During the Dixie Vodka 400 at Miami-Homestead, NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick almost embarrassed himself on the track. When the pack crossed the finish line to complete the penultimate lap, the white flag waved, as per protocol. In motorsport language, a white flag normally indicates the final lap of the race.
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Unfortunately, he misinterpreted the flag and thought that the race was over. The fourth-placed man eased off the throttle after taking the white flag after completing lap 266 out of 267. Luckily, his spotter Derek Kneeland and crew chief Randall Burnett were alert enough to remind him that he had one more lap.
“Keep going, keep going. Go, it’s the last lap dog!” Burnett urged. The good news was that Reddick managed not to lose any positions when he backed off.
How did Tyler Reddick manage to keep his position?
As it turned out, Reddick built up a significant gap between himself and 5th-placed Aric Almirola on the last lap. So, in spite of the momentary brain-fade, he still held fourth place from the 36-year old. According to NASCAR’s timing screens, his lap of over 143 MPH was 10 MPH slower than every other driver in the top five.
Admittedly, this is Reddick’s first year in the Cup Series. However, he won back-to-back Xfinity Series titles in 2018 and 2019, so he has no excuse for such a rookie mistake. Fortunately for him, there was no harm done and he held position, unlike in a few occasions in other racing series. There were occasions where racers eased off a lap too early, slowed down within sight of the chequered flag or losing it on the finish line.
Those kind of losses sting far worse for any racing driver or rider. This is because, they have done most of the donkey work, only for a lapse of concentration/awareness to ruin everything.
