Tyler Reddick’s Homestead win continues NASCAR’s upward momentum in viewership during playoffs

NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick secured a dominant win in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 27. Reddick became only the third driver to secure a win in the 2024 playoffs. Recently, a NASCAR insider highlighted the impact of Reddick's win on the sport's viewership.

The regular season champion of 2024, Reddick pilots the #45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, competing full-time in the Cup Series. In his NASCAR career, the 28-year-old has secured 21 race wins across the top three divisions, of which eight have come in the Cup Series. His latest win last Sunday has secured his berth in the Championship race at Phoenix Raceway.

The introduction of the playoff system in NASCAR has enhanced the competitive spirit of the sport and the viewers' experience. The cut-throat must-win situation that drivers find themselves in translates into drama and intense racing. Recently, The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi outlined the impact of Tyler Reddick's win on television viewership of the playoff race at Homestead. Bianchi wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Per NASCAR, Sunday's Cup Series race averaged 2.34 million viewers and viewership was up 4 percent over last year. The race represented the sixth in the playoffs to be up over last year."

NBC Sports' broadcast of the South Point 400 in Las Vegas surpassed the viewership of ABC Sports' telecast of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The schedules of NASCAR and Formula One clashed, however, NASCAR's viewership has been on the rise since the playoffs started.

Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick has secured a seat in the Championship 4 along with Team Penske's Joey Logano. Ahead of the XFINITY 500, two seats are left in the Cup Series final 4, for which six drivers are in contention.

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"That last lap still blows my mind" - Tyler Reddick on Ryan Blaney's final lap setback

Tyler Reddick had dominated throughout the race at Homestead. However, when the final lap started, he was in P3 behind Denny Hamlin and reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. Reddick soared passed both drivers on the final turn right before the checkered flag and secured his third victory this season.

The 23XI Racing driver reflected on his performance at Homestead-Miami, outlining how the last lap 'blows his mind.'

"That last lap still blows my mind. I didn't know what my choices were going to be but when that opened up, I saw the light and basically had to go up there and grab it. I was going to drive in till I passed the No.12 (Blaney), or hit the wall, or all the above. Just man, can't believe it worked out the way it did," Reddick said (via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Catch the playoff action back for the Round-of-8 finale at Martinsville Speedway on November 3 at 2:00 PM ET, where the final four will be decided.