Tyler Reddick is looking forward to heading to one of his favorite tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Homestead-Miami Speedway, for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400.
The trip to South Florida couldn’t come at a better time as Reddick is looking to bounce back from a tough start to the season in the two races at Daytona International Speedway. Reddick currently finds himself 33rd in the series standings after respective finishes of 27th and 28th.
“Nice thing is we’re going to Homestead, that’s been a good track for me,” Reddick said on MRN Outloud hosted by Woody Cain. “And you know, we kind of need a good run to get out of this unfortunate little two-race slide of not finishing very well or finishing at all, honestly. So, we’re looking ahead and really putting our hopes and having a good run to get us back going in the right direction.”
Homestead-Miami is the site of one of Reddick’s three career top fives in the Cup Series. Last year, he started 24th and finished fourth after placing third and second in the stages. Reddick also won the Xfinity Series championship in 2018 and 2019 with victories at the 1.5-mile track.
“Obviously this is a big race for our team and a big race for myself,” Reddick said. “We’ve ran good here in the past, but we can’t let that cloud us in a way that where if we don’t leave here with the top five or top 10 that you know, we still need to be happy about getting out of here with a good finish.”
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Reddick is one of the drivers that likes to run the high lane near the wall at Homestead, a track that provides multiple grooves for racing and good tire wear.
“It definitely adds to the excitement the track falls really off a cliff from Lap 1,” Reddick said. “It feels like with the tire heat and wear so you’re just constantly every single lap doing something different within car to get the absolute 100 percent capability out of the race car. So, it makes a lot of fun for a lot of the drivers that go there and really understand that and have fun with it.”
On Sunday, Reddick will look to follow Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell by becoming the third consecutive driver to score their first career Cup win. He will have to do it from the 35th starting position. A victory would also score race fans a free dinner on Monday night thanks to his sponsor.
“If we do win at Homestead with Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen on the hood on Monday night, got to go in, number eight special is free.,” Reddick said.
Motor Racing Network will have live coverage of Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
