“It Is in Our Control”: Tyler Reddick Downplays Driver Frustration With NASCAR Scheduling

Drivers have expressed concern over the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs schedule this season, especially over the first round of the postseason. One superspeedway, one road course, and one short track event will make the Round of 16 one of the most diverse rounds this season. All three events during this round can be considered wildcard races to varied extents where anything can happen.

However, regular season champion Tyler Reddick feels that drivers do have a level of control over their fate at these tracks. That’s a lot different from what others have been saying of late.

Reddick is not a big fan of the Watkins Glen road course but he took part in a tire test there and has more confidence about racing at the venue than before. At Bristol last season, the Toyotas showed some great speed despite there being high tire degradation at the track.

If the Japanese manufacturer can bring such speed once again, the 23XI Racing star could have a chance to win at the short track as well. Atlanta is the most tricky event but the 28-year-old believes that drivers can stay away from wrecks if they’re smart about it.

“No, it is in our control. Maybe a wreck that happens in front of you is out of your control, but how you end up in that position is. Obviously, we know that qualifying is not our strength – we know that we will probably be starting back there in the mess a bit, but it is in our hands to get in front of it or get out of there, so it is very much in our control I feel like,” he told the media.

The #45 driver won the regular season championship by a single point after finishing P10 during the Southern 500. With a bag full of playoff points, Reddick will hope to make it to the championship round this season.

Joe Gibbs Racing star has concerns over round of 16

While the 28-year-old’s confidence is commendable, what Reddick has been saying is different from some of his other peers in the sport. Christopher Bell, for example, has expressed his concerns multiple times about the first-round schedule. The races that seem to have him worried are at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

“The schedule has me a little bit concerned, I’m sure everybody’s concerned about it having an extra speedway race in there and Bristol with the tire issues that we had in the spring and nobody knows what’s going to happen when we go back there for a second time. There are a lot of unknowns going into this year’s playoffs,” he said.

The JGR star has qualified as one of the final four in each of the last two seasons. He will be looking to go one step further and win the championship this time around.

The #20 Toyota driver has won three races this season and should have enough points to make it through to the next round if he does not run well given the unpredictable nature of the today’s race at Atlanta, an event which Bell is fearing the most.