23XI Racing drivers finish Top-5, react to last lap
Not too far behind Cook Out 400 winner Austin Dillon were the two 23XI Racing drivers — Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace — officially finishing third and fourth respectively Sunday night at Richmond Raceway.
For Reddick, it was his fourth Top-5 finish in the last five races and his tenth of 2024, tying the most he has ever had in a single season (10 in 2022 and 2023).
“We had pace capable of winning the race,” Reddick said. “The handling was there. Tonight, our handling wasn’t as great in our Mobil 1 Toyota Camry. We fought through it. We stayed in the mix.”
For Wallace, his fourth-place run marked his second consecutive Top-5 finish and the fifth of 2024; also tying a career high for Top-5 finishes in a single season (also five in 2022 and 2023).
“Just executed all night,” Wallace said. “I appreciate the effort from my team. Nice to walk out of here with a Top-5 finish.”
Unlike Reddick, who has won this year, Wallace is fighting for a playoff spot with three races left in the regular season. He leaves Richmond with the final playoff position (16th) and a three-point advantage over Chris Buescher.
“We have a long way to go,” Wallace said. “We just have to keep fighting.”
Reddick and Wallace finished behind their team co-owner Denny Hamlin, who was involved in one of two last-lap incidents with eventual race winner Dillon.
In addition to a bump-and-run move Dillon put on race leader Joey Logano in Turn 3, Hamlin’s right-rear quarter panel received contact from Dillon’s left-front fender as the two raced for the lead on the last lap exiting Turn 4.
Hamlin made contact with the outside retaining wall as Dillon made the race-winning pass. Hamlin finished second after NASCAR threw the caution.
Dillon was winless in 2024 entering Richmond.
“I guess you can dump somebody and right rear somebody and be okay, it’s funny how that works,” said Wallace, who was suspended for a race in 2022 after hooking Kyle Larson at a race in Las Vegas.
Reddick, who raced for Richard Childress in the Cup Series for three seasons, offered his take on the last lap moves.
“Unbelievable. I understand the first one, I guess, on Joey, trying to win the race. I’ve been threatened to be suspended for right hooking people and they’ve always taken a pretty hard stand on that,” Reddick said. “I don’t know. Racing hard for the win is one thing. Just plainly right hooking somebody is another.
“That sounds pretty biased coming from me about my boss, but if I was in his spot, I would be pretty upset about it too. They put so much emphasis on winning races, people are going to lose their minds and just do ridiculous stuff.
“I’m happy for his (Dillon’s) team. A lot of great people on his team. That was pretty crazy.”
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.