Last week’s Round of 8 opener in Las Vegas strengthened Joey Logano’s unlikely pursuit of a third NASCAR Cup Series championship after a mediocre regular season.
It also left a pair of Toyota drivers who were strong favorites going into the postseason with some work ahead of them.
For 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, his points position in the standings was turned upside down, much like how his No. 45 Camry wound up in a wreck. When he retired in 35th, his title hopes skidded to a halt for a moment.
Now riding sixth among the eight drivers as the series goes to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400, Reddick is 30 points behind fourth-place William Byron, who leads fifth-place Denny Hamlin by 27 points.
It’s certainly not an ideal spot for Reddick. The regular-season champ was one of the odds-on favorites to claim his first title for team owners Michael Jordan and Hamlin.
With a reputation as a hard-nosed driver — Chris Buescher would vouch for that after Darlington’s Southern 500 — the 28-year-old Reddick said he had to make the risky move he did at Vegas if he wanted any chance of getting up front.
“Yeah, you just have to be aggressive on restarts. It’s how the Next Gen racing has been from the beginning,” said Reddick, who did win Stage 1 for 10 bonus points. “I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw (Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott) sliding to be more conservative to avoid an incident — just not who I am, but it is unfortunate.
“We are going to have to be perfect here on out, probably.”
In four career Cup starts at Homestead, the Californian has impressed with three top-five runs, but he will likely need to be better than his 11.0 average finish there to gain ground in the standings.
To Christopher Bell’s chagrin, last Sunday’s 400-miler wasn’t a 270-lapper instead of the scheduled 267. On fresher tires and with a faster ride, he probably just needed another lap or two to pass Logano’s Ford for a berth in the title race.
The defending Homestead winner, Bell has high expectations for the season’s 34th race and will be a popular pick among bettors.
If dejection, anger and determination can somehow manifest themselves into a stout No. 20 Camry over 267 circuits in South Florida, Bell’s chances of repeating this weekend are likely strong.
Following his runner-up showing in the Nevada desert, the typically reserved Bell was clearly shaken — angry at having the best car (155 laps led) but losing on fuel strategy plus disappointed at wasting a chance to put himself in Phoenix’s Championship 4 field.
Yet the 29-year-old Oklahoman finds himself in a better place than a year ago.
When he arrived south of Miami in 2023, Bell was two points on the bad side of the divide. Currently, he’s 42 points above it, slotting second overall to Logano and in the best shape to advance on points — and at least one driver will.
“I feel pretty refreshed and ready to go get after it at Homestead now,” he said after a couple of days to cool off.
Always be wary of a former track winner, especially one who, deep down, is surely bitter over the past race’s outcome and has retribution in mind.
The Round of 8 field should be aware for whom this Bell tolls.
–Field Level Media