MIAMI, Fla. - Ryan Blaney’s hopes for back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships took a heartbreaking twist Sunday evening as Tyler Reddick made a last-lap pass to clinch a Championship 4 berth, winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Blaney crossed the line second, marking Ford's third consecutive runner-up finish of the weekend.
Starting from 20th, Blaney quickly demonstrated his speed and skill, charging up to fourth by the end of Stage 1 and gaining valuable playoff points along the way. A strong first stage pit stop moved the No. 12 team up three spots, allowing Blaney to restart Stage 2 in second. Despite losing some ground over a longer run, Blaney's consistency shone through as he finished the stage in fifth.
The final stage was filled with pivotal moments. Blaney took advantage of a caution on Lap 187 to gain the lead after a solid pit stop by his crew. With 12 laps remaining, another caution flew when Kyle Larson spun, setting the stage for a high-stakes restart. Reddick, who had just taken fresh tires, stayed out to restart first, while Blaney emerged as the lead car off pit road, lining up right behind him.
In a tense final restart, Blaney had taken the lead into the final lap when Reddick used the high line to make his move, edging past Blaney in the closing corners to secure the win. Blaney finished second, while Denny Hamlin took third, followed by Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott. Ford’s Ryan Preece also delivered a strong performance, rounding out the top 10.
Blaney now faces a critical race next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), entering 38 points below the cut line. With a championship berth on the line, Blaney will be looking to repeat his victory at Martinsville from a year ago and punch his ticket to the Championship 4.
NCS RACE TOP-10 FINISHERS
1st - Tyler Reddick
2nd - Ryan Blaney
3rd - Denny Hamlin
4th - Christopher Bell
5th - Chase Elliott
6th - William Byron
7th - Alex Bowman
8th - AJ Allmendinger
9th - Carson Hocevar
10th - Ryan Preece
REMAINING FORD FINISHERS
11th - Josh Berry
12th - Chase Briscoe
14th - Michael McDowell
15th - Chris Buescher
17th - Brad Keselowski
19th - Noah Gragson
20th - Todd Gilliland
24th - Harrison Burton
27th - Austin Cindric
28th - Joey Logano
32nd - Kaz Grala
35th - Corey LaJoie
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 2nd)
YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR SHAKING YOUR HEAD IN DISBELIEF, WHAT ARE YOU FEELING IN THIS MOMENT?
“Yeah, disappointment. I had a good shot to win it and I didn’t have a very good last lap. I thought I got into three hard and the 45 just went in there and it stuck for him, which is really impressive. I hate to give one away there like that. I don't know if we gave it away. We got the lead back after losing it on the restart and just that last lap didn’t play out for us. I appreciate everybody on the 12 team for bringing a really fast race car. I had a really great shot to go to Phoenix and I still have one more chance, so we still have to look forward to that. I appreciate Menards and Ford and Ford Performance, Richmond, Advance Auto Parts, Body Armor, DEX Imaging and everybody. It is a shame. I will be thinking through it all night of what I should have done different, probably. That is just the way it goes but I am really proud of the effort and hopefully we can bring it to them next week.”
YOU MENTIONED NEXT WEEK. YOU GUYS WON LAST YEAR TO GET INTO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4, SO IT IS OPTIMISTIC AT THIS POINT?
“Yeah, this feeling will suck for tonight and then we will look forward to Martinsville starting tomorrow morning. We try to forget things quick. I try to do that more and more as I have gotten older and just move on to the next thing good bad or indifferent and focus on the next task. This team will do that. I just can’t say how proud I am of them, coming in here and understanding what we need to do. It is a shame it didn’t work out but we did have good fortune at Martinsville last year so hopefully we can bring the same kind of speed and be in contention to win.”
“It was hardfought. It stinks. I ended up having to pass the 11 and was finally getting by him and I just didn’t really have a good last lap. I didn’t really get to the bottom like I wanted to in 1 and 2 and it gave the 45 some clean air and he got a big shove by the 11 down the back. I didn’t know which way it was going to go, honestly. It was timed out perfect for him of getting to my bumper as soon as we got to the corner. I kind of thought I could slide up and be good and I sent it in there and he sent it in there miles further than me, which I cannot believe that it stuck. The Toyota’s could do that really good all day. Their entry speed was crazy fast and it benefitted him there. It stinks. It was an up and down day and it was a shame to lose one on the last lap like that.”
DID THAT LAST RESTART GO HOW YOU WANTED IT TO?
“Well, I got put three-wide on the restart so interpret that how you want.”
DO YOU FEEL FIRED UP FOR MARTINSVILLE?
“I am not fired up right now for Martinsville. I will take the night to replay a couple things and figure out what I could have done better. Tomorrow morning we will restack and get ready for Martinsville. I am excited though. I am super excited about the speed we had today. I can’t complain about that. Last week’s speed was great too before we got in the wreck. Hopefully we bring that same speed to Martinsville.”
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY ON THE LAST LAP?
“Yeah, tons of things. It is easy to think about it after the race when it doesn't go well. I try not to stew over these things. I try to learn from them and know that something could have been a better route to do and maybe if you are in that spot next time you do that. I try not to sit around and let it eat at me because then you are going to go crazy. There are some things I could have done different and hopefully I can do those different things if I am ever in that spot again.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 41 Bonanza Cabernet Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 10th)
“We had a good car and got a top 10 out of it. That one bad restart in Stage 3 kind of screwed us, but yeah, we had a top 10 car and that is where we were able to finish, which is where we should have been. We finished where we should have, we just had to fight for it.”
JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Panini Color Blast Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 11th)
“Yeah, it was fun. I thought we did really well on the restarts. Just didn't quite have the long run speed early in the race, I guess, to kind of hang up there. But all in all, it was a fun day and everybody at Stewart-Haas brought some good cars. So it was a lot of fun racing with all of us up there and got two more.”
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES (October 26 – Homestead)
- Cole Custer finished second, one of three top-10 Ford Mustang Dark Horses at Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday afternoon.
- Custer was joined inside the top-10 by Riley Herbst (6th) and Ryan Sieg (7th).
- Custer led 67 laps on the day and looked poised to take the checkered flag after shooting from third to first on Lap 98, sailing to almost a five-second lead before his long-run speed gave out in the end and he couldn’t keep up with Austin Hill in final laps.
- Custer enters the final race of the Round of 8 next weekend at Martinsville with a 28-point gap as he looks to secure a spot in the Championship 4.
- The NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of 8 concludes on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Martinsville Speedway (4 p.m. ET, CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES (October 26 – Homestead)
- Ty Majeski secured a runner-up finish, capitalizing on fuel issues for others in the final laps, leading the way for Ford at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Layne Riggs led late with an alternate strategy but ran out of fuel, finishing 22nd, while Frankie Muniz ended up 33rd due to early mechanical issues.
- Majeski is fourth in the playoff standings, 22 points above the cut line, entering the final Round of 8 race next weekend.
- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will end its Round of 8 on Friday, Nov. 1 (6 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
