Tyler Reddick rolls over in the opening race of the NASCAR semifinals

LAS VEGAS – NASCAR regular-season champion Tyler Reddick rolled over early in Sunday's playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Reddick, who had just won the first stage of the opening race of the semifinal round of the playoffs, was involved in a multi-car accident shortly after the start of the second stage. 23XI Racing's Toyota made contact with Chase Elliott, another title contender.

“You just have to be aggressive on restarts; “I only had a split second to make a decision,” Reddick said. “By the time I realized I was in trouble, it was too late. There was no real way out. Be a little conservative, that's what we had to do. We will learn from it.”

Reddick was trying to gain position on the track and misjudged how much space he had.

“I thought the hole was there, but it wasn't. It closed so quickly,” Reddick said over the radio.

The accident also drew attention from reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, who had gone from last in the field to finishing in the top 20 after a crash in Saturday practice prevented him from completing a qualifying lap.

Blaney and Elliott were able to continue, but the crash ended Reddick's race. Blaney lost two laps down; Elliott remained on the lead lap, but then went to the workshop for lengthy repairs.

The playoff field was reduced to eight drivers for the next three races. Four will compete for the Cup title in next month's season finale at Phoenix Raceway.