DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Tyler Reddick crashed early in NASCARs regular-season finale Saturday night and still clinched a spot in the playoffs.
How?
Just nine laps later, Alex Bowman wrecked at Daytona International Speedway and, with Bowman out of the race, it automatically locked Reddick into the 16-driver field.
Reddick and Bowman both started the race trying to claim the final two spots in the playoffs. Reddick, last years regular-season champion, held a 29-point cushion over Bowman. But when he wrecked 18 laps into the race, he suddenly became in danger of missing out on racing for the championship just nine months after he made it to the title-deciding finale.
His worries went away on Lap 27 when Bowman was collected in a multi-car crash that ended the Hendrick Motorsports drivers race. Bowman can still claim the final spot in the playoffs if there is not a first-time winner Saturday night.
Theres just nothing you can do, welcome to superspeedway racing, Bowman said about the crash. We feel like it was out of our control and it is what it is. I am going to sit in front of a TV and watch, unfortunately we are on the sidelines watching and were going to find out here in a couple of hours.
Up Next
The playoffs open next Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The race was the regular-season finale in 2024 and won by Chase Briscoe, who used the victory to claim the final spot in the playoffs.
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AP auto racing:
美联社佛罗里达州代托纳比奇电 —— 泰勒·雷迪克（Tyler Reddick）在周六晚纳斯卡赛车常规赛收官战中虽早早撞车，但仍锁定了季后赛席位。
如何做到？
仅仅九圈过后，亚历克斯·鲍曼（Alex Bowman）在代托纳国际赛道发生撞车事故。随着鲍曼退赛，雷迪克（Reddick）自动锁定16强车手席位。
雷迪克（Reddick）和鲍曼（Bowman）在比赛开始时都试图争夺季后赛的最后两个席位。作为去年的常规赛冠军，雷迪克原本领先鲍曼29分。然而当他在第18圈发生撞车事故后，距离他闯入冠军争夺决赛仅过去九个月，这位车手突然面临无缘竞逐总冠军的危险。
第27圈时，鲍曼卷入多车相撞事故，亨德里克赛车手们的比赛就此终结，他的忧虑也随之消散。若周六晚间赛事未出现首位夺冠者，鲍曼仍可锁定季后赛最后一席。
“你无能为力，这就是超级赛道比赛的常态，”鲍曼在谈及这次撞车事故时说道。“我们觉得这超出了我们的控制范围，只能接受现实。我打算坐在电视机前观看比赛，不幸的是，我们现在只能作壁上观，几小时后就会知道结果。”
接下来
季后赛将于下周日（当地时间）在南卡罗来纳州达灵顿赛道拉开战幕。该赛道在2024赛季承办了常规赛收官战，**蔡斯·布里斯科**凭借本站胜利锁定季后赛最后一个席位。
美联社赛车新闻：
