While the Darlington race mostly sailed smoothly without hitting any rough waters, a few bumps along the way ruffled more than a few feathers. One such hiccup came roaring during lap 310 of stage 3 when Tyler Reddick‘s maneuver threw a spanner in the works, derailing a veteran driver’s prime position and putting the part-time Cup Series driver of Rick Ware Racing in a tight spot.

Reddick’s dicey play certainly didn’t sit well with the NASCAR loyalists, who took him to task on social media, pulling no punches in their critiques.

Tyler Reddick’s “dumb” move, took two drivers down

In the dramatic world of NASCAR, every move on the track is a roll of the dice, and drivers often walk a tightrope, making snap decisions that can either catapult them ahead or throw a monkey wrench in their competitors’ plans. Following the trend at Darlington Motor Speedway, Tyler Reddick’s sudden deceleration to hit the pit road raised more than a few eyebrows.

On lap 310, as Kevin Harvick took the plunge to pit road, Reddick threw a curveball, slamming the brakes unexpectedly. The maneuver caught Ryan Newman, making his fourth appearance of the season, off guard, leading him to rear-end Reddick. To add insult to injury, the pit road soon flashed its ‘closed’ sign, making his and Kevin Harvick’s efforts go down the drain.

While Harvick faced the music with a penalty for the ill-timed pit stop, Reddick escaped unscathed. Consecutively, the move didn’t sit well with the NASCAR community, which didn’t pull any punches, lambasting Reddick for his thoughtless stunt that jeopardized the races for Harvick and Newman.

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NASCAR fans called out Tyler Reddick for his abrupt stop

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Kevin Harvick, who seemed to have all his ducks in a row and was poised to land among the top 10, suddenly found himself in hot water. That’s when Reddick’s abrupt brake check led to a minor tangle with Newman’s car. The Twittersphere was quick on the draw, calling out Reddick’s move and pointing fingers at him for the penalty that befell Harvick.

The backlash was swift, with many fans not pulling any punches in their critique of Reddick’s maneuver, commenting:

“Reddick just lost his mind…,”

“Tyler Reddick causes a caution and so Harvick get a penalty. Good job NASCAR!.”

“Tyler Reddick: “I’m alright. Sorry. Wow.””

Many simply criticized him for crashing Ryan Newman, and messing up Kevin Harvick’s race, stating, “Too bad @RyanJNewman wouldn’t have just crashed @TylerReddick that was a stupid move by him & totally scr*wed @KevinHarvick “

“F**k you @TylerReddick! Why try pitting from the top lane? That was a dumbass move jack**s!”

“@NASCAR what da fuk was that from Tyler Reddick something sus and fishy…”

Others also didn’t beat around the bush, directly laying the blame at NASCAR’s feet for the rule that landed Harvick in hot water seemingly out of the blue. Their collective sentiment was:

“Harvick was committed to the pit already that shouldn’t be a penalty.”

“Dumb rule. If you committed to pit you don’t have how to come back. Already reduced speed. Need to be considered luck and not a fault”

“Other motorsports would let Harvick hold his second position. Really bogus, he was clearly running their and gets no tire advantage from this accident.”

“That was a bullshit penalty on harvick”

NASCAR has always been a roller coaster of emotions, fueled not just by high-speed chases but also by the dramatic twists of controversial plays, heated words, and on-track tiffs. Yet, this recent kerfuffle doesn’t neatly fit into any of these boxes. Have we stumbled upon a new controversy frontier—the pit-stop shuffle?

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