The Weight of Underperformance Is Wearing on Tyler Reddick—and It Shows

Tyler Reddick is not a very confident man right now. 23XI Racing’s No. 45 driver barely made it into the playoffs after finishing the Cup Series race at Daytona in 21st place. By contrast, he was crowned the regular season champion last year. This downfall appears to have caused a huge dent in his character, as was evident from his post-race interview.

Former crew chief Steve Letarte noted on NASCAR: Inside the Race that Reddick was unusually somber after confirming his playoff berth. He also said that it caused him to worry about the driver’s mindset going into the postseason.

Reddick is usually seen with a light and easygoing mood. So, it isn’t without reason that people are concerned about him. But then, the only solution for this is to win. Letarte said, “I guess it’s going to be hard to kind of predict where the #45 is going to land at Darlington.

“I actually think the first lap of practice for the #45 couldn’t be more important. Like, if he jumps up there top of the board, it’s going to be like, ‘Okay, he’s back.’ It’s going to be like an adrenaline shot for this #45 team.” 

Through the first 26 races of the season, Reddick hasn’t recorded a single win. Russell Wenrich of NASCAR Insights felt Reddick was fifth-best in the entire field when it comes to speed, fourth-best at passing, and eighth-best on restarts.

So, where is the problem? The one area where he could use improvement is his pit crew, which Wenrich ranked at 15th overall.

Reddick wants to clean things up going forward

By many means, this is rock bottom for Reddick. He has fallen into a deep pit from being a very serious championship contender. What’s fortunate for him is that there is still ample time to turn things around.

When speaking to the press, the 29-year-old made it clear that he was aware of what he needed to do. He said, “We’re going to have to clean it up, and we’re going to have to be forced to do that in the middle of the playoffs.

“Honestly, I don’t even know where we’re going after Darlington at this point. Take it one race at a time at this point. We’ve got work to do for sure. I think we’re all capable of it.”

The immediate next goal for Reddick is to break this winless streak. As soon as he does, team morale will rise and the No. 45 group will be back performing at their usual level. Hopefully, this turnaround comes at Darlington this upcoming weekend.