Why Tyler Reddick Was Forced to Move from California to North Carolina to Make It Big in Racing

2014 proved to be a pivotal year in Tyler Reddick’s career. It marked the moment he earned an opportunity with Brad Keselowski Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. A talent determined to make the most of his break, Reddick seized the chance and began climbing the ladder to where he stands today. But taking that first step required a major life change, one that nearly every NASCAR hopeful eventually has to make.

Born in Corning, California, Reddick cut his teeth in Outlaw Karts before progressing through various grassroots racing series. He made his Truck Series debut in 2013 with Ken Schrader Racing, and his performances soon caught the attention of Brad Keselowski’s operation. At the time, Reddick was living in Southern Illinois, but he knew that to move forward in his career, he would have to pack his bags and relocate to Charlotte.

Reddick had to move away and settle down in Charlotte to make things easier on himself and focus completely on the golden chance he had earned.

He detailed the process on the Bonny Bones Show, “If you want to be a NASCAR stock car driver, you have got to put yourself in the Charlotte area. Pretty much all the major teams are here.”

“All the major manufacturers, whether it’s Ford, Toyota, Chevy… Ram’s kind of coming back into the picture. I mean, you’ve got to be in the location that all these people in the sport call homes. And so, yeah, it was the very same thing for me in that way.” 

The 23XI Driver has been living in Charlotte for 12 years since he first made the move, and safe to say, he doesn’t have any complaints about the region.

How Reddick handled starting over completely

When Reddick initially moved to Charlotte, he faced a challenge that anybody moving to a new city would. Fortunately for him, he had a few friends in the area who were all mostly trying to figure their way into the sport. He noted that even Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson resided in the same area as him at the time.

But who supported him the most and helped in those days was a friend named Greg Stump. He said, “He has painted helmets for maybe even more than 20 years now. He and I go back to my dirt racing days. We used to park next to each other at the dirt track, and he would work on his friend’s car. I had a couple of relationships, and Greg was the one who helped me get going in North Carolina.”

About the author

Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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