Tyler Reddick Wins at Talladega as Chaos Unfolds behind Him

On Sunday, Micheal McDowell was running the best race of his life in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, starting on the pole and leading the most laps. But as it often does on the Superspeedway, a fairytale race unraveled on the final lap.

McDowell was racing Tyler Reddick, one of the only three Toyota's left in the race as the duo came to the white flag. Reddick led across the start/finish, but McDowell secured the lead again by the first corner. For the next two miles, the racing lines ebbed and flowed as drivers drafted with teammates and bailed as they saw opportunity build in another lane.

McDowell's lead was thanks in part to Brad Keselowski pushing him, and Reddick worked to link back up with Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr.

It appeared that Keselowski was in the clearest position to make a move coming to the final corner, and the Roush Fenway Racing driver moved high before diving down, forcing McDowell to continue to play defense until the final moments. McDowell's low block ended up a bit late, leaving Keselowski no choice but to turn him, and the No. 34 car went around in front of the field; the first three rows were able to go low and avoid the carnage.

"I don't want to draw a conclusion or say something stupid because when I pulled down, I thought I was going to be clear," McDowell told Bob Pockrass. "I didn't feel like it was a super late block; obviously, it was. My intention wasn't to do 'all or nothing' at the moment. It was to stop the advancement that the No. 6 had in the run.

It wasn't my intention coming off the four to cause a melee. Last lap, you're going to go for it, and I wish I would've done it better and not wiped out half the field."

NASCAR held out throwing the yellow flag as cars skid and flipped across the track so Keselowski and Reddick could battle until the end; Reddick masterfully escaped McDowell and pulled ahead to his first Superspeedway victory. Noah Gragson followed in third for his career-best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.

One of the craziest moments of the last lap mayhem came as Corey LaJoie, stuck on his side in between Carson Hocevar and the wall, slid across the finish line to finish 18th.

Reddick was racing without his teammate and the majority of the Toyota drivers when a single-file collision after a strategy pit caused the retirement of four drivers. Erik Jones, who took the hardest hit, was released from the infield care center but returned during the race. He has since been transported to a nearby hospital.

The only two that remained were Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs, whom Reddick thanked for the help.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr," Reddick told NASCAR on Fox after climbing onto the front stretch. "It was just us Toyotas left. They pushed me with everything they had. Huge credit to Martin and Ty. Without those pushes, we don't win this race."

Reddick's team, family, and team owner, Michael Jordan, waited for the driver to return to celebrate, the latter going through a roller coaster of emotions as he watched the final quarter of the final lap. Frontstretch.com captured Jordan's reaction to the win in real time.

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