NASCAR playoffs, Homestead: Tyler Reddick makes winning move, fires up Michael Jordan

(This story was updated to add new information.)

My goodness, what a race.

Tyler Reddick with the power move, and the win …

... And a shot at a championship for him and his team co-owned by Michael Jordan and one of the two men he beat on the final lap Sunday at Homestead-Miami.

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1. Tyler Reddick breaks hearts at Homestead

Reddick’s final-lap passes of Denny Hamlin (his team’s co-owner) and defending Cup Series champ Ryan Blaney was strong stuff.

He went “high, wide and handsome,” as Barney Hall used to say, to pass Blaney in the top lane through Turns 3 and 4, then kept his right foot gopher-deep down the front stretch to claim the Straight Talk Wireless 400 and earn the automatic berth in the “championship four” who will go to Phoenix next week for the title.

Reddick and last week's winner, Joey Logano, will be part of that final four. If one of the other Round of 8 drivers wins next week, he joins them. After that, or in place of that, it comes down to points. And here they are:

• 1. Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano (locked in due to wins the past two weeks)
• 3. Christopher Bell (+29 above cutline)
• 4. William Byron (+7)
• 5. Kyle Larson (-7)
• 6. Denny Hamlin (-18)
• 7. Ryan Blaney (-38)
• 8. Chase Elliott (-43)

2. Michael Jordan: Tyler Reddick 'drove his ass off!"

A restart with seven laps to go was the stuff of promotional departments. When it shook out, it looked like the race would come down to two men who, given their place in the playoff points standings, probably needed a win to advance to Phoenix with a shot.

It was Blaney and Hamlin, with Hamlin desperately looking to erase his status as NASCAR’s best-ever without a Cup Series championship.

But it was Reddick, in the No. 45 Toyota of 23XI Racing, whose ownership team includes Hamlin and Jordan, who found another gear on the final lap.

“We’re fighting for a championship!” Reddick shouted after exiting his car.

Jordan was showing the type of excitement no one has seen since he was celebrating NBA championships.

“The little kid drove his ass off,” Jordan said as he speed-walked down Pit Road toward Reddick’s car. “I’m proud of him. We needed it.”

Upon reaching Reddick, he swallowed him in a bear hug.

“Good job, kid,” he said. “Damn good job.”

Want the juicy part of this? Reddick's team, which includes Bubba Wallace as teammate, is one of two Cup Series currently in a legal battle with NASCAR over the terms of the team-charter agreements.

3. Up next for NASCAR: Martinsville

For those without keys to the championship ride at Phoenix, there's one more opportunity, and while there's not a lot of room for error, there's actually not a lot of room for anything.

NASCAR's three marquee divisions motor ahead to the next-to-last race on the 2024 schedule, at the half-mile (or so) Martinsville Speedway in southern Virginia. The race schedule:

Friday: Trucks at 6 p.m.

Saturday: Xfinity at 4 p.m.

Sunday: Cup at 2 p.m.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR playoffs, Homestead: Tyler Reddick makes winning move, fires up Michael Jordan