Kevin Harvick reacts to Tyler Reddick's 'grit and determination' leading to win at Homestead

Kevin Harvick was in shock as Tyler Reddick pulled off a seemingly impossible move to get to Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway this past weekend.

The No. 45 team is headed to the Championship 4, after Reddick rocketed past Ryan Blaney for the win in the final turn during the Straight Talk Wireless 400. Afterwards, during the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick tried to make sense of how it all went down, giving Reddick credit for the memorable moment.

“I was right there with (DeLana). We were actually eating dinner and I had to stop eating and go over and watch the race because I was really not expecting Tyler to be in position, just with that little bit that he had on his tires and those scuffed tires and everything that was in this scenario. I honestly thought it was over,” Harvick stated, regarding the final lap. “I really thought Blaney would go in there, protect the high line and Tyler would try some sort of crazy slide job and he’d drive back under him and drive off the corner. But that is not what transpired there.”

“We had Tyler Reddick on the Victory Lap this week and I just — that grit and determination. He had the trouble with his pit crew early in the race — not really his pit crew, just getting out of the pit stall, and they kept getting beat off pit road. Gave him a great speech of confidence, to say just shake it off, and then we get to this last sequence right here and he is up against the fence just ripping the fence, and Blaney just leaves two lanes open on the top, coming to the checkered flag, which just totally blew me away.”

While a wave of disappointment took over Blaney after seeing the mistake he made, it won’t take away from the sheer tenacity it took for Reddick to win at Homestead-Miami. He was an afterthought heading into the final restart, but he kept chugging and digging and he cam out on top.

If Tyler Reddick can cap off his impressive run with a Cup Series title, his drive from Homestead-Miami will take on a new life. The No. 45 Toyota wheelman etched his name into NASCAR history with a career-defining move, and he’ll be looking to top it in two weeks at Phoenix.