Tag: Tyler Reddick

Reddick drawing strength from a winning Duel that ‘wasn’t really a great race for us’

Despite winning the first Daytona 500 Duel of his Cup Series career Thursday night, Tyler Reddick had an unusual take on it afterward. “It wasn’t really a great race for us, to be honest with you,” said the 23XI Racing driver after climbing out of …

Despite winning the first Daytona 500 Duel of his Cup Series career Thursday night, Tyler Reddick had an unusual take on it afterward.

“It wasn’t really a great race for us, to be honest with you,” said the 23XI Racing driver after climbing out of his No. 45 Nasty Beast Toyota Camry.

In fact, Reddick had a point. After starting the 60-lap race from a lowly 19th qualifying position, the Californian was forced to fight his way to the front of the 21-car field. A near miss entering pit road nearly did Reddick in, but he saved the best for last — running fifth on the outside on the last lap, he sped through to cross the finish line 0.056s ahead of race runner-up Chase Elliott. Reddick will now start the Daytona 500 from P3 inside the second row.

“Yeah, a lot went on during that race,” said Reddick “I mean, it was a bit of a chaotic restart finish for myself. The green flag cycle didn’t really go as planned, but pretty much from the time we left pit road to the race end, it was much more of a race that we needed. We were able to drive back through most of the field and get somewhat back to the front. From there and with the caution falling the way it did, I ended up choosing the outside line and all of that just worked out really well. I was trying to get the No. 77 [Carson Hocevar] and the No. 9 [Chase Elliott] going and thankfully when they finally got hooked up, it was on the last lap and it left me an opportunity to get to the No. 5 and clear him on the back straightaway.”

The close call for Reddick came on lap 51 when a caution flag was waved and sent the lead pack of cars scrambling toward pit road.

“Yeah, that was almost really bad news,” he said of the close call. “I could have wrecked probably about three or four different times there. I didn’t, so I’ll take that! I definitely used some luck up right there, but we were able to hold onto the car and then from there, we didn’t lose anyone. Us four Toyotas were able to get together and push well together, so that was beneficial.”

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When the white flag flew on lap 59, Reddick was slotted-in at fifth place. Off Turn 2, Elliott and Hocevar dove to the bottom of the track, thus allowing Reddick to push Kyle Larson and himself clear.

“Yeah, this brand-new Toyota Camry does seem really good,” said Reddick. “We didn’t qualify where we wanted, obviously, but pretty much everything else so far this weekend out of the car has been fantastic. We look at that as something that excites me going to Atlanta next weekend, and obviously on top of that, the other racetracks that we have coming up on the schedule where downforce matters so much.

“The car pushes really good, that was exciting for me. I could be aggressive with my pushes all night long, so that is a really good thig to have right out of the gate. When we go into the 500 that is going to really matter. Having that confidence is important. The car was predictable. It wasn’t dancing around a lot. All of that sort of stuff is really important when you’re working the air.”

Push to pass? Reddick was encouraged by the way his No. 45 handled the pack during his Duel. Motorsport Images

For now though, Reddick is still basking in the glow of his first Daytona 500 Duel race win.

“Yeah, it was a cool moment,” he said. “I’ve got a win here in the Truck [Series] and in the Xfinity car and to win a Duel race here in the Cup car is really cool. Obviously, winning the July Daytona race, or the summer race would be really great. Winning the Daytona 500 would be incredible. To park a Cup car in victory lane here was nice. I’ve been absent from victory lane here at this place for some time, so it was nice to be back up front.

“Obviously there is 500 miles and 200 laps and a lot can take place on Sunday, but to have a good starting position like we earned [Thursday], and to have a good pit stall selection is all going to be really beneficial for us. We’ll have a great pit stall for the race. It should be good for us whether that’s for the green flag cycle or just having an opening-in and an opening-out. Some of those things matter a lot in a race like this where we will have green and yellow flag pit stops. Especially on those caution stops. When everyone is coming down pit road, it gets really chaotic. Having a clear path in and a clear path out really helps eliminate some of the errors that can take place and can ensure that you have efficient time on pit road.”

Reddick knows race day will be hyped to the hilt from the start.

“This is probably one of the earliest mornings that we have on the year and we are running around doing media and all of that sort of stuff. We have appearances and meet-and-greets,” he noted. “Between all of that and just the size of the crowd, the atmosphere, the hype, the energy that the fans bring, it really is kind of a bad formula for the drivers because we get strapped into the car and we’re ready to run through a brick wall in getting our 500-mile race started.

“A lot of times you will see chaos early because of that. We get so amped up from seeing the gigantic crowd that is here at the race. It all gets everyone really amped up and that’s I think we see a lot of accidents in this race, too. A lot of times at this race the biggest celebrities will be here as well as athletes from different sports. Legendary people come to this race and it gets everyone fired up.”

