Despite Entering Playoffs in His First Season With Michael Jordan, Tyler Reddick Makes Blunt 7-Word Admission as the Fastest Race Comes Closer

Published 09/21/2023, 11:34 AM EDT

This is not the first time Tyler Reddick is feeling the pressure of the playoff battle. Despite having a cheeky win at the Kansas Motor Speedway, he understands the gravity of the situation that all 12 drivers are in right now. The main bottom line of the playoff contention now is not to make mistakes and just survive. With Texas and Talladega on his bucket list for the next couple of weeks, the 23XI Racing sensation revealed his fears.

Talladega and Daytona are the only two Superspeedways of NASCAR. However, Talladega is special for many reasons. It is the biggest and the steepest oval track with three and even four-wide racing a staple. Tyler Reddick hence felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins as he juxtaposed the odds of winning at Texas and Talladega.

Tyler Reddick is more confident about Texas than about Talladega

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Tyler Reddick has good feelings about Texas Motor Speedway. With the resurgence of the 23XI Racing team into the playoff picture, Reddick is sure about the speed of the Toyotas. And he felt like his #45 Cup car had enough speed to get him and his team at least one win in the next round of the 2023 playoffs.

Throwback to last year, despite suffering from a penalty for risky driving on the pit road, Tyler Reddick led 70 laps of the 334-lap-long race at the Texas Motor Speedway to win it for his then-team, Richard Childress Racing. So it is quite natural why he is not worried too much about Texas. While talking to Steve Letarte live on NASCAR MRN, he said the same.

“I look at Texas, a place that has been a success last year,” he said, “It was a crazy race for sure a lot of people fought adversity.”

However, when it came to Talladega, Tyler’s voice seemed to fall. He admitted, “It’s really tricky; Talladega…so many things can go wrong there, so many things can shift.”

He explained that all he would be aiming at was to get more control and speed in his car over the next few rounds. He regained confidence as he declared, “We are working on that already. It should all come back to Talladega. We have enough speed if we get in a tricky spot and we are close on points. I think we have enough speed…we’re kind of in a good spot.”

Watch this story: Fans Rally Behind Tyler Reddick as he disrespects Michael Jordan’s $150 Million NASCAR Team

Tyler Reddick might not be the most confident about Talladega, but looking back at his performance in the 2019 MoneyLion 300, he should be bubbling with confidence.

Luck and Talladega once worked hand in hand for Reddick

The right side of his RCR #2 Chevy was heavily damaged. On top of that, NASCAR slammed a speeding penalty on him down the pit road. However, Tyler Reddick beat all odds to win the Xfinity Dash for Cash award of $100,000.

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Even luck was with him. Post his contact with the wall, he was barely 200 yards from going down a lap when NASCAR brought out a yellow flag on lap 66 for debris in Turn 1. Fast forward 20 laps; he escaped contact with Noah Gragson’s Chevrolet without any major damage.

To top it all off, he also managed to avoid a three-way contact with Michael Annett, Justin Allgaier, and Cole Custer on lap 95. After that, he beat Gray Gaulding and Christopher Bell in a two-lap shootout to seize the day.

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Knowing all the above, don’t you think Tyler Reddick should be more confident going into Talladega? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Tyler Reddick Admits Michael Jordan Wasn’t “Expecting a Lot” From Him, But It Was a Ploy for the Best

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Written by:

Soumyadeep is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. He has done his Master's in English Literature and is a semi-professional bodybuilder. He has, in recent years, channelized his love and commitment for motorsports into a building career path.

Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal

Despite Entering Playoffs in His First Season With Michael Jordan, Tyler Reddick Makes Blunt 7-Word Admission as the Fastest Race Comes Closer

Tyler Reddick is more confident about Texas than about Talladega

Luck and Talladega once worked hand in hand for Reddick

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