In the penultimate race of the Round of 8 at Homestead, Ryan Blaney fell one spot shy of winning the race. Leading as the final lap unfolded, the #12 Team Penske driver seemed poised to join his teammate Joey Logano in the championship showdown.
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Yet, as the race neared its climax, the 2024 Regular Season Champ fiercely pursued Blaney down the backstretch, hugging the outside wall to take the high line. Opting for the upper-middle lane, Blaney left just enough room for Tyler Reddick to make his move.
Reddick powered through the final corners at breakneck speed, overtaking Blaney as they roared out of Turn 4, clinching the victory.
Amid criticism that Ryan Blaney didn’t do enough to fend off Reddick in the final moments of the Homestead race, his Team Penske ally Joey Logano offered a defense during a SiriusXM Radio interview. Logano marveled, “It still blew my mind. What Blaney did is… probably the same move I would have thought of—was enter a little bit low.”
He elaborated, “Protect this slight job but also give your room close to where you can fade up into the wall if he’s running the wall. Because you don’t know exactly where he’s gonna go.”
“Like we have an idea of what you think may happen, but him blitzing into the wall on the entry just was crazy. By the time Blaney realized it was happening, he’s passed you. He’s gone, like it’s too late,” he added.
🧠 "Knowing your competitors is a very important thing."@joeylogano breaks down the wild finish at @HomesteadMiami and why he thinks his @Team_Penske teammate Ryan @Blaney didn't do much (if anything) wrong on the final lap.
More → https://t.co/keYsFmunJW pic.twitter.com/jQ9i0dnFI7
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) October 29, 2024
Logano further explained that he did not fault Blaney’s strategy of taking the fourth lane and shielding himself on both fronts. According to the two-time Cup champion, the move Reddick executed at the end was simply unstoppable, putting Blaney in a tough spot to mount any effective defense.
Kyle Petty does not give it solely to Reddick’s talent but to other people’s ‘stupidity’ as well
NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty recently highlighted that while Tyler Reddick’s final move was impressive, it was also the result of a string of missteps by other drivers that paved the way for his victory. Petty remarked that poor decision-making by several drivers ultimately opened the door for Reddick to clinch the win.
He explained, “The last lap the #12 car Ryan Blaney, gets by; Ryan Blaney leads… It’s Tyler Reddick! He’s coming! He run 5 or 6 times faster; that last lap passed him on the outside… What was the #12 car thinking block block block that’s what I’m talking about stupid move.”
According to Petty, Blaney ideally should have focused on blocking Reddick rather than leaving him an open lane on the final lap.
