Tyler Reddick rarely comments on the racing style of other drivers when it doesn’t concern him. There was an instance this year when he went a step ahead and apologized to a fellow driver for no mistake of his. But after he was left frustrated with the way Austin Dillon secured his victory at Richmond this Sunday, Reddick launched quite the attack in his post-race interview after finishing third.
Advertisement
He explained how things went down from his vantage point in the No. 45 car, “He didn’t get in deep enough [in Turn 3], and then he throttled up and wrecked him [Joey Logano]. Then he realized he wasn’t going to beat the No. 11 [Denny Hamlin] back and he right-hooked him into the fence. Just crazy shit, honestly.” The last lap fiasco ended up granting Dillon a spot in the playoffs.
“Just crazy sh*t honestly … they’ve always told us right-hooking people is not the way to do it.” -Tyler Reddick on the finish.
He also comments on his run, saying that tonight was “the points night we needed.”
@TreyLyleVT pic.twitter.com/zDvAvYN1HL
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) August 12, 2024
While Reddick understands why the points are important to him, he doesn’t stand behind the means that were adopted to secure them. “They’ve always told us right-hooking people is not the way to do it,” he concluded. End of the day, he is just grateful that it wasn’t him who got wrecked from the lead. A more than fair share of misfortune has already come his way throughout this season.
He secured crucial stage points at Richmond by finishing Stage 1 in ninth place and Stage 2 in seventh place. The performance has now pushed him to second place on the points table, a whisker away from the leader Kyle Larson, who finished in seventh place. Only five points separate them with the regular season championship on the line.
“The points night we needed”
Reddick’s Camry was one of the fastest cars throughout the weekend. “It’s a great points-night all things considered,” he said, climbing out of it. “I guess if I was leading the race coming to the end, I would’ve wrecked. Finished somewhere outside the top 20. So, this is the points-night that we needed.”
The solid night was further strengthened by the fourth-place finish of his teammate, Bubba Wallace. Chase Elliott is breathing down Reddick’s neck on the driver standings from just a point behind. Hamlin sits further below with a 16-point gap.
For all cases, the battle for the lead is still very much on. The top four will draw their pistols out next at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway on August 18, Sunday.
