The Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has quickly gone south on Tyler Reddick. The #45 team looked solid on speed and were able to snag the stage 1 win. Adding the all-important ten stage points to their tally, but unfortunately, that’s all they will have to settle with from the race.

As the second stage went green, Reddick once again tried to make his way up the field. The #45 Toyota Camry looked good, and for the most part, things were going according to their plan, until they didn’t. In a move to fill the hole between the race cars ahead of him, Reddick tried passing the #6 of Chase Elliott on Turn 4, and next thing you know, he’s slipping and sliding down the race track.

Tyler Reddick’s good day quickly turned bad

Banking on the high lane, Reddick could’ve easily made the pass on Elliott. However, the HMS star was involved in a battle with Martin Truex Jr, who forced him to check up. And just about when Reddick tried to thread the needle, the #6 Chevy rammed into the #45 Toyota. After a hard contact with the wall, Reddick collected Brad Keselowski and slid down the grass patch area.

This is where things took a turn for the worse; the #45 car hopped in the air, going sideways, and did a complete 360. It was a huge crash, and once the car landed on its four wheels, the audience expected Tyler Reddick to drop his safety net. However, unfazed by the crash, the driver stepped on the gas and took his race car to the pit box to get the repairs done.

We had seen Reddick bounce off from an accident just a week ago, and he was hoping to do the same. Unfortunately, the damage on the #45 Toyota Camry was beyond repair, and ultimately, the car had to be towed to the garage. And just like that, Reddick and 23XI Racing’s good day turned bad after being involved in a crash that wasn’t their doing.

“Something always happens at the mile and halfs right? I had a bad feeling; I know it kind of built up when it goes from grass to infield. So I was concerned that was going to happen, and unfortunately, it did and did a lot of damage to our car.” Reddick said this to Bob Pockrass and other reporters after his crash.

Despite being on the receiving end of the crash, Reddick didn’t look to point fingers at either Chase Elliott or Martin Truex Jr. Moreover, he feels that he can still bounce back from this DNF in the upcoming two races.

Reddick isn’t out of the championship race just yet

Trending

Joe Gibbs’ Driver Lets Slip the Dark Truth of NASCAR in 5 Words

Explosive Allegations: Kyle Larson’s High Limit Racing Slammed With Malpractice Claims by Former Employee

Rick Hendrick Rewards Chevrolet With a ‘Special’ Gift to Honor a 40-YO Partnership

Ex-SHR Driver Indebted to Tony Stewart Ditching Plans for Kyle Larson

Sprint Car Driver’s Sacrifice Pays Off as Kyle Larson Repays Debt With $100,000 Win

Charlotte Roval was the prime example of grit and determination of the guys working at the #45 team. While their Vegas race ended on a crushing note, they aren’t going home empty-handed. 10 stage points is huge considering the trouble the majority of playoff drivers are having with their cars or pit stops.

Sharing his take on the incident and what led to the crash, Reddick explained, “I saw a little bit of grass, a little bit of sky. Yeah, the 19 and 9 wiggles, and I realized I was in trouble. It’s tough being aggressive. I feel like you need to be on these mile and a halfs, and it bit me today.”

When asked about how he was feeling about his chances at Homestead and Martinsville, Reddick replied, “We can win Homestead; we can win Martinsville. We will have a shot; we will have to execute well; we can fight through it.” The 23XI Racing star has three top finishes in his four career starts at Homestead, so he certainly is in the fight.

However, with the entirety of stage 2 and the final stage to play out, hopefully he doesn’t find himself with a huge points gap trying to play catch-up in the coming weeks.