Reddick finding his form before road-course test

HAMPTON, Ga. — Sunday’s fifth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway wasn’t precisely what Tyler Reddick wanted, but it was a significant step forward — especially considering there were some early doubts whether he would be able to compete in the race.

Reddick arrived at the track that morning not feeling well, forcing his 23XI Racing team to scramble to find an emergency substitution if necessary. Just hours before the green flag was scheduled to wave, John Hunter Nemechek was sitting in the No. 45 Toyota, making adjustments to the seating configuration so that either Reddick or Nemechek would feel comfortable.

Reddick powered through, however, and was among a noticeable Toyota surge in the Final Stage. The effort resulted in his second consecutive top-five result after finishes of 39th in the Daytona 500, 34th at Auto Club Speedway and 15th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

ATLANTA: Full recap, race results | Top five moments from the weekend

Stepping out of the car after the strong finish was a literal breath of fresh air for Reddick in light of his illness and figuratively for his team’s confidence moving forward.

“I’m alright,” Reddick said. “Picked a good time to kinda get over whatever it was that was going on. Made it through the race, don’t feel too bad. Wish we would have finished better than fifth, but, yeah, I definitely wasn’t my best out there today.”

After starting 16th, Reddick made his way near the front of the pack in the closing laps, joining up with Toyota teammates Denny Hamlin (also his boss, as co-owner of 23XI) and Christopher Bell. They couldn’t work together quickly enough, though, to get past the Fords of Brad Keselowski and race-winner Joey Logano.

“Every lap was an opportunity, for sure,” said Reddick, explaining the finish. “I don’t know. I was just trying to think about what the right time to make the move was and trying to do it to where all three of us — you know, me, Denny and Christopher — could kinda take advantage of the momentum. I just waited too long and kinda put Christopher and Denny in a spot where they were ready to go before I was. I’ll have to work on that going forward.”

Going forward, the schedule only gets better for Reddick, beginning with the first road-course challenge of the season — Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

Perhaps one of the forgotten story lines of the electric 2022 season was Reddick’s breakout year on road courses, winning at Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course while posting a 9.5 average finish across the six left-and-right circuit races. It was a remarkable run last season, to say the least.

According to Racing Insights, Reddick has led 20% of the laps on road courses in the last four races beginning at Road America. Specifically, at COTA, Reddick has never finished worse than ninth and is one of only four drivers with top 10s in both Cup races dating back to the inaugural series event in 2021.

If this momentum continues, this Sunday’s race is a perfect opportunity to flex his strength and earn his first victory with his new team. And so far, the record shows he has been among the handful of drivers to beat at nearly every road course in the Next Gen era.

COTA: Weekend schedule | Star-studded entry list highlights weekend ahead

The two recent top-five finishes have vaulted Reddick and the No. 45 team up the points standings, currently sitting 15th (and in the projected playoff outlook) as the fourth-highest-ranking Toyota. With the new road-course rules coming into effect for the first time this week, this next test could set the tone for many other races throughout the season.

Reddick will try to add to his blossoming road-course resume Sunday, March 26 in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the 3.41-mile circuit in Austin, Texas.