Written by Sean McKean
Despite Mother Nature’s best attempts, little could stop Tyler Reddick from taking the victory at Michigan. It was the 23XI driver’s second win of the season and first at the two-mile oval.
As it unfolded
Although Denny Hamlin led briefly from pole, a three-wide move from Kyle Larson into Turn 3 allowed him to take the lead on the opening lap. While Larson led, Hamlin kept him honest, but the two going side-by-side on the front stretch allowed Bubba Wallace to get a run and take the lead on Lap 35.
Four laps later, Hamlin was pressuring Wallace for the lead, but a spin coming off of Turn 4 brought out the caution instead.
Most of the front runners decided to pit for fresh tyres, but a few closer to the playoff cutline – specifically Chris Buescher – stayed out. Chase Elliott was the first driver out of the pits.
The race restarted on Lap 42, and it stayed green until the end four laps later. Ryan Blaney hanged onto old tyres to take victory followed by Chase Elliott and William Byron.
Under caution, unfortunately, a large storm cell hit the track. Subsequently, the race was postponed to 10:00 local time the next day.
After the day-long delay, Elliott led the way on Lap 56, but Kyle Busch battled through to take the lead for a moment. However, Martin Truex had a strong car and drove to the lead by Lap 67.
Green flag pit cycles began on Lap 87. A slow pit stop by Truex allowed Kyle Larson to find his way to the lead for the first time since the opening stages.
However, a strange sequence occurred on Lap 108. First, Todd Gilliland suffered a flat right-rear tyre but was able to make it to pit road. Then, Joey Logano had the same issue and left a tyre carcass on circuit. Lastly, AJ Allmendinger had the same issue – going for a spin and thus bringing out the caution.
Most leaders – bar a few – elected to pit. Logano was stuck one lap down since he was caught speeding in the pit lane.
The race restarted on Lap 115 with Busch taking the lead. He would keep it until the stage's end with a big crash in the back bringing out the caution. Larson – battling deep in the pack – snapped loose and went for a spin, collecting Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Todd Gilliland, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, and Joey Logano. The damage was terminal for Larson and Logano.
The second stage was won by Busch followed by Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs.
Of the leaders at the end of stage two, Chastain was the only one who elected to pit.
William Byron led the field to the green with only 75 laps to go and fended off pressure from Reddick.
The most dramatic incident of the race took place on Lap 135. Coming off Turn 2, Corey Lajoie was battling Noah Gragson for position when he moved up too high. Subsequently, Lajoie spun into the runoff and took flight, sliding on his roof down the straight before rolling back over on the grass. He walked away unhurt.
The green flag came back out on Lap 142 with Chase Elliott holding the lead. Only 13 laps later, pit stops began for those low on fuel – specifically Truex and Byron.
The rest of the leaders came in 20 laps later. A slow stop for the #19 crew meant Kyle Busch took the net-lead followed by Byron and Elliott. But it only took five more laps for Tyler Reddick to sweep by for the lead of the race.
However, a crash by Martin Truex – who was battling Brad Keselowski – off of Turn 4 threatened Reddick’s victory, as the caution came out for the incident and sent the race into overtime.
On the restart, Reddick originally prevailed on the high line, but Byron was able to slide into the lead with the inside line. But, the caution came back out, with Alex Bowman hitting the wall and Ross Chastain going for a spin on the back stretch
The second overtime restart proved to be the last. Although Byron pressured him, Reddick hung on to take his second victory of the season. Byron capped off a great weekend in second. Ty Gibbs aided his battle for a playoff spot by finishing third. Kyle Busch takes his third top five of the season in fourth. Rounding out the top five was the home driver Brad Keselowski.
Provisional Results:
#45 Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)
#24 William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)
#54 Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)
#8 Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing)
#6 Brad Keselowski (Roush Fenway-Keselowski Racing)
#17 Chris Buescher (Roush Fenway-Keselowski Racing)
#71 Zane Smith (Spire Motorsports)
#99 Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse Racing)
#11 Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)
#77 Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)
#41 Ryan Preece (Stewart-Haas Racing)
#10 Noah Gragson (Stewart-Haas Racing)
#47 Ricky Stenhouse (JTG-Daugherty Racing)
#21 Harrison Burton (Wood Brothers Racing)
#9 Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)
#43 Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)
#3 Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)
#12 Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)
#34 Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports)
#51 Justin Haley (Rick Ware Racing)
#15 Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing)
#4 Josh Berry (Stewart-Haas Racing)
#31 Daniel Hemric (Kaulig Racing)
#19 Martin Truex (Joe Gibbs Racing)
#1 Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing) +1 lap
#23 Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing) +1 lap
#48 Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) +1 lap
#2 Austin Cindric (Team Penske) +2 laps
#42 John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club) +4 laps
#16 AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing) +6 laps
#14 Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas Racing) [DNF]
#7 Corey Lajoie (Spire Motorsports) [DNF]
#22 Joey Logano (Team Penske) [DNF]
#5 Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) [DNF]
#20 Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) [DNF]
#38 Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports) [DNF]
The drivers on the cutline of the playoffs had an all-around rough day, with four of the main six being involved in accidents. Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher had solid days – with the latter opening up a gap from the line despite being involved in a crash
Playoff Picture:
14. #19 Martin Truex: +76
15. #54 Ty Gibbs: +38
16. #17 Chris Buescher: +15
CUT LINE
17. #1 Ross Chastain: -15
18. #23 Bubba Wallace: -16
19. #8 Kyle Busch: -108
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