23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick had yet another brilliant outing at Richmond Raceway last Sunday, finishing in third place. He is now within five points of leader Kyle Larson in the regular season standings and could potentially win the regular season championship. While that would be an incredible achievement, he also needs to be wary of what will come once the playoffs begin.
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Reddick made his way into the playoffs for the third time in his career last year. It was his first time doing so in the #45 Toyota Camry XSE fielded by his current team. He advanced to the Round of 12 with a win at Kansas and moved a step further before getting eliminated in the Round of 8. The key factor that resulted in his elimination last season was the lack of playoff points.
So close…what’s new? 🫤 pic.twitter.com/y39xx4MK2d
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) August 12, 2024
He believes that the mistakes that were made last time around could have been set right if he had a bit of a points cushion. He told the press in a recent interview, “I think one thing that worked against us at times was just making big mistakes. We didn’t have a whole lot of playoff points going into it last year compared to the guys we were competing against for the Championship Four.”
Fortunately, he is in a far better position this time. He holds eight playoff points after his Richmond outing and looks set to gather more. Notably, being a regular season champion would give him an extra 15 playoff points. He beams with optimism, “The thing that’s been on our side is the speed. It’s been allowing us to close the points gap. So, we’ve got a lot of positives going for us right now.”
Reddick’s streak of top-10 finishes paints positive picture as 23XI driver challenges for regular season championship
The latest release of NBC Sports’ NASCAR power rankings has Reddick seated at No. 1, the same as the previous release. He continues to be consistent with his performances and secured his fourth top-three finish in the last five races on Sunday. He is also riding a six-race streak of consecutive top-10 finishes. His next race will be at Michigan International Speedway.
Michigan is a 2-mile track with wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways. It naturally allows for high speeds and the lack of a requirement for restrictor plates makes racing even more interesting. With his Camry carrying all the speed in the world right now, Reddick could put on quite the show this upcoming weekend at the Great Lakes State.
The 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 goes live on Sunday, August 18, 2024, at 2:30 pm ET, marking the third last regular season event this season.
