Tyler Reddick frustrated after falling just short of first career Cup Series win

Tyler Reddick jumped from 35th at the start of Sunday’s race all the way to a runner-up finish at the Dixie Vodka 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Reddick recognized the positive of that accomplishment.

But missing out on what would have been his first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series left the 25-year-old Reddick frustrated.

“Obviously, this is a 400-mile race,” Reddick said. “I didn’t have a very good restart there toward the end, and it was the difference unfortunately. We needed to hold on, but we just couldn’t.”

Reddick finished 2.777 seconds behind William Byron, who cruised over the final 57 laps to his second career victory.

That margin kept Reddick from becoming the third consecutive first-time winner to open this Cup Series season.

Reddick, who recorded his 11th career top-10 Cup Series finish, had gotten off to a rough start to the season after finishing 27th at the Daytona 500 and 38th last week on the Daytona Road Course.

“[Finishing] second is great, but it’s not enough because we’re still not in the mix yet,” Reddick said. “We have to figure out how we can continue to have nights like this and keep fighting and stay hungry. There are positives, but there isn’t a whole lot you can take from here and apply it to other tracks.”

GRAND MARSHALL TUA

Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa usually spends his Sundays calling out plays on a football field.

But this Sunday, Tagovailoa had his eyes on the race track — albeit remotely — as he served as the Grand Marshall of the Dixie Vodka 400.

In a recorded message, Tagovailoa called out a mock snap count and put his hands as if to catch the ball from the shotgun formation before addressing the race’s 38 drivers: “All right, huddle up, we’re going to crank these engines up on one, ready … gentlemen, start your engines!”

THIS AND THAT

▪ One of the minor crashes in Sunday’s race involved Aric Almirola and Ryan Blaney, who brushed each other near the wall on Lap 200. Almirola then bumped sideways into the wall as each driver suffered damage to their cars prompting a caution.

Almirola, who is of Cuban heritage and grew up in Tampa, began the race in the No. 16 position and was chasing his third career Cup Series win. Blaney, who opened No. 14, was seeking his fifth career Cup Series win.

▪ Former crew chief-turned NBC Sports NASCAR analyst, Steve Letarte, returned to the pit box on Sunday working for Spire Motorsports as part of Corey LaJoie’s team after their regular crew chief Ryan Sparks and other members of the team couldn’t participate due to COVID-19 protocols.

Letarte was a crew chief for nine seasons at Hendrick Motorsports and led Jeff Gordon to 10 Cup Series victories and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to five. Letarte had not served as a crew chief since 2014.

Unfortunately, LaJoie’s fifth career Cup Series start in Homestead ended early when he was forced to pull into the garage when his car started smoking on Lap 153. LaJoie had entered the race with an average finish of 31.2 on the Homestead-Miami track.