The Homestead Miami Speedway is a track infamous for the wall-riding techniques drivers use to get the extra speed. Kyle Larson put on a show while bumping his No. 5 Chevy into the wall over a dozen times a few weeks back. And then we have Tyler Reddick, whose slingshot move last year in playoffs bagged him a spot in the championship race. However, this technique isn’t just restricted to Homestead; if anything, drivers have no option but to use it at Darlington Raceway.
Dalrington is a unique racetrack, the egg-shaped oval isn’t laid out symmetrically. The abrasive Turns 3 and 4 and the tight corner exit forced the drivers to flirt with the wall. Although Reddick was successful in nailing the craft at Homestead late in 2024, he learned this skill the hard way after he got tangled with Chris Buescher during the Goodyear 400.
Buescher was heading into the race after a heartbreak at Kansas Speedway, where he lost to Kyle Larson by 0.001 of a second. There was a huge controversy on how the start-finish line was painted, but the RFK Racing driver had a shot at redemption at Darlington. But with 10 laps to go, the No. 17 car was in the lead, and Reddick was in hot pursuit after winning stages 1 and 2. But the 23XI Racing driver was overambitious in making a pass on the leader, as he made contact with Buesche, ramming him into the wall.
The slide job failed spectacularly. Instead of cleanly taking the lead, Reddick’s #45 collided with Buescher’s #17, sending both cars into the wall with flat tires. Both drivers were forced to pit road, knocking them out of contention. Both drivers finished the race in 30th and 32nd place, while Buescher’s teammate Brad Keselowski bagged his first win in the Next Gen era. Reddick already had booked his playoff ticket with a win at Talladega, but Buescher couldn’t believe his luck as he missed out on another win. Fuming over how he was raced, he confronted Reddick on the pit road, he was ready to trade blows. But the 23XI Racing driver defused the situation by quickly acknowledging his wrongdoing.
“I know! I f—ed up! I’m sorry!” Reddick immediately admitted, still wearing his helmet during the post-NASCAR race confrontation. “As soon as I knew that wasn’t going to work, I tried to back out… The last thing I wanted to do was wreck your car. I can care less about mine.” But Buescher, who dropped to 12th in the standings and remains winless this season, wasn’t appeased: “Doesn’t work for me. We don’t have that sticker on our door right now,” he said, referring to the playoff qualification that Reddick already secured with an earlier win. “I need you to be better.”
The frustration for Buescher was compounded by his respect for Reddick and their history of clean racing. “We’ve raced each other for so long just fine,” Buescher lamented. “That’s two weeks in a row we had a shot to win races. One, I’m going to relive in my head forever at what I would’ve done different. The other, I need someone else to be more mature about it.”
Well, Tyler Reddick found himself mired in another race-related incident at the start of the new year. And this time it was against his Toyota teammate from Joe Gibbs Racing.
History Repeats: When Tempers Flare at NASCAR’s Short Tracks
Martinsville Speedway, known for its tight confines and high emotions, once again became the stage for NASCAR’s latest driver confrontation when Ty Gibbs threatened Tyler Reddick during Sunday’s Cook Out 400. The incident occurred on Lap 298 when Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota went spinning after contact with Reddick in Turns 1 and 2, prompting an explosive radio message from the frustrated Gibbs: “You’d better keep me away from that little f—– [Reddick] after this race, too.”
This confrontation adds another chapter to Gibbs’ growing history of driver disputes, following previous face-to-face encounters with Sam Mayer after an Xfinity NASCAR Race in 2022 and Joey Logano following the 2024 Busch Light Clash. Despite the heated moment, Gibbs’ team attempted to diffuse the situation by explaining that Reddick had tried to lift but was pushed by Austin Dillon from behind, describing it as a “normal deal” with “nothing you can do about it.”
In a twist of competitive irony, Gibbs ultimately recovered to finish 13th, one position ahead of Reddick, providing some on-track satisfaction in what has otherwise been a challenging 2025 season for the 22-year-old driver. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin – Reddick’s team owner at 23XI Racing – claimed his first Martinsville victory in a decade and sixth overall at the historic Virginia short track.
Nevertheless, this weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway is perfectly poised for blockbuster racing action. All eyes will be on drivers like Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin who are touted to favorites for the race.
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