Homestead-Miami Speedway has routinely placed on among the greatest racing of any observe in NASCAR. That was no totally different in Sunday’s Straight Speak Wi-fi 400 when Tyler Reddick made a last-lap pass to beat Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin for the win.
All three of these drivers entered the weekend nonetheless alive within the playoffs, however missing momentum and needing to make up floor to have a shot to compete for a title at Phoenix Worldwide Raceway on Nov. 10. As the sphere prepares for this season’s penultimate spherical at Martinsville Raceway in Sunday’s Xfinity 500, let’s check out who stands the place.
(Final week: 1)
Regardless of not being a lot of a menace for the win at Homestead, Bell stored up his sizzling kind through the playoffs with a fourth-place end. The unhealthy information is that Tyler Reddick’s win leaves solely two spots within the championship 4 up for grabs at Martinsville subsequent week, however the excellent news is that Bell nonetheless has a 29-point cushion to advance. Even when somebody behind the minimize line wins, he must be in strong form to return to Phoenix with a shot at a title.
(Final week: 2)
Larson had one of the vital spectacular drives of the race at Homestead, bouncing again from a flat tire to battle for the win within the closing laps. Sadly, a spin after which a poor pit cease relegated him to a Thirteenth-place end, and he’ll now have his work minimize out for him at Martinsville as he sits seven markers again of teammate William Byron for the ultimate switch spot. The season’s dominant driver is in very actual hazard of not having the ability to race for a title.
3. Tyler Reddick
(Final week: 5)
That is definitely one solution to repair what had beforehand been an underwhelming playoff for Reddick. This yr’s regular-season champion went from third to first on the ultimate lap in thrilling style and can now be competing for a title at Phoenix in two weeks, becoming a member of Joey Logano as drivers locked into the championship spherical. Reddick gained the pole at Homestead and led essentially the most laps with 97, however he needed to earn this one.
(Final week: 6)
In the end, Elliott confirmed the dominant pace he has lacked all season, main 81 laps en path to a fifth-place end at Homestead. It could be too little and too late although, as he nonetheless sits 43 factors behind the cutoff to advance to Phoenix and will probably be in a digital must-win scenario at Martinsville. He was in that very same scenario again in 2020 and closed out the yr with back-to-back victories to win the championship, and he might have to take action once more.
(Final week: 8)
Oct 27, 2024; Homestead, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Collection driver Ryan Blaney (12) takes the white flag in entrance of NASCAR Cup Collection driver Denny Hamlin (11) through the Straight Speak Wi-fi 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Photos
Identical to Elliott, Blaney was proper within the combine all day at Homestead and but it means subsequent to nothing with out the win. After getting snookered for the win by Reddick on the ultimate lap, he is in a 38-point gap heading into Martinsville, and can nearly definitely want a victory there to have a shot to defend his title at Phoenix. He did precisely that final fall, can historical past repeat itself?
6. William Byron
(Final week: 3)
Byron could have suffered the worst of all playoff drivers from Reddick’s win, as regardless of ending sixth, he went from being firmly in place to advance to the championship 4 to now having solely a seven-point cushion over Larson coming into Martinsville. On the plus facet, he gained at that observe earlier this season and is presently driving five-straight results of no worse than sixth. Nonetheless, if one of many 4 remaining playoff drivers who’re behind him in factors locks in subsequent week, his title hopes could also be toast.
7. Denny Hamlin
(Final week: 9)
Together with Larson, Elliott and Blaney, Hamlin would be the fourth driver who enters Martinsville together with his work minimize out for him to advance to the championship spherical. He led the race with two laps to go earlier than Blaney after which Reddick bought by, and although his third-place end and Stage Two win closed him to solely 18 factors again of Byron, it should be exhausting for him to make up that floor with out a victory. He is gained five times at Martinsville earlier than, however the final one was in 2015.
8. Joey Logano
(Final week: 4)
Logano had nothing to realize or lose at Homestead after locking himself into the championship 4 at Las Vegas the earlier week, and his staff could as effectively have taken the week off. He was a non-factor all race and completed twenty eighth, which, once more, has zero affect on his title probabilities, however continues to be lower than preferrred for constructing momentum.
(Final week: 10)
Although he wasn’t the menace for the win that his Hendrick Motorsports teammates have been, Bowman put forth one other strong effort in what has been a high-quality playoff run for him. He’d have a professional likelihood to be a part of the race for the title at Phoenix had he not been disqualified on the Charlotte Roval, and his seventh-place end at Homestead provides him a brand new career-high for top-10s in a season with 17.
(Final week: 12)
Oct 27, 2024; Homestead, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Collection driver Bubba Wallace (23) leads NASCAR Cup Collection driver Tyler Reddick (45) through the Straight Speak Wi-fi 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Photos
Reddick’s 23XI Racing teammate had himself a strong afternoon in his personal proper, briefly even taking the lead for a few laps earlier than fading to a middling 18th-place end. The 9 stage factors he earned through the race’s first stage allowed him to shut the hole to Chris Buescher right down to 11 as the very best non-playoff driver whereas transferring forward of Ross Chastain by 23.
(Final week: 7)
Talking of Chastain, he had fairly probably his worst race of the whole season on Sunday. His No. 1 machine simply by no means appeared to have a lot pace, and he completed in thirty third place because the final automotive on the lead lap. That leaves him 34 factors behind Buescher within the “better of the remainder” struggle, sitting nineteenth in factors in a season the place he has largely carried out significantly better than his standings place reveals.
12. Martin Truex Jr.
(Final week: 11)
Truex certified sixth and confirmed some pace at instances, however on the finish of the day, it was one other forgettable end result as he completed twenty third. With solely two probabilities left to experience off into the sundown with a win in his farewell season, the 2017 Cup Collection champion may very well be going for broke at Martinsville — a observe he is gained at thrice.
13. Chris Buescher
(Final week: 13)
Buescher was quiet in Homestead, ending fifteenth which is about the place he ran for a lot of the race. Due to that, he neither strikes up nor down this week, however as talked about above, his benefit over Wallace has now shrunk to 11 factors. With out the playoffs, Buescher would sit tenth within the standings in what has been a strong marketing campaign for him regardless of not profitable till it was too late.
(Final week: not ranked)
Say hey to — all however formally — your 2024 NASCAR Cup Collection Rookie of the Yr. Hocevar had one in every of his greatest runs of the season at Homestead, ending ninth after mixing it up within the top-10 all day, and with two races to go he is 110 factors forward of Josh Berry within the battle of the first-year drivers. Provided that the utmost variety of factors anybody can rating for the remainder of the season is 120, it is a fairly strong wager he’ll maintain on.
(Final week: 15)
Oct 27, 2024; Homestead, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Collection driver Daniel Suarez (99) races through the Straight Speak Wi-fi 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Photos
Whereas his teammate Chastain struggled mightly, Suarez had himself a strong midpack run at Homestead by coming in sixteenth. He has been spectacular all through the playoffs, and stays inside combating vary of a top-10 factors end, presently sitting twelfth with two races to go. Given how he ran at Richmond a couple of months in the past with NASCAR’s alternate tire bundle — which will probably be used once more in Martinsville — he may very well be one to look at for this weekend.
(Final week: 14)
Each time it looks like Busch takes a step ahead in 2024, he then takes two steps again. It was an all-around catastrophe of a efficiency for the No. 8 bunch at Homestead, ending thirty first whereas being stricken by points on pit street all afternoon. Only a few drivers are wanting ahead to this season being over greater than the previous two-time champion, who’s a digital lock to complete twentieth in factors — his worst mark since his rookie season.
Dropped out: Austin Cindric
