WATCH: Tyler Reddick flips upside down at the Las Vegas NASCAR playoff race
Tyler Reddick was out of the Las Vegas race early after he suffered a huge crash on lap 89. His No. 45 Toyota Camry flipped upside down after a collision with fellow NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender Chase Elliott out of turn 4.
Competing as the regular season champion, Tyler Reddick is a 28-year-old driver under 23XI Racing, a team co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Reddick is among the eight drivers to qualify in the Round of 8. But unfortunately, he was off to a bad start following a DNF at the South Point 400.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post by Ryan Vargas, Tyler Reddick could be seen running in sixth when he made contact with Elliott on the outside. The collision forced the No. 45 car to the wall before collecting the No. 6 car of Brad Keselowski on his way down to the frontstretch grass.
While moving sideways, Reddick’s Toyota racecar flipped upside down once before landing back on four wheels. He was able to drive the car to the pits. However, the pit crew couldn't repair the vehicle on time as it sustained heavy damage, including an excessively loose front left wheel.
Chase Elliott returned to the race but dropped several positions due to multiple pit stops. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski exited the race early. He and Reddick were evaluated and released at the infield care center.
Per NASCAR, the California native reflected on his race, saying:
“You have to be aggressive on the restart,” Reddick stated. “It is hard to pass after a while. Being myself on a mile and a half, being aggressive, by the time I realized I was in trouble, the 19 started sliding and the 9 was coming up, and I was pretty much already on their outside at that point, with nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them sliding to be more conservative to avoid an incident, just not who I am, but it is unfortunate. It took us out of the race.”
The seven-time Cup Series winner is looking forward to a good race weekend in the next stop at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“We had a really, really fast Jordan Brand Toyota Camry, probably would have been in the mix all race long, but we will go to Homestead, a place where I have had to get it done before, and go for it there,” Reddick added.
The Homestead-Miami race will be the second of the three races in the Round of 8. The third race will be held at Martinsville Speedway before the drivers head to Phoenix Raceway for the Championship 4.
NASCAR insider points out Tyler Reddick’s regular season win as the driver’s lifeline in the playoffs
NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion Tyler Reddick hasn’t had the best playoff run. He only had two top-10 finishes, with the best finish recorded at Atlanta Motor Speedway in P6. NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi believes the only reason Reddick is still in the playoff mix is because of his strong performance in the regular season.
In an episode of the Teardown podcast, Bianchi said:
“The regular season itself matters. People might think it doesn’t matter, but what you do during the regular season carries over and helps you a lot.”
He added:
“Every little point, every bonus point, and every win in the regular season standings is important because you often have to rely on what you did earlier. Tyler Reddick is a perfect example of this, as he would have been eliminated today without the regular season championship.”
As of this writing, Tyler Reddick dropped to sixth from third in the postseason standings after the South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He is -30 below the cutline along with Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott.