Tyler Reddick claimed the Xfinity Series title with his win in Saturday’s season finale.
Reddick led 44 laps, including the final 37, on his way to his third career win.
Reddick beat Cole Custer, John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Hemric and Austin Cindric.
Christopher Bell finished 11th, a lap down after he pit with 10 laps to go for a flat tire.
Click here for Xfinity race results
Elliott Sadler ended his final full-time season fifth in the standings.
Tyler Reddick won Saturday’s Xfinity race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the Xfinity Series championship.
The win is the first for the JR Motorsports rookie since he won the season opener at Daytona.
Reddick led 44 of 200 laps and defeated Cole Custer (second), Daniel Hemric (fourth) and Christopher Bell (11th) for the title.
Custer led a race-high 95 laps but lost the lead in the final stage during green-flag pit stops after he stayed out a few laps longer than Reddick and Bell.
Reddick took the lead when he passed Bell out of Turn 4 with 37 laps to go. He spent nearly the entire final run driving against the outside wall.
“The year wasn’t the smoothest for us, but I knew coming in here if we just made it to Homestead, this is a great track for me,” Reddick told NBCSN. “It rewards my aggression. Tonight we hit the wall a lot, but the car kept in one piece long enough to get to the end.”
The race was Reddick’s last for JRM before moving to Richard Childress Racing for 2019.
Bell, who won a rookie record seven races this season, had to pit for a flat tire with 10 laps to go.
“We just weren’t good enough,” Bell told NBCSN. “Bottom line, I wasn’t fast enough. Once the tires started wearing away, those guys just drove right back by me.”
STAGE 1 WINNER: Cole Custer
STAGE 2 WINNER: Cole Custer
MORE: Race results, points report
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: With his title, Tyler Reddick also claimed the Rookie of the Year award over Christopher Bell.
OWNERS TITLE: Cole Custer’s second place finish earned Stewart-Haas Racing the owners championship.
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: John Hunter Nemechek led 52 laps and finished third … Ryan Preece placed sixth in his last start for Joe Gibbs Racing … Ross Chastain placed 16th in his last start for JD Motorsports before moving to Chip Ganassi Racing full-time in next season.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Elliott Sadler finished 14th, a lap off the lead in his final full-time start after he pit with 20 laps to go for a vibration … Caesar Bacarella placed 34th after he spun on the final lap of Stage 1.
NOTABLE: Tyler Reddick is the first driver to win the first and last race of the season in the Xfinity Series … All three of JR Motorsports’ Xfinity titles have come with the No. 9 car … Reddick joins Chase Elliott (2014) and William Byron (2017) as the third rookie to win the title … Reddick gave crew chief David Elenz his second consecutive Xfinity title after he won with Byron last year.
QUOTE OF THE RACE No. 1: “We just stuck to our plan. I’m not honestly second-guessing it. Our lap times over the course of the race, we were as good as we were the whole race at the end of the race. (Tyler Reddick) found a lot of speed at the end.” – Crew chief Jeff Meendering to NBC Sports on the pit strategy to not stop immediately after Tyler Reddick made his final stop.
QUOTE OF THE RACE No. 2: “I couldn’t do it. I don’t know, I think that’s just something I need to practice I guess. I’m at a loss for words for that.” Cole Custer to NBCSN on not being able to catch Tyler Reddick in the closing laps while running against the wall.
WHAT’S NEXT: The 2019 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 16.
Championship 4 driver Cole Custer won the pole for today’s Xfinity Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
Custer earned his sixth pole of the year with a top speed of 165.598 mph. Custer is the defending winner of the Ford EcoBoost 300.
“It gives me some confidence for sure, but obviously it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t pay to win the pole,” Custer told NBCSN.
Christopher Bell qualified second at 165.345 mph. He has started on the front row in four of the last five races.
Tyler Reddick qualified fourth and Daniel Hemric will start 10th, his worst start of the playoffs.
The top five will be Custer, Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Reddick and Austin Cindric.
Elliott Sadler qualified seventh for his last race as a full-time driver.
NASCAR’s final race weekend of the year begins today at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
All three national series will be in action with the day capped off by Cup qualifying and the Camping World Truck Series finale.
Here is the day’s full schedule with TV and radio info:
(All times are Eastern)
7 a.m. – Truck Series garage opens
8:35 – 9:25 a.m. – Truck practice (No TV)
10 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Cup garage open
10:05 – 10:55 a.m. – Final Truck practice (No TV)
11 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Xfinity garage open
1 – 2:20 p.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN, Motor Racing Network)
2:35 – 3:25 p.m. – Xfinity practice (NBCSN)
3:45 p.m. – Truck Series qualifying; single truck/two rounds (Fox Sports 1)
5:05 – 5:55 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice (NBCSN)
6 p.m. – Truck Series driver-crew chief meeting
6:10 p.m. – Cup qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
7:30 p.m. – Truck Series driver introductions
8 p.m. – Ford EcoBoost 200; 134 laps/201 miles (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Jeff Burton thinks Cole Custer is “hurt” by his lack of experience in championship scenarios in racing, but that he’s ultimately the favorite to win the Xfinity Series title Saturday in Miami.
Custer is the defending winner of the Ford EcoBoost 300. While not part of the Championship 4 last year, Custer led 182 of 200 laps and won by 15 seconds over Sam Hornish Jr.
Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. discussed on NASCAR America who they think is the favorite in Saturday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN), as Custer faces seven-time winner Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric.
“I don’t know that Custer is the favorite for me,” Earnhardt said. “I think Christopher Bell is probably going to have the best speed. I’d be surprised if Custer is faster than him in the practice and the race.
Bell will make his second Xfinity start in Miami, but his fifth overall in NASCAR after also making three Truck Series starts there. Two of those were as part of the Championship 4.
Letarte said Reddick is the driver “I don’t want to see in my mirror.”
“I feel his inexperience may almost be a benefit because he may go past the edge, but until he hits something, he’ll probably be closing on your bumper putting the pressure on you to see if you can make a mistake or not,” Letarte said.
Watch the above video for more.