Reddick and 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace need little amping up after the promise the team showed in the Duels.

“We’re feeling good after Thursday night,” Reddick agreed. “Bubba didn’t get the finish he wanted to, surely, but he was able to avoid complete disaster and not getting into the inside wall during his spin. So thankfully the team avoided catastrophe there. Between my car and Bubba’s car, we’re both really happy with the handling of our Camrys. The rest of the Toyota group of drivers seem pretty happy with what they have, too.

“The Duel was good to get out of the way, and we got some validation of the hard work everyone at Toyota and TRD have done on this new Camry. It was cool to see the car perform like it did. Bring on the race!”

Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell give Toyota optimism for 2024 Daytona 500

Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell give Toyota optimism for the 2024 Daytona 500 after winning their qualifying duels on Thursday.

Toyota had some slight concerns after the 2024 Daytona 500 single-lap qualifying session. Erik Jones was the highest Toyota driver in 22nd place, while Jimmie Johnson, who needed to qualify for the show, didn’t have enough speed. However, the typical “qualify bad and race good” mantra continued into 2024 with the new Toyota bodies.

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] won the 60-lap shootout in the first qualifying duel, while Johnson secured a spot in the Daytona 500 on the final lap. It was a fun and dramatic ending, showing Toyota’s strength during the races. That carried over to the second qualifying duel after [autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] passed teammate Denny Hamlin on the final lap for the victory.

After qualifying, people were concerned over Toyota’s speed, but the duels have given the manufacturer some optimism. The new bodies are still prepared for racing conditions, and based on Thursday night, the manufacturer might be the favorite. It was an excellent night to be a member of Toyota, and the hope for them is the speed translates to Sunday.

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Tyler Reddick wins first Daytona 500 duel, full results and race recap

Tyler Reddick wins the first Daytona 500 qualifying duel in 2024. Check out the full results and race recap for Duel No. 1.

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag]’s first race at Daytona International Speedway has succeeded. Reddick pulled off the victory in the first Daytona 500 qualifying duel. However, the driver of the No. 45 car may not have been the show’s star. One driver has clinched a spot in the 2024 Daytona 500, and it was seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson was trailing J.J. Yeley on the final lap, but a last-turn pass locked him in. It came after the driver of the No. 84 car was involved in an accident caused by the top lane stacked up. Johnson said it was a very stressful experience and knew a challenge would come his way. Per usual, he beat the challenge that was in front of him.

As for Reddick, he will start in third place. The rest of the results will go in order on the inside of the Daytona 500 starting lineup. If the first Daytona 500 qualifying duel is as good as the first, we are in for a treat.

Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at DAYTONA finishing order:

  1. No. 45 Tyler Reddick
  2. No. 9 Chase Elliott
  3. No. 48 Alex Bowman
  4. No. 77 Carson Hocevar
  5. No. 43 Erik Jones
  6. No. 99 Daniel Suarez
  7. No. 22 Joey Logano
  8. No. 54 Ty Gibbs
  9. No. 5 Kyle Larson
  10. No. 17 Chris Buescher
  11. No. 1 Ross Chastain
  12. No. 84 Jimmie Johnson *LOCKED*
  13. No. 41 Ryan Preece
  14. No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
  15. No. 7 Corey LaJoie
  16. No. 44 J.J. Yeley *MISSED*
  17. No. 38 Todd Gilliland
  18. No. 3 Austin Dillon
  19. No. 62 Anthony Alfredo
  20. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  21. No. 31 Daniel Hemric

SiriusXM to sponsor Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick during 2024 NASCAR season

Toyota Racing announced on Wednesday morning that SiriusXM Radio will sponsor Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick during the 2024 NASCAR season.

Toyota Racing has continued its streak of announcements heading into the 2024 NASCAR season. On Wednesday morning, Toyota Racing announced that SiriusXM Radio would continue its partnership with the manufacturer heading into the new campaign. The company will sponsor Joe Gibbs Racing driver [autotag]Ty Gibbs[/autotag] and 23XI Racing driver [autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag].

This will be SiriusXM Radio’s first time sponsoring Gibbs, who will carry the company at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17 and Kansas Speedway on May 5. For Reddick, this will be his second straight year carrying SiriusXM Radio colors. The No. 45 car will be sponsored by the company at Richmond on March 31, Gateway on June 2, and New Hampshire on June 23.

Toyota’s partnership with SiriusXM Radio has succeeded, but a trip to victory lane would make it even better. Gibbs is on the verge of a breakthrough in the Cup Series, while Reddick has proven his ability to win annually. This could be a successful season for SiriusXM Radio, based on both drivers’ expectations in 2024.

