23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is at the gates of Bristol Motor Speedway, ready to take on the battle of his life. After the first two races of the Cup Series playoffs Round of 16, he sits 37 points above the elimination line. He will need a strong result at the Last Great Colosseum if he wants to keep his hopes of becoming a champion alive. The problem is, he hasn’t had much luck here in the past.
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Over his career, Reddick has raced at Bristol on nine occasions. His best result of fourth place came in 2020 when he was still a driver for Richard Childress Racing. Since joining 23XI Racing, he has only managed to finish as high as 15th place. Had it been a different situation, he would have been all up for trying something new and securing a top result. But he cannot take such gambles now.
Talking to Corey LaJoie on the Stacking Pennies podcast, he said, “We kind of go to Bristol in the fall in this weird place where we have to be mindful of points. As much as you want to really throw something against the wall and try something, if it completely backfires on you, you know, those 36-37 points you have could disappear quickly.”
And so, safe is the name of the game. When the Cup Series field visited Bristol earlier this year, he started from 27th place and finished in 18th place. He finished last year’s night race in 20th place.
Not much has gone right for the No. 45 driver, except for a runner-up finish at Darlington, in recent weeks. The hopes are that he will be able to bounce back from the underwhelming 16th-place result at Gateway and secure his Round of 12 spot.
Will Reddick become a free agent soon?
As per his contract with 23XI Racing, Reddick can opt out of driving for them if his car doesn’t have an active charter attached to it. The judicial turn of events over the past several weeks, in concern to the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR, has ensured that he can avail that choice now. But team co-owner, Denny Hamlin, doesn’t expect that outcome.
Hamlin told the press at Gateway, “We have him under contract. I think he probably feels as confident as we are for December. I’m not sure.” By December, he refers to the trial that is scheduled for the first day of the final month of the year. Should things go against his expectations, Reddick will end up being one of the most prized free agents in motorsports.
