“The worst decision of his career”: NASCAR Insider reviews Ryan Blaney’s last lap call amid Tyler Reddick’s race-winning move

NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney nearly won the playoff race at Homestead-Miami, however, a moment of misjudgment from him paved the way for Tyler Reddick to win the race and secure a spot in the final four. Recently, a NASCAR insider has criticized Blaney for his last-lap performance in the Straight Talk wireless 400.

Reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, now in his seventh full season with Team Penske, drives the #12 Ford Mustang. Blaney has earned 12 Cup Series wins, complemented by seven Xfinity Series victories and four in the Truck Series.

In a recent episode of Dirty Mo Media's Door Bumper Clear podcast, veteran spotters Freddie Kraft, Brett Griffin, and TJ Majors reflected on the outcome of the playoff race at Homestead and deliberated on Blaney's last-lap fumble amid Tyler Reddick's incredible race-winning move (via X, formerly Twitter).

"Man, it's hard. I almost give Tyler(Reddick) more credit than I want to fault Ryan. I think if Ryan had to do it over, he's going to want to put it on the fence. But Tyler carried so much speed in the three that it almost looked like it was indefensible for Blaney. The speed that Tyler carried into three on the fence, well, I mean, it looked like Brian just let him go." Freddie Kraft said

Brett Griffin added:

"I think this will go down if Ryan Blaney doesn't win Martinsville, as the worst decision of his career. At the moment in time, he's probably thinking, like you said, "I had a good one and two. I have five lap fresher tires. I'm going to beat this guy. But to your point, to all y'all's point, in the old car, you couldn't drive into three like that."

Blaney started P20 at Homestead but quickly climbed into the top ten. On the final lap, Tyler Reddick, with one of the fastest cars on track, overtook Denny Hamlin and closed in on Blaney. As the reigning champion shifted from the outside to the inside line, Reddick capitalized, passing Blaney to secure victory in the Straight Talk Wireless 400, bringing a dramatic finish for 23XI Racing.

Ryan Blaney is 38 points below the cut-off line, putting him in a must-win situation if he wishes to defend his Cup Series title.

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Ryan Blaney reflects on performance in the final lap at Homestead amid Tyler Reddick's triumph

Team Penske's #12 driver recently commented on his performance at the playoff racer at Homestead. Ryan Blaney was poised for the win and a seat in the final four; however, to his misfortune, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick beat him to the punch.

In an interview with Daniel McFadin of Frontstretch, the reigning champion said:

"I just didn't really have a good last lap. I didn't really get to the bottom like I wanted to, and then wanted to, and I kind of gave the 45 a little clean air, and then he just got a big shot by the 11 down the back. And I didn't know which way he was going to go[...] But yeah, staying some up and down day, and just, shame to lose one on last lap like that."

The Round of 8 finale is scheduled at Martinsville Speedway. Watch the Xfinity500 on November 3 at 2 PM ET, broadcast by NBC Sports, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel.