Denny Hamlin Jumps to Tyler Reddick’s Defense As Playoff Disaster Looms

The tables have been well and truly turned around for Tyler Reddick. The man who won the regular season championship just four races ago now finds himself on the verge of being eliminated in the playoffs. As he goes into the Talladega race, a track where he won earlier this year, things are starting to get desperate for the #45 crew.

There has been criticism over how things have been of late for Reddick and his team but 23XI Racing boss Denny Hamlin recently swooped into the defense of his best-performing driver so far this year.

When Reddick became the regular season champion, confidence was at an all-time high. Many believed that there was not going to be any stopping the 28-year-old at least for the next few races. But he has had a dismal performance in the playoffs so far. It started with a decent P6 finish in Atlanta.

However, since that race, he has finished P27 at the Glen, P20 at Bristol, and P25 at Kansas. His cushion of playoff points has kept him alive as he suffers a slump at the worst possible time.

“Now, again this sport, you have these ebbs and flows and you’re not always going to be the fastest, but it just seems like the averages are now working themselves out. And, certainly, some of it too is the schedule and certainly these tracks that we’ve run. Four races in the Playoffs, it’s just hard to get results,” Hamlin said in a recent media interaction.

Reddick’s recent record at Talladega will give him some confidence heading into Sunday’s race but he has his work cut out for him. The #45 will start from P14 surrounded by cars and in danger of wrecking out early if he isn’t alert enough. It will be interesting to see how he navigates through the pack during the race.

Hamlin focused on winning the championship despite NASCAR lawsuit

Reddick’s issues aren’t the only thing that is worrying Hamlin at the moment. 23XI Racing is currently fighting a lawsuit against NASCAR over antitrust issues and the matter could drag on for months. He will hope that it does not affect his or any of his drivers’ races in the remainder of the season. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case for now.

The 43-year-old also wants to win his first Cup Series championship and that’s what he’s focussing on alongside the same.

“This has been on the plate for a while and certainly, from my standpoint it allows me actually more relief to focus on the 11 car and you know everything I’ve got to do there because it’s out it’s done and now there’s other people able to speak on it from the legality standpoint,” he explained.

Reddick has also said that nothing has been uncomfortable since the lawsuit was filed racing-wise. Both drivers are laser-focused on becoming champions and keeping the off-track issues away from it. For race fans, that surely must be good to hear. No one wants to see a driver losing their form due to a legal battle that has nothing to do with on-track racing per se.