By Field Level Media
Oct 18 (Field Level Media) – Tyler Reddick had to take his No. 45 Toyota to the Arizona desert to end his thirst for victory.
The 23XI Racing driver made a two-tire stop on the final pit stop, completed a bold four-wide move on a restart and returned to Victory Lane by winning Sunday afternoon’s Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz.
In earning his NASCAR Cup Series-leading sixth win, Reddick passed Chase Briscoe with 18 laps to go and pulled away to beat polesitter Ryan Blaney by 0.801 seconds. It was Reddick’s first win at the 1-mile track and the 14th of his career.
“We wanted to be a lot better when we came back here, and I think we checked that box,” said Reddick, who led 18 laps and last won April 19 at Kansas. “This group never lost its motivation or its drive. We kept searching and trying to find ways to make ourselves and all-around better team. … I had a really good feeling today.
“I didn’t have a good launch (on the final restart), but there was a hole, and I was able to get through it.”
Blaney, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Corey Heim rounded out the top five.
Points leader Kyle Larson had an accident late and finished 34th, while Denny Hamlin had a flat tire and a penalty and placed 28th.
“Not a good one,” Larson said of his showing in the six-caution race. “I was just trying to salvage anything. A top-20 would’ve been great. I just blew a right front. A lot of people were.”
Larson leads Bell by six points, with Briscoe 24 points back, Hamlin 31 back and Blaney 40 back to round out the top five in the standings.
Running near the back of the top 20 on the flat oval, Riley Herbst and Michael McDowell wrecked to bring out the first caution. The ensuing pit stops ended with Hamlin taking two tires and leading Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Elliott off pit road.
Joey Logano easily won the stage, while Hamlin, Bell, Blaney and Briscoe collected the descending bonus points. After taking two tires and restarting fifth, Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet crossed the line in 22nd.
Hamlin gradually worked his way forward to just outside the top 10, while two- time Cup Series champion Larson continued to slide during Stage 2’s 125 laps. Larson lost a lap and ran 28th as the race neared the midpoint.
Logano won the race off pit road after Austin Dillon’s wreck and maintained a solid lead over Briscoe en route to a 1-2 finish in Stage 2. Bell, Josh Berry and Bubba Wallace followed in stage points, while Larson ran 27th but managed to remain on the lead lap.
Logano, a three-time series champion, led as the final stretch began but soon complained of a vibration as Wallace cut into his advantage.
Running fourth, Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota cut a right rear tire on Lap 221, forcing him to pit under green. He was then caught speeding. Cody Ware immediately wrecked after a tire problem, putting Hamlin a lap down.
Wallace was first off pit road and led by 1.3 seconds when he pitted with 43 laps remaining, handing the lead to Briscoe.
Larson suffered a flat tire and hit the wall with about 30 laps remaining, bringing out the final caution, while Wallace was penalized for speeding.
(–Field Level Media)
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