Tyler Reddick Gains 13 Spots in Point Standings with Las Vegas Runner-Up Finish

Tyler Reddick gave it all he had in the closing laps of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but try as he might, the 23XI Racing driver couldn't sneak past eventual race-winner Kyle Larson.

It was a frustrating defeat for Reddick, who is seeking his first win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

At the end of the day, part of the frustration for Reddick was due to Larson utilizing the dirty air coming off of his car to foil Reddick's attempt at getting by for the win. It's a trick that has become a prevalent part of NASCAR Cup Series racing at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks since the adaptation of the 550 horsepower package in the Gen6 era and has continued to a certain extent with the Next Gen car.

"It's the name of the [Next Gen] game, right? You get the lead, you've got to hold on to it," Reddick said with frustration in his voice. "Yeah, Kyle did a really good job there of pretty much taking away every option I had to close the gap."

Another part of the frustration for Reddick was mistakes that were made on pit road throughout the duration of the event, which caused the driver to continually have to fight back in order to have a shot at a win.

"We had a really good Nasty Beast Toyota Camry and just stupid mistakes on pit road," Reddick said. "Same shit, different year. It's kind of frustrating."

While it was a frustrating day on pit road, and frustrating trying to find a way around Larson, Reddick says he is proud of his 23XI Racing team for not giving up, and still snagging a runner-up finish on the day.

"We'll continue to work on it, but a good rebound for our team today," Reddick stated.

While he was visibly frustrated following the race, Reddick and his team will realize how big of a day it was for them once the disappointment of finishing runner-up wears off.

The 28-year-old had a fast car at Daytona, and Atlanta, but had nothing to show for it as he was involved in crashes at both tracks and walked away with finishes of 29th and 30th respectively. Heading into Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Reddick was mired in the championship standings.

After his solid day in Sunday's race, Reddick was the biggest mover in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. The Corning, CA native moved up 13 positions from 25th to 12th with the runner-up finish.

But it wasn't just the second-place finish that set the stage for Reddick's massive climb in the championship standings.

Despite starting back in the 18th position in the Pennzoil 400, Reddick knifed his way through the field and finished second in both Stages 1 and 2, which helped him pocket 18 championship points.

When Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing team parlayed the Stage Points with the runner-up finish, it made it nearly a maximum points day for the driver and his team. Reddick scored 53 points, of a possible 60 on the day, and was the only driver aside from race-winner Larson to eclipse the 50-point barrier on the day.

It wasn't a win, but it was the good day that Reddick and the No. 45 team needed. Now, they will aim to keep building the momentum as the series heads to Phoenix Raceway, a track where Reddick has two third-place finishes in his career.

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett, LAT Images, Courtesy of Toyota Racing