Tyler Reddick Takes the Checkered Flag as Brad Keselowski & Michael McDowell Trigger Final Lap ‘Big One’ at Talladega

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick won his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway race at Talladega, after finishing outside the top 15 in his last six outings. The #45 Toyota driver started in P18 behind Kaulig Racing’s part-time international entrant, Shane van Gisbergen, to eventually make his way into the top 10 in the final laps of the GEICO 500.

But aggressive maneuvering on the part of the P2 finisher, Brad Keselowski pushed out fellow Ford Performance driver Michael McDowell from pole-to-P1 contention for the last lap ‘Big one’ in what would majorly be Ford’s dominant day on the 2.66-mile draft track. Meanwhile, Noah Gragson drove his #10 Dark Horse to a first-ever P3 podium finish at Talladega, with the #45 Toyota taking optimum advantage of the chaotic situations on the final stretch.

Tyler Reddick thanks Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs for his win

As the owner, Michael Jordan, joined the celebrations with Reddick in victory lane, his co-owner, also competing in the 188-lap spectacle, faced contrasting situations at Talladega on Sunday. Denny Hamlin crashed out of contention in his #11 JGR Toyota for what would be only the third caution of a Talladega race in Stage 3. Regardless, it was a splendid performance for all Ford drivers, as four Mustangs represented the blue oval inside the top 10 while Reddick gloriously maintained the only position at the top of the results for the Japanese manufacturers.

Speaking to Jamie Little of FOX after his inaugural victory in 2024 for 23XI Racing, he explained exactly what this one meant for him, “Man, it’s incredible. Everyone on this #45, Jordan brand Toyota Camry worked really hard today. Didn’t really work out in that third stage for us, but we were able to fight and defend our track position.”

“Was that crazy guys?!?” asked Reddick, facing the fans, drawing a loud cheer from the grandstands, as he declared: “That’s Talladega for you.”

Speaking on his chances as the only Toyota battling the Fords for the front row, Reddick also expressed his gratitude, stating, “Just gotta give a lot of credit to Ty Gibbs, and Martin Truex (Jr). It’s just us Toyotas left, and they pushed me with everything they had. So huge credit to Martin and Ty, Without those pushes, we don’t win this race.”

But as Reddick crossed the finish line in P1 for the first time this season, another Toyota heavyweight, the co-owner of 23XI, Denny Hamlin himself did not finish at all, for the first time this season.

Denny Hamlin lets team 0wner responsibilities overshadow his own woes

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Hamlin’s #23 driver, Bubba Wallace, was primarily responsible for the wreck that took out Hamlin, and another TRD-allied driver, Erik Jones, around lap 157. So naturally the team-owner was assumably disappointed after being unable to see through the fluctuating fuel mileage strategies till the very end, as well as his third Talladega victory. However, he didn’t let that misery stop him from giving credit to Tyler Reddick where it’s due.

During Reddick’s victory lane celebrations, JGR’s #11 driver would tell Jamie Little of FOX, “Every 23XI win is like watching your kid win. It always means a little bit more when they do it than when you do it. Certainly, the day was disastrous for us, and I’m sitting over there by the tunnel just waiting to head to the airport, and the TV is a little bit behind, so I can’t figure out who had won until they came and racked around. Just so excited for this race team, and Tyler, Billy, and all the guys that really made this happen.  So it’s great that Michael gets to enjoy it. He’s been wanting to get to victory lane for quite some time now…”

Regardless, teamwork did pull through in a race that saw fuel conservation battles at 50% throttle and a caution-less Team Penske stage sweep. The NASCAR season will move next to the Diamond State of Delaware for the Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Are you excited?