By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
For the second time in the last three Xfinity Series races at Pocono Raceway, the win was decided by a last-lap pass.
This time, Cole Custer waited until the final corner before he pounced on leader Tyler Reddick, who burst to the race lead one lap prior, however, made multiple mistakes toward losing the lead off Turn 3.
Finishing second, Reddick was frustrated in the errors that led up to the checkered flag.
“It’s just unfortunate to work so hard, be so aggressive, get there and then… give it up on the last corner,” Reddick said. “It’s frustrating. I hate it for our guys. We overcame some issues today, we had the caution at the end and almost won it there.”
Hitting the wall exiting Turn 1 on the white flag, Reddick knew he had a battle on his hands for the final two corners.
“I just needed to finish that race off a little better,” he said. “I tried to save it, throw some rear brake into it to make sure I didn
“I felt great until the last lap. I need to quit giving up races on the last lap to Cole Custer.”
Looking back, there was no one mistake that cost him the win. It was a culmination of errors that gave it away.
“Not hit the fence, not overdrive Turn 1, not
Even getting to the lead was a near-miracle, as the reigning champion dive-bombed to the inside of Custer off the restart into Turn 1 to take the lead. Overall, the restarts were what made Saturday’s race fun, said Reddick.
“I felt I had an opportunity there,” he said. “Cole didn’t know where I was going and I got an opportunity to get to his corner panel. I drove it in there real deep, cleared him and somehow, it worked.
“The restarts were always what you expect here at Pocono — people pushing hard, working together. Up until the last one when they’re not, then it’s chaos from there on out.”