Tyler Reddick feels no further stress to cap off the season because the NASCAR Cup Collection champion after profitable the common season title.
However the 23XI Racing driver is aware of that stress will construct naturally if he makes a deep run within the postseason.
“You need to perceive the second, and it’s important to step up and carry out and execute every weekend,” Reddick mentioned. “This primary spherical, clearly, presents its challenges, however there are 16 of us all on this collectively. If one in every of us has a nasty day, there’ll in all probability be three or 4 of us that may, too. Hopefully, we will climate the unhealthy days and simply not have them.
“That’s has been our robust swimsuit – when issues occur, it appears to occur round us and we miss it. However we’ll simply see the way it goes.”
Reddick claimed the common season championship however begins because the quantity three seed with 28 playoff factors. Primary playoff seed Kyle Larson, whom Reddick beat by one level for the dignity, nonetheless wound up with 40 playoff factors via his 10 stage wins, 4 race wins, and 10 further playoff factors for being second within the common season standings.
The common season championship got here with 15 playoff factors for Reddick, which had been arguably much more precious to him and the No. 45 staff given how a lot they helped along with his seeding. Earlier than the reseed and the extra playoff factors had been awarded, Reddick solely had 13 playoff factors.
“I assume I didn’t actually take into consideration the place I’d have been if I had run second or third within the common season, however it’s good to see the place we’re at,” Reddick mentioned. “I do know we gave away at the least 12 playoff factors in some unspecified time in the future throughout the yr, however I believe all people else who is part of that dialog with me – Christopher [Bell] and Kyle [Larson] might all say the identical. I believe we’re in a great spot.”
Reddick, Larson, and Bell had been among the many better of the Cup Collection within the common season. Larson led in race wins (4), whereas Bell (3) and Reddick (2) had been shut behind. Larson topped the collection in laps led (1,088), whereas Bell was third-best within the class (721), and Reddick was fifth-best (473).
“I discovered fairly rapidly a month or so in the past after we had been making an attempt to shut in on Chase Elliott, Larson, and Denny Hamlin that while you all are working across the similar spot, it’s arduous to achieve 4, 5, six factors in a weekend,” Reddick mentioned. “So, it’s good to have these additional playoff factors.”
DraftKings, an official associate of NASCAR, lists Reddick because the fourth odds-on favourite to win the championship behind Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.
“Perhaps the numbers present that, however I don’t assume we’re carrying ourselves round like we’re the baddest group round,” Reddick mentioned. “I believe we simply do a very good job, every particular person on the staff, of doing their half all through the week, and we simply present as much as the racetrack, and we have now a very good quantity of focus, and we do a extremely good job of getting the outcomes that we’d like.
“Even on the times that we have now points that has been a pleasant factor about this yr is quite a lot of instances, numerous instances, it looks like, we’ve had some issues not go our means, and we’ve been in a position to combat via it and nonetheless get the outcomes.”
Reddick has by no means made the Championship 4 in his Cup Collection profession. He completed a career-best sixth within the championship standings final yr.