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Ross Chastain’s discusses his altercation with Tyler Reddick at the Clash

Ross Chastain discusses his altercation with Tyler Reddick after the Busch Light Clash. Find out what Chastain had to say about Reddick!

The Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum is a place where feelings get hurt ahead of the official beginning of the 2024 NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway. This is due to the 0.25-mile track configuration as drivers bump into each other. This is what happened with [autotag]Ross Chastain[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag], as the No. 1 car made contact with the No. 45 after the race.

It looked like Reddick moved Chastain out of the way in the race’s final corner with a spin in front of them. The Trackhouse Racing driver wasn’t happy in the car and talked to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass about the incident after the event. Outside of the No. 1 entry, Chastain had a calmer tone.

“Yeah, I felt like when that last wreck happened, [Tyler Reddick] just drove through us,” Chastain said. “I mean, everybody ran into everybody…I just feel like at the end, Tyler took advantage of the wreck ahead and pushed his way through.”

“Me and Tyler are buddies; I can’t wait to get back on the bike with him or something and see how strong he’s gotten through the offseason.”

Chastain is not one to shy away from confrontation, and while nothing serious happened on Saturday night, it shows that he will continue to be himself. There was no driver carrying more momentum into the new campaign as Chastain after winning at Phoenix Raceway. Now, he will look ahead and try his best to claim his first Daytona 500 victory in two weeks.

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23XI Racing reveals Tyler Reddick’s new Jordan Brand paint scheme

23XI Racing has revealed Tyler Reddick’s new Jordan Brand paint scheme for the 2024 NASCAR season. Check out the new and improved look!

[autotag]23XI Racing[/autotag] is one of NASCAR’s most popular organizations despite debuting in 2021. The team has been an amazing addition to the Cup Series garage, led by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan. In fact, 2024 will be the first time that 23XI Racing’s lineup remains the same for a second straight year. Now, a new paint scheme for one of its drivers is on the way.

On Thursday morning, 23XI Racing revealed a new Jordan Brand paint scheme for [autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag], which is phenomenal. The paint scheme features Jordan Brand colors with a logo and design on the top of the car that resembles Kurt Busch’s paint scheme in his last victory at Kansas Speedway in 2022. Overall, this is one of the best paint schemes revealed during the offseason.

Jordan has put a lot of time into 23XI Racing as he continues to take NASCAR seriously. Sponsoring Reddick shows his belief that he can be a winning driver every week. After making the Round of 8, the driver of the No. 45 car is pushing for something more than last year. Reddick knows he has the talent to be a championship-level driver, and everyone at 23XI Racing has the same mindset.

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Tyler Reddick’s 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season in review

Tyler Reddick had a solid first year with 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Here, you can check out Reddick’s 2023 season in review!

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag]’s first season with 23XI Racing didn’t end with a NASCAR Cup Series championship but it was a good building block. Reddick ended the year with two wins, 10 top-5 finishes, and 16 top-10 finishes. Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 45 car, he was unable to advance out of the Round of 8 and finished sixth in the point standings.

Reddick won at Circuit of the Americas and Kansas Speedway along the way. There wasn’t as much success during his first season with 23XI Racing compared to Richard Childress Racing but it was to be expected. Reddick closed out the year with 470 laps led (eighth best) and a 15.7 average finishing position (14th best); however, he was plagued by mistakes in 2023.

The 23XI Racing driver really struggled in a five-race stretch starting at World Wide Technology Raceway as he earned a best finish of 27th place. Reddick’s season was best described as all or nothing in terms of results. Whether that be mistakes on the race track or by the crew on pit road, it really affected his ability to close out races during the 2023 NASCAR season.

These types of results are not surprising for Reddick as it was his first year with a new team. Yet, these mistakes from everyone within the No. 45 team need to be minimized moving forward. If not, Reddick will have a hard time truly contending. NASCAR is a team sport and this might be the greatest example of that being the case.

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Tyler Reddick’s championship hopes likely rely on performance at Homestead

Tyler Reddick’s chances at winning a NASCAR Cup Series championship likely hinge on his performance at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] enters Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 16-point deficit to the playoff cut-line and the stakes are incredibly high. Reddick has seen a lot of success at Homestead over the years, including two title-clinching wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Also, the 23XI Racing driver has two top-4 finishes in only three starts during his time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Reddick faces a very clear situation. This weekend’s race at Homestead needs to be maximized if he wants a shot at making the Championship 4. With a 16-point gap and Martinsville Speedway ahead, there needs to be significant ground made up on Sunday. This is due to Reddick’s lackluster past at Martinsville in the Cup Series.

