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MADISON, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 06: William Sawalich, driver of the #18 Soundgear Toyota, and Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at WWT Raceway on September 06, 2025 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
The Kansas Speedway provided a rollercoaster of action during the most recent NASCAR Cup Series playoff race, with drivers, teams, and fans on the edge until the last lap. In the confusion of it all, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and William Byron each found their own obstacles and were forced to factor in their ability, tact, and patience.
Some would be crippled by having pit troubles and getting confused at the halfway stage, but others used the chaos of the restarts to their advantage and saved their day.
Following the checkered flag, every driver would look back on their result and provide some very outspoken reporting on how they came through one of the most unruly races of the year.
Tyler Reddick admits that those Pit Road errors cost him his shot at Kansas.
Tyler Reddick, finishing seventh, admitted that mistakes on pit road prevented him from mounting a serious challenge for the win.
“I just tried to give (Wallace) the best push I could. I was really fortunate during the previous restart that he was able to hold the lead,” Reddick said. “I don’t know, I tried to push him, and we just got separated. Obviously, I want to push him out, try to help him win, and then obviously keep the gap closed up to try to be in second and have a shot at it myself.”
Despite the frustrations, Reddick maintained a positive outlook, acknowledging the speed of his Toyota Camry.
“It was a tough day. I really thought our beast Toyota Camry was really fast. We just had struggles on pit road. That’s part of racing. It’s tough,” he added. He is now looking ahead to the next playoff race at Charlotte, aiming to correct mistakes and maximize performance.
“Yeah, obviously there’s only one thing we can do at Charlotte, and that’s what we’ll be focused on,” Reddick concluded.
Brad Keselowski Says Chaotic Restarts Saved His Day After Lucky Dog Trouble
Brad Keselowski finished eighth after a rollercoaster day marked by messy restarts and brief setbacks. Keselowski explained that the race’s chaos actually worked in his favor after being trapped a lap down.
“At the end of Stage 2, the car got a lot better. We were trapped a lap down with how the lucky dog and stuff played out, and we fought through that and got to the lead lap and started picking them off,” he said.
Keselowski credited the team’s ability to adapt during restarts as key to securing a solid finish. “And then on the last few restarts, we picked off a few more and got a decent finish out of it. It’s good. It means the potential is there. We’ve just got to execute. We got a good last restart. A lot was going on, and it was really messy, but we made the most of it,” he added.
William Byron Calls Kansas Run ‘Confusing’ but Finds Speed With Bold Changes
William Byron faced early struggles but found speed after making significant adjustments to his car, finishing ninth.
“We struggled there at the beginning. We missed something, but we made a bunch of changes and our No. 24 Chevrolet came to life there in the final stage,” Byron said.
He admitted that the early part of the race left him puzzled. “I’m not sure… it was really confusing, honestly. I couldn’t carry any speed, and then the changes we made seemed to fix it, and I could carry speed there at the end. Even on two tires, I was competitive on the restarts.”
Byron praised his team’s resilience in turning the day around. “It sucks that we’re having to throw ‘Hail Marys’ this time of year. We don’t want to do that. But this team is resilient. We weren’t going to give up. The fact of the matter was that we had to fix it and work on it. We just had to try a bunch of stuff, and we got the car going in the right direction. I could carry speed and do the things we needed to do there at the end,” he said.
Dogli Wilberforce is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce
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