Ask most race car drivers and they’ll readily admit that the more chances they have to race — even if it’s in a different series than the one they normally race in — it’s usually to their benefit. Such is the case with NASCAR Cup drivers Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, who’ve taken part in considerable extracurricular driving, most notably sprint car racing on dirt tracks.
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Larson also competed in last year’s Indianapolis 500 (finishing 18th) and will again be in this year’s Greatest Spectacle in Racing, as he attempts to do “The Double” — competing in both IndyCar’s Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 nightcap the same day.
But while driving in other series works for Larson and Bell, Tyler Reddick — who also has a background in dirt racing like his two fellow rivals — is a bit more apprehensive, fearing it may interfere with his day job of driving the No. 45 NASCAR Cup Toyota for 23XI Racing. Particularly when your bosses are NBA icon Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin.
Reddick did bring up the topic of racing on dirt in his first contract negotiation with Jordan and Hamlin back in 2022 (even before he left Richard Childress Racing), but decided it was best to focus solely on his Cup efforts for now.
“I wouldn’t say it was a super-important factor, but it was one of the things that was important to me, having that freedom to do that,” Reddick told last week’s edition of SpeedFreaks. “It came up in discussions as things were coming together.
“I got the feeling from our conversations that as long as it doesn’t take away from competition-related things that we have during the week or take away from my commitments at the racetrack, that unless it’s something absolutely crazy-crazy, I should be able to have that freedom to do it.
“I’ve just found that with the Cup schedule and everything that happens during the week, I just haven’t gotten to the point where I’ve been able to pull myself from the week in, week out routine and go run a dirt race without negatively impacting our race weekend on the Cup side.”
But the lure of once again playing in the dirt isn’t completely lost on the California native. “I feel like over time, I’m hoping that (the chances of his racing in a sprint car) gets better,” the 29-year-old Reddick said. “Maybe I just need to pick a weekend and see if it hurts us.
“It’s kind of hard to judge. We’ve seen other drivers be able to do it and not impact their performance … I do wonder how that would look, how it would work. I just have to go out and pull the trigger on it and do it.”
There’s one other aspect Reddick must consider
However, there’s also a crucial factor that the former two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion (2018, 2019) admits he has to consider: namely, his wife.
“If it was up to the boss lady, I’d never get back in a 410 sprint car, that’s for sure,” he said with a laugh. “If I could find a way to pull it off, a great time to do is when she’s busy with baby no. 2.”
But that may not be the best idea to try and deceive his better half if he were to go out and drive in a sprint car race in secret. If that were to happen, “I wouldn’t be shocked to find some of my personal belongings in the garage,” Reddick added.