Reddick has made seven starts at Martinsville and only has one top-15 finish, which was eighth place in 2021. However, the driver of the No. 45 car did earn 15 stage points at his first Martinsville race with 23XI Racing in 2023. Could this be an outlier or is Reddick truly improving at the race track? Quite frankly, he can’t take a chance on the latter.

If Homestead does not go Reddick’s way, the past suggests that it will be very difficult for him to make the Championship 4. Las Vegas was supposed to be a strong weekend for him too and that did not translate to the race track. This weekend’s race at Homestead needs to be a different story and it can’t result in the 35th-place finish that he earned after an accident last year.

It is impossible to say that one race can determine Reddick’s fate with two left in the Round of 8. However, the 23XI Racing driver has to maximize the opportunity ahead or he will be going to one of his worst race tracks on the schedule with a lot to overcome.

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Reddick eager to learn from frustrating Vegas run

Tyler Reddick looks at Sunday’s run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as an outlier for his 23XI Racing team and one they are eager to learn from immediately. “How we performed at Vegas is not ourselves,” Reddick said. Reddick finished eighth in the South …

Tyler Reddick looks at Sunday’s run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as an outlier for his 23XI Racing team and one they are eager to learn from immediately.

“How we performed at Vegas is not ourselves,” Reddick said.

Reddick finished eighth in the South Point 400, but it was the overall performance through the 400-mile event that brought frustration. In the opening race of the third round of the postseason, Reddick didn’t lead a lap and earned just nine stage points. It was an empty result after entering the weekend optimistic about being able to capitalize on the first intermediate track in the round.

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“We’re definitely further behind than we wanted to be coming out of Vegas,” Reddick said of being 16 points below the playoff grid cutline. “You guys know the stats better than me, but I swear I’ve heard it — we’ve led at like every mile-and-a-half track going into Vegas and then we didn’t lead a single one while we were there. That’s frustrating for sure because the car showed it had good speed; our handling was not what we’re kind of used to, and we really thought we were going to have a handle on it, literally, going into the race on Sunday, and we did not. Pretty much from the beginning of that race, it was a handful all day.

“The car had speed, it’s just the handling wasn’t there. It’s very unlike us. In practice, the car was fast, it was just very difficult to hang on and manage it over the course of a run, manage it in traffic, and it just built for a tough day for us. That was definitely disappointing but at the same time, we can learn from our mistakes and certain things we didn’t really like that our car did at Vegas as we approach Homestead. It was a tough day, for sure. Hopefully, on the other side of it, when we get to Homestead, we’ll be better.”

Whatever 23XI Racing threw at the Jordan Brand Camry at Las Vegas, it didn’t create the balance Reddick expected. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

Homestead-Miami Speedway has been kind to Reddick in the past, and it’s a track he’s always glad to see on the schedule. It’s the perfect place to move on to after a tough weekend, and Reddick said he can’t wait to get back on track.

In four Xfinity Series starts at Homestead-Miami, Reddick won twice, which also claimed him the series championship. Of his three Cup Series starts at the track, Reddick has two top-five finishes.

This is the furthest Reddick has ever been in the Cup Series postseason in three appearances. Until this year, he’d never made it out of the first round.

“I think coming into this year, it was just about getting both cars in the playoffs and just seeing where we’re at right now,” Reddick said. “When we look at the speed we’ve had this year, we’ve led a few laps at a number of different places; we’ve had good speed. So, I guess when the year started, we didn’t really know where our ceiling was going to be, but when we look at the speed we’ve had this year, I think being in the Round of 8 was very possible for us.

“When you look at how the years transpire, we’re about where we should be. I would like to take it a step further by all means, but I think for us, it’s been a good year. We just want to keep going. I don’t think anyone on this team or in this organization will ever settle for good enough. We’re just going to keep pushing.”

Tyler Reddick to drive in Air Jordan 8 paint scheme car

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is set to drive in an Air Jordan 8 inspired car for the next race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue on this week as the field has been cut to 8 drivers and that includes 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick.

The team, co-owned by Michael Jordan, saw Reddick advance into the round of 8 last week and now he begins his quest for the finals. And when he is out there this weekend in Las Vegas, he will do so again in an Air Jordan-inspired paint scheme.

This week, Reddick will drive in a paint scheme that pays homage to the classic Air Jordan 8 model. The multi-color paint scheme features black, purple, orange, and teal among other colors:

It also has the Air Jordan 8 emblem with a circle and the Jumpman logo splitting the purple, teal and grey. That emblem is on the Air Jordan 8 tongue and is an awesome addition.

Driving in Air Jordan-inspired paint schemes is nothing new for Reddick either as last week he drove in one that paid homage to the Air Jordan 5 “Grape” colorway.

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