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23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick earned his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs' Round of 8 after a tense race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. His strong performance in the regular season was key to his playoff survival.
Reddick's regular-season championship win gave him 15 bonus points. Before the race, Reddick had a 14-point lead over the playoff cutoff. However, after qualifying second, the No. 45 Toyota driver got into an accident at the Roval on October 13 that damaged his car badly. He managed to move from 26th place and finished 11th.
During the latest episode of the Teardown podcast, Jordan Bianchi pointed out that points earned during the regular season can make a big difference in the playoffs.
“The regular season itself matters. People might think it doesn’t matter, but what you do during the regular season carries over and helps you a lot. Every little point, every bonus point, and every win in the regular season standings is important because you often have to rely on what you did earlier. Tyler Reddick is a perfect example of this, as he would have been eliminated today without the regular season championship,” Bianchi said.
Tyler Reddick made it to the Round of 8 at third place in the standings and 10 points above the cut line.
"This thing was absolutely destroyed" - Tyler Reddick after the crash with Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick, who won the first stage, hit 23XI Racing's co-owner Hamlin after a chain reaction during stage two at Charlotte. His car was severely damaged but the team worked hard to fix it and he regained speed for the final stage of the race.
Reddick explained after the race that he nearly flipped his car when he hit Denny Hamlin while trying to avoid a spinning car.
"Yeah, I thought I was going to flip, but I think I was behind the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) – trying to work the move to the inside. I got clear of him – I saw the 3 (Austin Dillon) spun and everyone on the binders coming to a stop, and of course, me and my boss (Denny Hamlin) get together. It was like I was going to do a front flip. This thing was absolutely destroyed," Reddick said.
A smart move to get fresh tires on lap 82 helped Reddick pass 15 cars and earn enough points to move forward. He also thanked his team for their hard work on the car.
The race's outcome also changed when Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was disqualified as his car was found to be underweight after the race. NASCAR next heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400 on October 20.
