FireKeepers Casino 400: Tyler Reddick wins at Michigan, takes lead in Regular Season Championship

Tyler Reddick left Michigan as the new leader in the Regular Season Championship. (Photo: Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, Mich. — 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota got out front when it mattered the most to earn his second win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Michigan International Speedway in the FireKeepers Casino 400.

Now, Reddick has seven Cup Series wins at seven different tracks. The 23XI Racing driver also took the lead in the Regular Season Championship as he seeks 15 additional bonus points that would help him in the postseason.

“We went into Sunday night kind of scratching our heads on our McDonald’s Toyota Camry,” Reddick said. “Everyone at 23XI did a really good job. We had a good mindset coming into today on what we need. I love running high, and I couldn’t yesterday. I knew that it was important for us to work on that coming into the race today. The group did a really good job at that, and we made great adjustments. Honestly, going into stage three we had a tough go of it on pit road, but they had a great catch. Great way to get redemption from one year ago here.”

Reddick also made it a point to give a shoutout to one of his racing mentors, Scott Bloomquist, the legendary dirt late model driver, who tragically lost his life in a plane crash several days ago.

“It is really cool to get to Victory Lane today,” Reddick said. “Just thinking of Scott Bloomquist and his family and his friends. I think this one should be dedicated to him. He has meant a lot to me. He’s one of those that played a huge role in getting me to this stage. I wouldn’t be here without him.”

William Byron earned the most points on the day (50) and ended up with a second-place finish after his hot start to the 2024 season slowly cooled down in recent months. In fact, Byron ended a streak of nine straight races without leading a single lap, the longest of his Cup Series career.

“Yeah, we have just been up and down,” Byron said. “I feel like since we have come back from the break, we have had a good mindset and have been executing well. Pit crew has been doing a good job and we have been making good decisions. We’ve just been communicating well. We had a few things during the break that we could go to work on and it has just really come together. Just proud of the fact that we have stayed together through this, and I feel like we are in a good spot going into the playoffs.”

This race was initially postponed after rain only allowed for 51 of 200 scheduled laps to be completed on Sunday. The race resumed on Monday at 11 a.m. ET and went the full distance.

Results from the 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 are listed below:

Corey LaJoie Goes For A Ride

Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Garner Trucking Chevrolet went upside down at Michigan International Speedway on the backstretch after making slight contact with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson.

Flips on non-superspeedway tracks are not very common, but they do happen every so often. LaJoie has now flipped twice this season. His first flip occurred at Talladega where Reddick also won.

Other Race Facts

Kyle Larson had an unfortunate ending to his day after getting loose and spinning himself, which caused a multi-car accident that impacted multiple drivers looking to make it into the playoffs on points, including Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.

Tyler Reddick’s win ended a nine-race winning streak for Ford at Michigan, which was the longest active winning streak by any manufacturer at a NASCAR Cup Series track.

Reddick also has been on an incredible tear during the 2024 Cup Series season. According to statistician Trey Ryan, Reddick has:

• An average finish of 3.29 over the last seven races, which is the best seven-race run by any driver since Kyle Larson in the summer of 2021.
• Reddick’s win also marked his 11th top-five finish and 17th top-10 finish of 2024, both of which are new career bests for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. There are still 12 races remaining in the season, which makes this statistic even more impressive.
• Reddick currently has four more top-10 finishes than the next closest driver (Christopher Bell, William Byron), and this is the largest difference in top-10 finishes since Carl Edwards had five more than anyone else in 2011.

Harrison Burton leading five laps at Michigan is the most Wood Brothers Racing has led at the Irish Hills track since Morgan Shepherd in 1995, according to Ryan.

Zane Smith (seventh) and Carson Hocevar (10th) earned Spire Motorsports their first-ever double top 10 in the team’s history. It also marks the first time the organization has ever had back-to-back top-10 finishes.