Tyler Reddick recalls 'Oh s***' moment leading up to final restart at Homestead

Last night, Tyler Reddick put up one of the best performances in the NASCAR Playoffs era to punch his ticket to the Championship 4. 23XI Racing and Michael Jordan are in the championship race for the first time.

But things didn’t just fall into place. This was a gutsy performance. Crew chief Billy Scott made not just one but multiple great calls late.

Tyler Reddick stayed out and ran long prior to the final caution. He was waiting for it the whole time on that strategy. So, he pits. Then he unlaps himself, which is crucial. Back on the lead lap, Kyle Larson sends it into the middle of a lapped Austin Dillon and leader Ryan Blaney.

Larson did not make the move stick. He spun out. That’s when Scott made another great call. And where his driver realized the task ahead of him.

“[Billy Scott] was like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to stay out,'” Reddick recalled in his postrace press conference.

“I was like, ‘Oh, s**t, we’re going to stay out?’ We’re going to figure this out,” he said smiling.

Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick was lining up with Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott with seven laps to go. A trip to the Championship 4 on the line. All four drivers under the cutline by double digits.

So, how did it go down from Reddick’s point of view?

Tyler Reddick describes final restart, last laps at Homestead

For Tyler Reddick, this race will play in his mind thousands of times. His last lap was six-tenths quicker than Ryan Blaney. Eight-tenths faster than Denny Hamlin.

Here is how Reddick saw it all go down.

“Yeah, turn one went about as good as I thought it could have went. I saw Denny get to my outside. That wasn’t great. We settled in there,” Reddick said. “I didn’t know how bad we were going to bleed. I drove into turn three kind of, I don’t know, out of desperation, something, I kind of held serve. I was very shocked by that.

“Then as laps just kept winding down, it didn’t truly feel like we were at a big tire deficit. You come to this place, you know tires are a premium. Early in the race we saw the 8, a number of other cars, on three-, four-lap tires stay out and get their doors blown off. I was completely shocked we were able to stay in the mix like we were.”

Finally, that last lap.

“Yeah, going into one, I made the right guess. … I was just blown away that I had that kind of momentum going into turn three. I thought there was no way the 12 was going to leave, Blaney, was going to leave me the outside. He must have thought that I was just going to absolutely dive bomb it off in there to try to get around him. Once I saw him kind of shade down, I hit the gas and forgot about everything else. Came out on the other side in the lead. It was just crazy.”