Denny Hamlin explains how Tyler Reddick could have avoided Las Vegas wreck

Denny Hamlin believes that Tyler Reddick got too aggressive before flipping his car during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race in Las Vegas. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin revealed How Reddick could have avoided the wreck that ended his day.

“A rule of thumb I found is that if you want to make a move three-wide high, you need to get established three-wide probably at least by three-quarters of the way through the corner,” Denny Hamlin said. “That allows time for the spotters to tell the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) and the 9 (Chase Elliott), ‘Hey, you’re now three-wide.’ We’ve already started gassing up halfway through the corner or probably at the 40 percent mark of the corner, we’re already accelerating. We’re wide open, we’re trying to accelerate off the corner.

“To ask us to change direction that late in the corner, there’s just no opportunity to do that, and it’s also too late to lift. Typically on mile and a half, if you’re going to get three-wide, you need to get there sooner than later. If you try to just put your nose up there late, there’s just not enough time for redirection.”

Tyler Reddick explains why he was ‘aggressive’ before wreck

The wreck happened after the Stage 2 restart as Reddick, Truex and Elliott squeezed together at the exit of Turn 4. Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski were also involved in the crash, but the only drivers who were sidelined were Reddick and Keselowski.

“You have to be aggressive on the restart,” Reddick said, per NASCAR.com. “It is hard to pass after a while. Being myself on a mile and a half, being aggressive — by the time I realized I was in trouble, the 19 (Truex) started sliding and the 9 (Elliott) was coming up, and I was pretty much already on their outside at that point, with nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them sliding to be more conservative to avoid an incident — just not who I am, but it is unfortunate. It took us out of the race.

“We had a really, really fast Jordan Brand Toyota Camry, probably would have been in the mix all race long, but we will go to Homestead — a place where I have had to get it done before — and go for it there.”