After powering previous Brad Keselowski with 80 laps to go, Denny Hamlin appeared set to brush victories in each Kansas races this season till Chris Buescher hit the wall with seven laps remaining and despatched the race right into a two-lap time beyond regulation.
That arrange a number of totally different pit methods as Daniel Suarez stayed out and inherited the lead and three drivers took on solely two tyres, that grouping headed by Erik Jones. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Toyota and Reddick, who had run second to Hamlin previous to the warning, each elected to pit for 4 new tyres.
Reddick obtained an enormous run on the restart and, with Jones on the surface and Joey Logano within the center, Reddick dived to the within exiting Flip 4 to seize the lead for the primary time within the race.
Reddick then held off his 23XI Racing crew proprietor, Hamlin, by 0.327 seconds to say the victory which locks him into the second subsequent spherical of the playoffs no matter his end in subsequent week’s race at Bristol.
“Simply an impressive job by this entire 23XI crew,” stated Reddick, whose victory was his second of 2023. “We had actually good tempo, however simply couldn’t get forward of Denny there.
“However chaos ensued, folks stayed out, some took two tyres, and the underside lane opened up. It was fairly loopy.”
Hamlin felt he was held up on the restart by Stage 1 winner Kyle Larson “type of sleeping on the restart, trying within the rear view as a substitute of trying within the entrance” and was left to rue a warning that “actually flipped the outcomes”.
“However that’s a part of racing, proper; our sport is totally different than others,” he stated. “It’s a sport of likelihood at occasions, and luck does play an element, and we had been unfortunate to get that warning.
Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Yahoo! Toyota Camry
Picture by: Rachel Schuoler / NKP / Motorsport Images
“We knew that there was going to be a handful of automobiles that was going to do the other of what we did. I believe the suitable name was 4 tyres.”
Jones ended up third, Larson was fourth and Logano rounded out the highest 5. Finishing the top-10 had been Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Stage 2 winner Keselowski and Alex Bowman.
Hendrick Chevrolet team-mates Elliott and Larson had made contact on pitroad earlier than the ultimate restart as 2021 Cup champion Larson sought to keep away from a heavier hit with Keselowski.
“I perceive why he is mad or was mad within the second,” Larson stated. “I hope when he sees the replay, he understands that I did not have any area or not a lot.”
With one race remaining within the first spherical of the playoffs, the 4 drivers lowest in factors with out a win and at risk of being eradicated from additional title competition are common sequence champion Martin Truex Jr., Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell.
Truex hit the Flip 3 wall inside the first 5 laps after he suffered a puncture in his right-rear tyre, with the JGR Toyota sustaining enough harm to retire from the race.
“It blew within the worst place potential,” stated a dismayed Truex, who now wants an enormous end result at Bristol – a monitor the place he hasn’t had a prime 5 end since March 2012.
“I hate it for my guys. We had an superior (automotive). We had been going to have an incredible day, simply undecided what we have to do to get some luck right here.”