Toyota tumbles into victory lane at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Toyota took a tumble in stage three of the GEICO 500 but it ended in victory lane Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Tyler Reddick took home his sixth win in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is also the sixth win for Toyota at Talladega.
Tyler Reddick lined up as the leader to the outside of Michael McDowell on lap 161. Reddick, in a Toyota, had two manufacturer teammates behind him, while McDowell, in a Ford, had three manufacturer teammates.
Numbers prevailed as McDowell often moved out to block Reddick’s run before returning to Brad Keselowski who was lined up behind him. At the white flag, they prevailed.
“For me and my situation, right? Me and Michael were battling really, really hard. Not just me and him, though. The first three, four cars in each row were really, really contributing to what was taking place at the front. Yeah, I was in bad shape going into turn one. I was not liking what I was seeing. I was like, Oh, no, it’s slipping away,” Reddick said.
The taste of victory is sometimes too sweet. Keselowski held back to get a run with a push from Noah Gragson. He made his move on McDowell exiting turn four. McDowell blocked, then blocked again as Keselowski went down to the bottom but that last block got him out of control.
“That ended up being the very thing that allowed me to break through,” Reddick said. “When Michael and Brad got crossed up, it slowed Brad down just enough that I was breaking through. I was just looking at the lights on the wall, on the catch fence, like, When is the caution going to come out? I was worried it already had.”
As McDowell wrecked in front of the field and the caution flew, Reddick was out in front. He slipped by Keselowski to earn the win for Toyota.
Reddick led 13 of 188 laps en route to his first Talladega win and sixth NASCAR Cup Series win. It was the second Talladega win for 23XI Racing whose Nos. 23 and 45 cars have now both won at the 2.66-mile track.
It was also the sixth Talladega win for Toyota and their first in the Gen 7/NextGen era.
The win seemed almost unfathomable for just 31 laps prior. On lap 157, the Toyota drivers ran together after their final fuel stop. They were in prime position to win if the race went green to the end.
Going into turn three, Reddick led the lane with Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek. Nemechek pushed Wallace, who then pushed Jones. That push turned Jones into the wall nearly head on. It also wiped out Wallace, damaged Nemechek’s car and took out Hamlin whose car got clipped and turned into the wall.
This wreck happened 17 laps after Toyota driver Christopher Bell crashed out of the race in nearly the same spot.
With Jones, Wallace, Hamlin and Bell out of the race, in positions 35-38, and Nemechek in 33rd multiple laps down, Toyota drivers Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs led the outside lane for the final restart.
Gibbs made an ill-fated move to the outside with the third lane. Truex pushed Reddick until the final-lap broke out in the tri-oval.
As Reddick celebrated, Truex ended up 11th with Gibbs in 22nd.
“I really am thankful that Martin and Ty both decided to stay behind me and were dedicated to pushing me. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think we win today,” Reddick said.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Anthony Alfredo, William Byron, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton
STAGE RESULTS
TOP-10 in STAGE 1: Austin Cindric, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Harrison Burton, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Noah Gragson
TOP-10 in STAGE 2: Logano, Cindric, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Elliott, Gragson
POINTS STANDINGS AFTER TALLADEGA
Categories
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com