Tyler Reddick Wins 2018 Xfinity Series Championship at Homestead

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HOMESTEAD, FL – RIS – Tyler Reddick, considered the underdog in the Xfinity championship race was hardly that on Saturday.  He outraced Ford’s Cole Custer, Toyota’s Christopher Bell, and fellow Chevrolet driver Daniel Hemrick, to win the Ford Ecoboost 300 and the championship with the victory.

The 22-year-old Corning, California native led 44 laps of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida en route to winning the race, which allowed him to secure this year’s championship in what is his rookie season, thus making him this year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award winner as well.

Reddick entered the 2018 season with one career Xfinity Series victory to his name, as he won last season’s race at Kentucky Speedway driving the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet as a part-time driver.

Reddick opened up the 2018 season by winning the race at Daytona International Speedway in his first race behind the wheel of the #9 Chevrolet, but he had not won a race since. However, despite the fact that his regular season was far from consistent, he still managed to advance from the round of 12 to the round of 8 and then from the round of 8 to the Championship 4 based on his point total to put himself in a position to win the championship in the season finale.

In the seven playoff races, Reddick recorded six top nine finishes, three top five finishes and a lowest finish of 14th place in the race at Dover International Speedway. His average finish in these races was 6.29 whereas his average finish throughout the entire 33-race season was 12.88 and his average finish in the 26-race regular season was 14.65.

Custer, Hemric and Bell ended up finishing the season in second, third and fourth place in the championship standings, respectively. Custer finished the season finale in second while Hemric finished in fourth and Bell finished in 11th. Throughout the course of the season, Custer won one race while Hemric did not win any. Bell, meanwhile, won seven.

Custer, driving for Stewart=Haas Racing, led most of the early part of the race at a track where led every lap in 2017.  He wasn’t so lucky this time as Reddick built a lead that he could not dig into.  I came down to Reddick’s early pit stop, and it was just not to be for Custer. What did happen was Custer, by his second-place finish allowed the winner of the team championship to go to Stewart-Haas.  It was the second national championship for SHR, the first being the 2016 Cup championship by Kevin Harvick

This being the end of the season, the Xfinity Series will next race at Daytona International Speedway during SpeedWeeks in February, 2019.

The finishing agate and final Points are below:

Unofficial Race Results for the 24Th Annual Ford Ecoboost 300 - Nov 17, 2018 - Homestead-Miami Speedway - Homestead, FL - 1.5 Mile Paved

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 4, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 9 BurgerFi Chevrolet, 200, 3, 8, 2, 44, 5, 40, Running
2) 1, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 200, 1, 1, 2, 95, 2, 35, Running
3) 3, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Fire Alarm Services Inc. Chevrolet, 200, 5, 2, 1, 52, , 49, Running
4) 10, Daniel Hemric (P), No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, 200, 2, 4, , , , 33, Running
5) 5, Austin Cindric #, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford, 200, 7, 7, , , , 40, Running
6) 12, Ryan Preece, No. 18 Rheem-Watts Toyota, 200, 8, 5, , , , 40, Running
7) 6, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, 200, 4, 6, , , , 42, Running
8) 8, Brandon Jones, No. 19 Juniper Toyota, 199, , 10, , , , 30, Running
9) 14, Michael Annett, No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 9, Matt Tifft, No. 2 Tunity Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 2, Christopher Bell # (P), No. 20 GameStop Transformers Toyota, 199, 6, 3, 1, 9, , 26, Running
12) 11, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford, 199, 10, , , , , 26, Running
13) 13, Chase Briscoe, No. 60 Nutri Chomps Ford, 199, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 7, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, 199, 9, 9, , , , 27, Running
15) 15, Ryan Truex, No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 23, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Florida Watermelon Association Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 17, Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 18, Kaz Grala #, No. 61 NETTTS/Hot Scream Ford, 198, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 16, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Fly and Form/RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 21, Shane Lee, No. 3 CMR Construction & Roofing Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 20, Alex Labbe #, No. 36 Alpha Prime Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 19, Ryan Sieg, No. 38 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 26, Joey Gase, No. 35 Sparks Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 27, Brandon Brown, No. 86 Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 22, Max Tullman, No. 26 Eskata/Zoomi Ford, 195, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 30, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 8 Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 29, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 KSDT and Company Chevrolet, 194, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 34, David Starr, No. 52 Shoun Trucking Chevrolet, 194, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 35, Quin Houff, No. 15 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, 191, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 36, Spencer Boyd #, No. 76 Grunt Style Chevrolet, 189, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 25, Chad Finchum #, No. 66 Smithbilt Homes Toyota, 187, , , , , , 6, Handling
32) 32, BJ McLeod, No. 01 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, 185, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 38, Carl Long, No. 40 Thanks Dodge/CrashClaimsR.us Dodge, 180, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 33, Caesar Bacarella, No. 90 Alpha Prime/MAXIM Chevrolet, 161, , , , , , 3, Overheating
35) 31, Timmy Hill, No. 13 OCR Gaz Bar Toyota, 54, , , , , , 2, Brakes
36) 28, JJ Yeley, No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 46, , , , , , 1, Rear Gear
37) 39, Angela Ruch, No. 39 Give A Child A Voice Chevrolet, 36, , , , , , 1, Parked
38) 24, Landon Cassill, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 16, , , , , , 1, Suspension
39) 40, Jeff Green, No. 37 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 14, , , , , , 1, Brakes
40) 37, Vinnie Miller #, No. 78 JAS Expedited Trucking LLC Chevrolet, 10, , , , , , 1, Clutch
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 300 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 08 Mins, 06 Secs.
Average Speed: 140.515 MPH
Margin of Victory: 6.902 Seconds
Race Comments: Tyler Reddick won the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: No. 40 (unapproved adjustments). 
Failed to Qualify: (5) No. 92 Josh Williams, No. 99 Stephen Leicht, No. 45 Josh Bilicki No. 55 Bayley Currey(i), No. 74 Tim Viens.
Caution Flags: 2 for 10 laps: Laps: 47-51 (Stage 1 Conclusion [36]);
92-96 (Stage 2 Conclusion [36]).
Lead Changes: 5 among 4 drivers: 
C. Custer (P) 1-93;
J. Nemechek 94-145;
C. Custer (P) 146-147;
T. Reddick (P) 148-154;
C. Bell # (P) 155-163;
T. Reddick (P) 164-200.

Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race": Cole Custer, No. 00 
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yates Engines, No. 00 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Tyler Reddick, No. 9 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Austin Cindric, No. 22

Points Report
Homestead-Miami Speedway
24th Annual Ford EcoBoost 300
UNOFFICIAL,Provided by NASCAR Statistics -,Saturday, 11/17/2018 @ 6:25 PM Eastern,UNOFFICIAL
Rank,Driver,Car,Points,Ldr,Nxt,Race Wins,Stage Wins,Playoff Pts
1. Tyler Reddick (P),9,4040,0,0,2,1,15
2. Cole Custer (P),00,4035,-5,-5,1,4,13
3. Daniel Hemric (P),21,4033,-7,-2,0,9,13
4. Christopher Bell # (P),20,4026,-14,-7,7,6,44
5. Elliott Sadler,1,2255,-1785,-1771,0,4,0
6. Matt Tifft,2,2254,-1786,-1,0,1,0
7. Justin Allgaier,7,2251,-1789,-3,5,7,0
8. Austin Cindric #,22,2231,-1809,-20,0,1,0
9. Brandon Jones,19,2186,-1854,-45,0,1,0
10. Ross Chastain,4,2184,-1856,-2,1,4,0
11. Ryan Reed,16,2170,-1870,-14,0,0,0
12. Ryan Truex,11,2160,-1880,-10,0,0,0
13. John Hunter Nemechek,42,643,-3397,-1517,1,3,0
14. Michael Annett,5,632,-3408,-11,0,0,0
15. Jeremy Clements,51,619,-3421,-13,0,0,0
16. Ryan Sieg,38,589,-3451,-30,0,0,0
17. Alex Labbe #,36,540,-3500,-49,0,0,0
18. Spencer Gallagher,23,524,-3516,-16,1,0,0
19. Garrett Smithley,0,496,-3544,-28,0,0,0
20. Joey Gase,35,495,-3545,-1,0,0,0
21. Ryan Preece,18,483,-3557,-12,1,1,0
22. Kaz Grala #,61,439,-3601,-44,0,0,0
23. David Starr,52,352,-3688,-87,0,0,0
24. Chase Briscoe,60,334,-3706,-18,1,0,0
25. Shane Lee,3,315,-3725,-19,0,0,0
26. Spencer Boyd #,76,302,-3738,-13,0,0,0
27. Vinnie Miller #,78,279,-3761,-23,0,0,0
28. Jj Yeley,93,276,-3764,-3,0,0,0
29. Bj McLeod,01,276,-3764,0,0,0,0
30. Chad Finchum #,66,253,-3787,-23,0,0,0
31. Tommy Joe Martins,8,216,-3824,-37,0,0,0
32. Josh Williams,,208,-3832,-8,0,0,0
33. Josh Bilicki,,202,-3838,-6,0,0,0
34. Ty Majeski,,155,-3885,-47,0,0,0
35. Ray Black,,131,-3909,-24,0,0,0
36. Timmy Hill,13,119,-3921,-12,0,0,0
37. Jeff Green,37,108,-3932,-11,0,0,0
38. Mike Harmon,,105,-3935,-3,0,0,0
39. Dylan Lupton,,103,-3937,-2,0,0,0
40. Kyle Benjamin,,102,-3938,-1,0,0,0
41. Justin Marks,,99,-3941,-3,0,0,0
42. Brandon Brown,86,94,-3946,-5,0,0,0
43. Stephen Leicht,,81,-3959,-13,0,0,0
44. Brendan Gaughan,,71,-3969,-10,0,0,0
45. Brandon Hightower,,64,-3976,-7,0,0,0
46. Andy Lally,,60,-3980,-4,0,0,0
47. Jeb Burton,,60,-3980,0,0,0,0
48. Landon Cassill,89,59,-3981,-1,0,0,0
49. Quin Houff,15,56,-3984,-3,0,0,0
50. Dale Earnhardt,,51,-3989,-5,0,1,0
51. Katherine Legge,,46,-3994,-5,0,0,0
52. Caesar Bacarella,90,45,-3995,-1,0,0,0
53. Matt Mills,,43,-3997,-2,0,0,0
54. Ja Junior Avila,,36,-4004,-7,0,0,0
55. Brian Henderson,,35,-4005,-1,0,0,0
56. James Davison,,29,-4011,-6,0,0,0
57. Ryan Ellis,,27,-4013,-2,0,0,0
