too late,” Reddick said after a trip to the infield care center. “[Truex] started sliding, [Elliott] was coming up, and I was pretty much already on their outside at that point. Nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them slide, and just be a little more conservative. That would have avoided the incident, but just not who I am, not what we do. It’s unfortunate. It took us out of the race.”
