In a race filled with rain delays, high-stakes crashes, and unexpected twists, Tyler Reddick emerged victorious at Michigan International Speedway, claiming his second win of the season. This victory not only marks Reddick’s ascension in the playoff standings but also ends Toyota’s decade-long drought at the 2-Mile Asphalt Oval, a track where Ford has reigned supreme for years.

To say that Ford has dominated Michigan International Speedway over the last decade would be a huge understatement. Ford has actually won nine straight races at the 2-Mile Asphalt Oval, dating back to June of 2018 when Clint Bowyer took the checkered flag.

The good news for the rest of the field is that the most dominant Ford driver at Michigan over the last decade is recently retired Kevin Harvick, who had won five of the nine races. However, Joey Logano (2029 winner), Ryan Blaney (2021 winner), and Chris Buescher (2023 winner) were all in the lineup.

Of those three, only Chris Buescher was still looking for his first win on the season to lock up a spot in the playoffs. He does still have a shot by getting in on points as he’s in tough competition with Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, and Ross Chastain.

Heading into Raceday on Sunday, the key to winning at Michigan usually started with a starting spot up front. I know that seems a little cliche, but it’s been proven to be more accurate at Michigan since 74.5% of the wins have come from positions that start inside the top 10. Only seven winners have come from starting positions outside of the top 20. Chris Buescher would roll out to the green flag on Sunday in P18.

The starting grid for the FireKeepers Casino 400 went as follows: Denny Hamlin (P1), Tyler Reddick (P2), Christopher Bell (P3), Kyler Larson (P4), Bubba Wallace (P5), Chase Elliott (P6), Ross Chastain (P7), Ryan Blaney (P8), William Byron (P9), and everyone’s NEW fan-favorite (sarcasm heavily implied) Austin Dillon, would roll out in the tenth spot.

The race got underway on Sunday with a high probability of showers throughout the day. And the first delay came before they even dropped the checkered flag to start the race. One racing finally started on Sunday, drivers and teams were aware that the next ban of showers would be coming soon.

Denny Hamlin, the race Pole Sitter, would spin behind a car that he owns for 23XI racing, Bubba Wallace on lap 40, taking him down into the infield and damaging the undercarriage. But he would continue and get back on the track. Wallace was leading the race at the time.

The end of stage one came shortly after a restart with the top 10 looking like this: Blaney, Elliott, Byron, Wallace, Buescher, Bush, Keselowski, Truex Jr., Bowman, and Chastain.

The rain came before the lineup could take the checkered flag (55 laps) for Stage 2. This delay would have the drivers starting again on Monday afternoon.

The top 5 at the restart was Elliott, Busch, Bowman, Wallace, and Reddick.

The next caution came out on lap 110 where three separate incidents due to tires happened on the same lap. With Logano, Allmendinger, and Gilliland all spinning out. All cars got back out on the track, but it wouldn’t be long before two of them were out of the race for good.

On lap 114, caution flew again for a multi-vehicle wreck involving the 17, 5, 38, 20, 23, 14, 22, and 31. Logano and Gilliland’s day would be over. But they were not the only one’s. Damage was too significant for Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson and their day would end sitting on the infield. Chase Briscoe would later bow out due to suspension issues (lap 157), no doubt caused during the earlier wreck.

The end of Stage 2 saw Kyle Busch with the stage win, followed by Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, William Byron, and Austin Dillon.

Ross Chastain would be the only driver out of the top 5 to pit.

Corey LaJoie would have the funnest (again….sarcasm) ride of the day as he would spin trying to pass Noah Gregson on lap 138. He would go airborne and flip onto his hood, where he would skid down the track until the car hit the grass, roll twice, and end up again on all four’s. His airborne stunt was a surprise given that it came with minimal contact, and it happened almost instantly as soon as he spun. The other surprise was that the car did everything it was supposed to with all safety flaps engaging. Well….everything but stay on the ground. I’m sure NASCAR will have a long look at the accident to see what went wrong. These cars are not supposed to flip so easily. The good news was that Corey LaJoie got out of the car under his own pawer as the roof was remarkably intact and the car protected him as it was designed. But make no mistake about it, that was a hard roll and I’m sure he’ll be feeling the impact later, if not already.

The next 40 laps went pretty smooth, with Tyler Reddick overtaking Kyle Busch on lap 175. Busch still needs a win to make the playoffs as he is currently more than 100 points back of the 16th spot with just two races remaining in the regular season.

With four laps left, Martin Truex, Jr. would lose control in a single-car incident and introduce his right side to the outside wall. He did manage to get his car up to speed but NASCAR called the caution (to the dismay of Reddic) and we would go into overtime. On the first overtime attempt, the caution would fly again just after William Byron took the lead from Reddick. Ross Chastain would blow his left front tire and spin out.

Reddick would reclaim the lead from Byron just after the green flag to start the second overtime, and he would hold on for his second win of the season. He would be followed by William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski got P5. Chris Buescher, Zane Smith, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top 10.

The win would be Reddick’s second of the season. Team owner Michael Jordan unfortunately left the track after yesterday’s postponement, but I’m sure he lit a victory cigar wherever he watched the win from today.

The win was also Toyota’s first win at Michigan in ten attempts.

Brad Keselowski (Michigan native) has never won at Michigan, but today’s top five was his ninth top 5 finish at his home track.

Carson Hocevar brought home his second top 10 finish of the year. And Daniel Suarez finished in the top 10 for the third straight race.

The next Cup Series race will be at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 24th.

There are 12 active drivers with wins at Daytona, led by Denny Hamlin with three wins. Followed by Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and William Byron with two wins. Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, and Ryan Blaney.

Of those past winners, Dillon, Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, and Michael McDowell all still need a win to lock in a spot in the playoffs with just two races left to the regular season (Darlington is last race).

Tyler Reddick's win at Michigan is a game-changer in this season's playoff race, breaking Ford's dominance at the track and giving Toyota a long-awaited victory. With just two races left before the playoffs, the pressure is mounting for those still vying for a spot, and all eyes now turn to Daytona, where the battle for the final playoff positions will be fierce.