Toyota driver Reddick and poleman William Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet spent much of Sunday’s race trading the lead, but the former Richard Childress Racing man moved out front for the final time on lap 64 of what was originally scheduled as a 68-lap race.
To preserve the win, however, Reddick had to fight off repeated challengers in three two-lap overtimes to claim his fourth Cup Series victory and third on a road course.
On the final restart, RCR’s new signing Kyle Busch made contact with Alex Bowman (Hendrick) entering Turn 1 which helped Reddick clear for the lead and he made it to the white flag without any further incidents on the track.
Reddick ended up claiming the win over Busch by 1.411 seconds to continue a remarkable turnaround after he began the season wrecking out of the first two races.
“It means the world, this whole 23XI team has been working so hard all winter long to make the road course programme better,” Reddick said before revealing that he“had some problems with the cool shirt”.
“I felt that today,” he added. “I screwed up Turn 1 about every single time. It’s good to turn it around and make it better at the end.”
Bowman finished third, last year’s winner Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet) fourth and Byron wound up fifth.
NASCAR debutant, 2009 Formula 1 champion Button, had the best finish of the road course ringers with 18th. Sportscar star Jordan Taylor, substituting for the injured Chase Elliott was 24th after managing fourth position in qualifying, while 2007 F1 champion Raikkonen received a penalty for short-cutting the track on the final lap and ended up 29th.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Monster Energy Toyota Camry
Photo by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Images
The first incident of the race occurred on lap one, when 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski spun and collected Ty Dillon in Turn 20. The incident also collected Jimmie Johnson and Chris Buescher, with Dillon and seven-time Cup champion Johnson out as a result.
At the lap six restart, Austin Cindric (Penske Ford) powered past Byron and Reddick in Turn 1 to assume the lead, but it only took two further tours for Reddick to claim the lead for the first time.
The next caution arrived on lap 12 when 2021 champion Kyle Larson (Hendrick) was spun around by Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and stalled on the track. Several cars decided to pit, including the leader, but Byron remained on the track and inherited the lead ahead of Cindric.
The race resumed on lap 16, with the race continuing under green after Larson spun Ryan Blaney’s Penske Ford on the following tour.
When Byron pitted under green on lap 24, one lap after Cindric had done likewise, Reddick cycled back to the front. But he had to make his next stop on lap 32, putting Byron back to the front after a recovering Buescher had stayed out one lap longer than Reddick.
Utilising his newer tyres, Reddick passed A.J. Allmendinger (Kaulig Chevrolet) for second on lap 37 and soon took Byron at Turn 1.
Most of the leaders pitted under the third caution, prompted when Hamlin spun on lap 41 to spread gravel all over the track.
Reddick was the first off the pit road and rejoined fourth, as Joey Logano stayed out to inherit the lead, but following a wild seven-wide restart into Turn 1 it was Byron who emerged as the leader followed by Reddick and Chastain.
After two laps of much side-by-side racing, Reddick finally cleared Byron to reclaim the lead on lap 47.
Austin Cindric, Team Penske, Discount Tire Ford Mustang, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Monster Energy Toyota Camry, and William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images
Four laps after a spin at Turn 11, Keselowski stalled out on the track on lap 57 to bring out a fourth caution, but no sooner had the race restarted than it returned to caution again after Chastain and Allmendinger made contact that left the former stalled on the track.
The race resumed with seven laps to go with Reddick out front followed by Christopher Bell (JGR) and Byron, who powered to the lead on the restart as Reddick fell in behind him in second.
But Reddick repassed Byron at Turn 11 and was never headed thereafter, despite the first of three overtimes being forced by debris from Austin Dillon’s RCR Chevrolet. A second was necessitated when Blaney had a tyre go down, which shredded debris.
The race went into a third overtime when several cars received damage from contact on lap 71 and a tyre carcass ended up on the track, but Reddick kept his cool on the restart to win.