Not Ryan Blaney, not Kyle Larson, and not Denny Hamlin, it is Tyler Reddick who will have locked himself in for the championship race in Phoenix by winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Desperate time calls for desperate measures, and that is exactly what the #45 team pulled off at the mile-and-a-half racetrack, going against the odds.

Reddick looked done and dusted for the day after a strategy call by his team went south in the final stage. The 23XI Racing driver stayed out while the rest of the field pitted for new tires and fuel in the final stage. Their best hope was a caution. With 10 to go, Reddick finally pitted, and at the same time, Kyle Larson, who was trading blows with Ryan Blaney, brought out a caution. And that right there was Reddick’s ticket to Phoenix.

Tyler Reddick wasn’t going to let his foot off the pedal

Lined up alongside Ryan Blaney and the front row, the #45 car didn’t have the best of the launch on the restart. Denny Hamlin and Blaney both passed him and with 2 laps to go, the two got involved in a dogfight. The JGR driver had to concede his lead, and the Penske star looked clear to race to the checkered. But there was a late twist in the tale.

Tyler Reddick got past his team owner Hamlin on the final lap and just committed himself on Turns 3 and 4. He was pulled off a slingshot move and got his nose in front of the #12 car. Coming off the final turn, he was clear, and just like that, he marked 23XI Racing’s first appearance in the Championship 4 race.

Nothing was going to come his way to claim that championship 4 spot, not even his team co-owner Hamlin. “We were backed in the corner; we had no choice. We were on a tire deficit; here at Homestead, that’s a death sentence, but I don’t care. We did what it took to win this race, and we’re fighting for championship.”

“I couldn’t believe it. I just know I need to get even with him on his right side door. He didn’t care what he did but raced me clean. I appreciate it, but I’m just really, really excited to have a shot at the championship.” Tyler Reddick said this in the post-race interview.

Meanwhile, this result was a big disappointment for defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. He’s now got all to do with the next week’s race at Martinsville Speedway.

Blaney will have to repeat his past heroics

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Having left Denny Hamlin in dust, the Penske star almost thought that he made a race-winning move. All he needed was to execute the final corner and take his car in the victory lane. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Tyler Reddick, out of nowhere, made a surprising move, hugging the wall and getting clear of the #12 car on the exit.

Even Ryan Blaney couldn’t help but tip his hat to his rival for making the race-winning move. “Man, I thought I got into three hard, and the 45 just blasted off in there, and it stuck for him, which is pretty impressive. But yeah, hate to give one away there like that. I don’t know if we gave it away. We got the lead back after losing it on the restart, so yeah, that didn’t really pay off for us.” Blaney said after the race.

Blaney isn’t in a good spot with -38 in the playoff standings and finds himself in a must-win scenario. For some, this pressure is too much to handle, but for Blaney, such pressure is a privilege, and last year he was in a similar spot. He won the Martinsville race last year in the fall, and that was the turning moment that helped him bag his first championship. So going into next week, the #12 team will be optimistic about their chances to pull off another wildcard win.

“It’ll suck for the night, and then we’ll look forward to Martinsville, you know, tomorrow morning. So we try to forget things quick. I’ve tried to do that more and more as I’ve gotten older and moved on to the next thing and focused on the next task. So this team will do it. Just a shame it didn’t work out,” Blaney added.

Not only Blaney, but the likes of Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott will be under pressure to keep their title hopes alive.