Michael Jordan won a championship in Phoenix in 1993. Tyler Reddick ensured that his car owner will have a chance to win another title there this year.

Reddick went high and overtook Ryan Blaney on the final turn to win at Homestead-Miami on Sunday to secure a spot in NASCAR’s winner-take-all finale in Arizona in two weeks. Reddick led 98 of the 267 laps, the last of them the one that mattered most.

“The little kid drove his ass off,” said Jordan, whose 1993 title — the third of six NBA titles with the Bulls — came in Phoenix against the Suns. “I’m proud of him. ... He just let go and he just went for it. I’m glad. I’m glad. We needed it.”

Blaney was second and Denny Hamlin — a part-owner of Reddick’s car was third. Playoff drivers took the top six spots, with Christopher Bell fourth, Chase Elliott fifth and William Byron said.

Reddick and Joey Logano now are assured two of the four spots in NASCAR’s final four at Phoenix.

Reddick was third behind Blaney and Hamlin going into the final lap. He went low and got around Hamlin, and the three cars settled into a straight line along the wall before Reddick stayed high to scoot past Blaney.

“We’re going to do what it took to win this race,” Reddick said. “We’re fighting for a championship.”

Reddick became Homestead’s ninth different winner in the last nine years, joining Jimmie Johnson in 2016, Martin Truex Jr. in 2017, Logano in 2018, Kyle Busch in 2019, Hamlin in 2020, Byron in 2021, Kyle Larson in 2022 and Bell last year.

Logano was the only of the eight playoff drivers who came to Homestead assured of a berth in the season finale. He spent much of the day in the middle of the pack.

The other seven playoff drivers all jousted toward the front for most of the 267 laps. Hamlin led with two laps to go, Larson with one lap left, and then Reddick at the end.

“Had a great shot to win and I didn’t have a very good last lap,” said Blaney, who was also second at Homestead last year.

Bell and Byron have the inside track to grab the last two spots in the winner-take-all final four, though any of the six drivers who haven’t clinched a berth yet can by simply winning at Martinsville next week.

And championship week now has yet another twist. A hearing in the lawsuit that Jordan is part of against NASCAR over revenue sharing is scheduled for Nov. 4, six days before Reddick will try to win him a title in the desert.

Sainz takes F1 race, Norris closes gap: Carlos Sainz Jr. won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday and Lando Norris closed the gap in the Formula 1 title race after another contentious battle with three-time defending series champion and current season leader Max Verstappen.

Norris was penalized a week ago at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas for forcing Verstappen off track — a punishment that gave the final spot on the podium to the three-time reigning world champion.

The tables were turned when Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for banging wheels with Norris and forcing Norris off the track. He then was slapped with a second 10-second penalty for gaining position when he left the track.

Verstappen recovered to finish sixth, but Norris finished second to cut Verstappen’s lead to 47 points with four races remaining.