Reddick battles back to take the checkered flag

Tyler Reddick drove from last to first and won the Xfinity Series Food City 300 Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway after leader Justin Allgaier hit the wall late.

Reddick, the Xfinity Series points leader and defending series champion, had to start last in the field because his car failed inspection four times before the race in Bristol, Tennessee. His crew chief was ejected, Reddick wasn’t allowed to post a qualifying time, and he had to serve a pass-thru penalty at the start of the race.

“We just had some issues in tech, nothing crazy,” Reddick said.

Reddick still managed to drive his way to the front and pounced when Allgaier bounced off the wall with 11 laps remaining. Allgaier led 131 laps but dropped to eighth.

Only six cars finished on the lead lap. Kyle Busch led 137 laps and won the second stage but immediately went behind the wall with an engine failure.

“It just all of a sudden started about five, six laps before the stage ended,” Busch said. “Coming off the corner I got back into the gas and it broke and just tried to limp it home and that was all she had.”

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin captured the pole for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, a critical short-track showdown for drivers trying to qualify for the playoffs.

The Daytona 500 winner turned a lap at 129.230 mph in his Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in Friday’s qualifying session. His effort bumped Kyle Larson to second and Larson is not locked into the 16-driver playoff field with three races remaining to fill the final seven slots.

Winless on the season, Larson is ranked 13th in the standings and briefly held the pole until Hamlin’s fast lap. The two planned to watch Friday night’s Xfinity Series race together sitting in the Bristol stands, so Hamlin took great delight in knocking him from the top starting spot.

“I was wondering why he was giving me the finger when I pulled in,” said Hamlin, who won not only his first pole of the season but the first for Toyota and JGR.

Martin Truex Jr. qualified third in a Toyota for Gibbs, while Chip Ganassi Racing had two Chevrolets in the top four as Kurt Busch will be lined up behind Larson at the start of the race.