After Tyler Reddick’s thrilling win in Miami, there’s bound to be some mixed feelings at 23XI Racing. For the first time in his career, the 28-year-old Californian has a clear shot at the championship. But to claim his place in the Phoenix finale, Reddick had to do something that most would never dare-beat his team owner.

Before Reddick dealt with Ryan Blaney on the top line, he had to get past Denny Hamlin. To have to make a move like that on the guy who fields his race car every week is a tough choice. Yet with 2 laps to go, Hamlin watched on helplessly as Reddick put his foot on the gas. He simply drove past the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The #45 car then surged high past Blaney to win it all at Homestead, including that coveted championship 4 spot. But that will keep Hamlin outside the cutline, waiting for his shot at the championship. Hence, with the cutoff race looming just around the corner, the #11 driver faces a must-win situation in Martinsville. 

Denny Hamlin seeks redemption as Tyler Reddick chases Championship dreams!

Some are already calling this Homestead barnburner one of the greatest Playoff races of the Next-Gen era. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the chequered flag waved. There might be some truth to that notion, considering, with a jaw-dropping 33 lead changes between 11 drivers, we saw a new track record on Sunday. With 97 laps, Reddick led the highest number of laps at Homestead. Runners-up, Blaney led 47, while third-place Hamlin led 21. Blaney rallied from a 20th-place qualifying effort to fight for a second final 4 ticket confirmation in two years. But since the green dropped, it just felt like a Toyota driver would eventually end up in Victory Lane. First, Tyler Reddick won Stage 1. Then Denny Hamlin won Stage 2. However, after Kyle Larson’s incident, Reddick and Hamlin had to go head-to-head on the restart.

Lining up behind his 23XI Racing driver in third, Hamlin’s car was on four fresh tires, the same as Blaney’s, who was the first to leave the pit road and lined up beside Reddick in the front row. Tyler Reddick and the #45 team risked a gamble on older tires and stayed out during the caution. As the field took to green one last time, Hamlin wouldn’t waste time to make the pass on Reddick. He would keep the lead for the next 5 laps. However, with two to go, his #12 rival from Team Penske overtook him on the inside. Flailing for track position, Hamlin watched his 23XI Racing employee do the same thing a lap later. This would not leave Denny Hamlin “too positive” after the race.

When SiriusXM NASCAR Radio asked the #11 driver for an opinion on Tyler Reddick’s victory, he said, “I mean, I don’t have a ton of positive emotion, right now. That stuff will come later. You know, I’m still soaking in… where I’m at as a driver.” Elaborating on his Sunday shortcomings further, Hamlin admitted that he “just couldn’t work the bottom of the racetrack. And the #12 could, and that was the difference…” Having lost his race in the last couple of laps, Hamlin was understandably upset with how his race ended. But he “maybe, possibly” focused on a “Hail Mary” in Martinsville, with his Homestead advances leaving him eighteen points below the elimination cutline.

Regardless, Hamlin credited his pit crew for the 48 points he did gain, leaving Homestead. That seemed to be the only positive the 44-year-old wished to acknowledge post-race, as he also noted the #11 car’s slow speed in the short run. However, Tyler Reddick wasn’t exactly sharing his team owner’s sentiments now that his championship dream awakes again. Although he should thank his fortunes, he did not have to wait for one more week to make it happen at Martinsville.

Martinsville might flip an unlikely Playoff script for 23XI Racing

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Tyler Reddick has not run too well in a short-track race in the longest time. Since his Truck Series days in 2019, he has won only once on a track under a mile. And that happened way back in his Xfinity championship-winning season of 2019. Reddick won the Food City 300 Xfinity Night Race at Bristol that year. But ever since, all his wins have come on road courses, drafting tracks, or intermediates. Adding to that, 23XI Racing‘s #45 driver has never finished inside the top-5 at a Cup-level Martinsville race, in all his nine outings on the racetrack.

On the flip side, Denny Hamlin ranks as one of the top statistical drivers at Martinsville. The veteran has won 5 times on the Paperclip and has an average finish of 10.2. Next weekend, he will make his 38th career Cup Series start in Martinsville, and there could be no better time to win his sixth ‘Grandfather Clock.’ If he does manage to take it home, Hamlin will finally fight for the title after a two-year wait. And let’s be honest, having both Reddick and Hamlin secure spots in the Championship 4, with NASCAR’s ongoing legal battle involving 23XI Racing unfolding in the background, would be a thrilling sight.

But in his way stand six other equally hungry Playoff drivers and a new set of tires on Sunday. Earlier in September, Goodyear announced plans to introduce its softest tires yet at the Martinsville cutoff race. These new tires will be on the driver’s left-hand side, and the right-side tires will feature the ‘option’ tires that debuted at North Wilkesboro in May. The ‘softer’ are bound to throw a curveball into the mix. But like Denny Hamlin beamed in a pre-race interview at Homestead, “I’m certainly excited to see how it turns out.”