Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe both came up empty in their final-lap bump and spin while vying for the lead Sunday night. Their collision cleared the way for Kyle Busch to swoop in for a surprise victory on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track, but the two avid dirt racers were able to shake hands in a civil discussion of their late-race battle.
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Reddick recovered to finish second in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, but the chance for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory evaporated less than half a lap from the end of the Food City Dirt Race. Briscoe ended up 22nd in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford when his last-ditch slide from the low side went awry.
“I don’t think I did everything right, to be honest with you,” Reddick said. “Briscoe was able to run me back down there. Just looking at it, I should have done a little bit better job of just — I don’t know. I shouldn’t have let him get that close. He ran me back down. Worked really hard to do that. I mean, you’re racing on dirt, going for the move on the final corner. It’s everything that as a driver you hope to battle for in his situation. Made it really exciting for the fans, so …
“It does suck, but we were able to finish second still. I’m being honest. I should have done a better job and pulled away so he wasn’t in range to try to make that move. That’s how I look at it.”
The two combined to lead the majority of the 250-lap race; Reddick was in front for 99 laps, and Briscoe led 59.