FORT WORTH, Texas — Tyler Reddick opened the round of 12 in NASCAR’s playoffs with a victory at Texas on Sunday, winning a week after being one of the first four Cup drivers knocked out of title contention.
After none of the contenders won the first three races of the playoffs — a first in any round in this postseason format — the trend continued with the eliminated Reddick leading 53 of the final 54 laps on a long race day that went into the night.
Reddick finished 1.19 seconds ahead of Joey Logano at the end of an extended race that had a track-record 16 cautions, a record 36 lead changes, a 56-minute red flag for lightning and multiple tire issues leading to crashes — including those involving playoff contenders Chase Elliott, the points leader going into the second round, and Christopher Bell.
“I was extremely worried, I’m not going to lie,” Reddick said. “Unfortunately, just about every time we’ve had fast cars, we’ve had some tire problems. That last run, the right sides were vibrating really, really hard there. … I was just trying to maximize and use the gap that I built over [Logano] just in case.”
Logano took over the points lead by 12 over Ross Chastain.
Elliott, who entered the round of 12 as the points leader, had a fiery finish after contact with the outside wall in Turn 4 when leading just past the halfway mark of the race.
Flames were already visible from under the right side of the No. 9 Chevrolet when he got onto the frontstretch, then turned across and came to a stop in the middle of the infield, where he climbed out uninjured as the car was being engulfed by flames. He finished 32nd.
“I’m not sure that Goodyear is at fault,” Elliott said. “Goodyear always takes the black eye, but they’re put in a really tough position by NASCAR to build a tire that can survive these types of racetracks with this car. I wouldn’t blame Goodyear.”
Goodyear and NASCAR officials said there were several teams that didn’t have tire issues, and the reports from those teams indicated that they were conservative with the air pressure they used in their tires.
Non-playoff drivers Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. also had tire issues when leading the race at the 1½-mile track.
Bell, the Oklahoma native who considers Texas his home track, couldn’t recover from a second tire issue that led to his race-ending crash after finishing only 136 laps. He was the only driver to finish in the top five in all three races in the first round of this postseason but was 34th at Texas.
Soon after the caution came out for Truex’s spinout from the lead on Lap 268, Hamlin was sliding through the infield after Byron made contact with him from behind. When pressed after the race, Byron acknowledged that he intentionally did it, upset about being pushed up against the wall by Hamlin during green-flag laps just before that.
Hamlin stayed side-by-side and nose-to-tail with Byron during the caution period, livid because of the position he was losing on the track. Since he couldn’t keep pace after going into the grass, Hamlin had to restart 22nd instead of near the front.
“I guess we can just wreck each other under caution. I tried to wreck him back,” Hamlin said. “Yeah, I don’t think we touched. I got to look. I don’t think we touched. Obviously, he sent us into the infield under caution.”
Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president for competition, said officials didn’t see the incident in real time while focused on what caused the caution. He said the incident will be reviewed to determine whether there will be any penalties.
The race was about to resume following the caution period for the end of the second stage when NASCAR ran some extra laps under caution because there was light rain falling on some parts of the 1½-mile track. But when there was lightning in the vicinity, the cars were brought to park on pit road with 220 of 334 laps completed.
Drivers got a chance to get out of the cars for a break on a day with record heat. Temperatures in the upper 90s made for the hottest Cup race ever at the track that opened in 1997.
ANOTHER EARLY BUSCH EXIT
Kyle Busch completed only 48 laps and was last in the 36-car field, marking the first time in his 32 Cup starts at Texas that he didn’t finish the race.
Busch got loose when going higher up the track as he was getting close to teammate Hamlin.
“I went to the high groove where I was making time in the spray and the sticky stuff, but it is not so sticky apparently. I crashed,” Busch said. “I’m trying to go, trying to race. Banana peels out there for me.”
The race came a week after the two-time champion was eliminated from title contention in his final season with Joe Gibbs Racing before going to Richard Childress Racing. Busch finished 34th at Bristol after an engine failure just past the halfway mark of the race.
MULTIPLE IMPACTS
Cody Ware‘s car went nearly nose-first into the safety barrier on the outside wall in Turn 4, then shot down the track and onto pit road. There was then an even bigger hit when the car slammed hard just past a cutout in the pit wall.
Ware escaped serious injury, though he was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance after first being tended to for several minutes after getting out of the car. He was taken to the infield care center, where he was treated and released.
His team said he had some discomfort in an ankle but no broken bones.
UP NEXT
The middle race of the second round of the playoffs is Sunday at Talladega, where Chastain got his second win of the season in April. He hasn’t won since but has finished seventh or better in the past three playoff races.
OXFORD, Miss. — The Lane Kiffin saga is finally coming to an end.
Sources told ESPN on Saturday that the expectation is LSU will hire Kiffin away from Ole Miss on Sunday. A source cautioned that the deal was not signed as of late Saturday but added that it “would be a shock” if he didn’t sign it.
Should Kiffin agree to the contract, it will pay him, a source said, around $12 million annually across seven seasons, with the potential for bonuses, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the sport.
Kiffin, 50, and the Rebels just wrapped up an 11-1 regular season with a 38-19 win over rival Mississippi State, all but assuring them a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff. That said, the expectation among Ole Miss officials is that Kiffin will not coach the Rebels in the CFP, barring an unexpected change.
Sources told ESPN’s Marty Smith on Sunday that Kiffin will hold a 10 a.m. ET meeting with Ole Miss players, followed by an announcement about his future.
After Kiffin said he would decide on Saturday whether he’ll coach at Ole Miss or LSU in 2026, he met with Rebels athletics director Keith Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce for a couple of hours at the chancellor’s home in Oxford.
But the day came and went without an announcement.
There was a growing sense at Ole Miss on Saturday that Kiffin might coach the Rebels in one more game if they clinched a spot in next week’s SEC championship game in Atlanta.
However, No. 10 Alabama‘s 27-20 victory against rival Auburn in Saturday night’s Iron Bowl eliminated the Rebels. The Crimson Tide will play No. 4 Georgia for the SEC title.
While Florida and LSU courted Kiffin, Carter and Boyce were adamant that he wouldn’t be allowed to coach the Rebels in the CFP if Kiffin took a job with an SEC rival. Kiffin had lobbied the Ole Miss administrators to change their minds, but Carter and Boyce dug in their heels on that issue.
Among other reasons, Ole Miss doesn’t want Kiffin around its players with the transfer portal opening on Jan. 2. The Rebels also don’t want their CFP games to be a “commercial” for LSU’s future under Kiffin.
Even with Kiffin potentially leaving, the Rebels will probably still be in the mix to host a first-round CFP game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Dec. 19 or 20.
AUBURN, Ala. — Ty Simpson and Isaiah Horton connected on three touchdowns, the last on a fourth-down play in the waning minutes, and No. 10 Alabama escaped Auburn with a 27-20 victory in the Iron Bowl on Saturday night.
Alabama advanced to face fourth-ranked Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game next week in Atlanta and improved its chances of making the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide (10-2, 7-1) beat Georgia 24-21 on the road in the regular season.
Alabama was on the ropes again at Jordan-Hare Stadium. After the Tide led 17-0 early in the second quarter, the score was tied down the stretch. But Simpson found Horton on a fourth-and-2 play from the Auburn 6 with 3:50 remaining.
“He didn’t panic at all,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said about Simpson. “The experiences we’ve had all season long put him in that spot, and he took advantage of it.”
It was the third and most important hookup of the night for Simpson and Horton. The duo also connected on 6- and 3-yard scores in the first half. But instead of kicking a sure field goal attempt, DeBoer gambled with his offense and then celebrated his first trip to the SEC title game.
“It starts with our head coach,” Simpson said. “It comes from him, our resiliency and it just goes down the line. What a great team win.”
Simpson completed 19 of 35 passes for a season-low 122 yards. Horton finished with five catches for 35 yards, with all three scores coming in the red zone. Alabama won despite totaling 280 yards.
“These guys, they give you everything they got every single day,” DeBoer said, pausing to collect his emotions. “It’s been a long road, but I can’t wait to do more with them next weekend.”
Alabama’s Jam Miller ran for 83 yards before leaving because of an injury.
Ashton Daniels led Auburn (5-7, 1-7) with 259 passing and 108 yards rushing. Malcolm Simmons hauled in two long passes, including a 64-yarder for a touchdown and a 66-yarder that set up a score. But Auburn, which had done such a solid job of limiting turnovers this season, coughed up the ball late and failed to become bowl-eligible under interim coach DJ Durkin.
Daniels had the Tigers on the move, taking advantage of a pass interference penalty and scrambling for a first down on fourth-and-2, but star receiver Cam Coleman fumbled with 33 seconds left.
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.
Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.
Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.
Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.