58. Max Tullman,26,26,-4014,-1,0,0,0
59. Scott Heckert,,24,-4016,-2,0,0,0
60. Morgan Shepherd,,24,-4016,0,0,0,0
61. Casey Roderick,,22,-4018,-2,0,0,0
62. Carl Long,40,21,-4019,-1,0,0,0
63. Mason Diaz,,18,-4022,-3,0,0,0
64. Bill Elliott,,17,-4023,-1,0,0,0
65. Lawson Aschenbach,,17,-4023,0,0,0,0
66. Cole Rouse,,16,-4024,-1,0,0,0
67. Donald Theetge,,16,-4024,0,0,0,0
68. Angela Ruch,39,16,-4024,0,0,0,0
69. Tony Mrakovich,,13,-4027,-3,0,0,0
70. Bobby Earnhardt,,13,-4027,0,0,0,0
71. Tim Cowen,,11,-4029,-2,0,0,0
72. Mike Skeen,,9,-4031,-2,0,0,0
73. Stan Mullis,,9,-4031,0,0,0,0
74. Dylan Murcott,,8,-4032,-1,0,0,0
75. Peter Shepherd,,6,-4034,-2,0,0,0
76. Victor Gonzalez,,6,-4034,0,0,0,0
77. Conor Daly,,6,-4034,0,0,0,0
78. Tyler Hill,,6,-4034,0,0,0,0
79. Akinori Ogata,,4,-4036,-2,0,0,0
80. John Jackson,,4,-4036,0,0,0,0
81. Dexter Bean,,1,-4039,-3,0,0,0
82. James French,,1,-4039,0,0,0,0
83. Kyle Larson(I),,0,-4040,-1,4,7,0
84. Brad Keselowski(I),,0,-4040,0,3,1,0
85. Joey Logano(I),,0,-4040,0,2,3,0
86. Kevin Harvick(I),,0,-4040,0,1,2,0
87. Kyle Busch(I),,0,-4040,0,1,6,0
88. Ryan Blaney(I),,0,-4040,0,1,1,0
89. Austin Dillon(I),,0,-4040,0,1,0,0
90. Chase Elliott(I),,0,-4040,0,0,1,0
91. Noah Gragson(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
92. A J Allmendinger(I),,0,-4040,0,0,1,0
93. Daniel Suarez(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
94. Ty Dillon(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
95. Denny Hamlin(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
96. Jamie McMurray(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
97. Paul Menard(I),,0,-4040,0,0,1,0
98. Aric Almirola(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
99. Johnny Sauter(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
100. Riley Herbst(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
101. Justin Haley(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
102. Joe Nemechek(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
103. Bayley Currey(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
104. Alex Bowman(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
105. Blake Jones(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
106. Cody Ware(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
107. Jennifer Jo Cobb(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
108. Gray Gaulding(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
109. Josh Reaume(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
110. Tanner Berryhill(I),,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
111. Chris Cockrum,,0,-4040,0,0,0,0
112. Tim Viens,,0,-4040,0,0,0,0

BPts - Bonus Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, PPos 
= Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss