The cool suit, strategy, and sloppy pit stops. Although Tyler Reddick’s run appears spotless this season, there are still quite a few lapses on the team’s back end that could hamper their performance in the future. Unsurprisingly, the fans have overlooked these issues as most are celebrating the historic start he has had, but Reddick clarified this more recently.

Tyler Reddick highlights the struggle behind the success

“The things that have come our way in the first couple of races that we’ve gone on to win, they haven’t been clean races,” Reddick said, as he focused more on the issues than the team’s strengths for once this season. While his drive seemed spotless after he clinched those wins, it isn’t hard to miss out on the issues that he had.

Most recently at Darlington, he had a major voltage issue with his battery right at the beginning of the race, and he lost multiple positions owing to it. Moreover, there were some unavoidable circumstances that he was involved in at Atlanta.

“Daytona, the strategy went sideways. We claw back our way to the front to win that one. EchoPark Speedway, I literally wrecked with like 30 laps to go. COTA, we think we have a loose wheel. We risk it. We stay out. And then this past weekend at Darlington, our alternator fails lap one.” he added.

These issues have followed him in almost all the races that he has won so far. But Darlington remains the current highlight. After his alternator failed, he had no cooling in the car; in fact, he was seen throwing out his cooling liquid and replacing it with an ice pack, which he then kept in his racing suit. To fight through all of that, and then have to pit to change the battery, and then battle from the back of the field, and then clinch a race win was rather impressive.

This made Tyler Reddick’s win even more fought. Steve Letarte also credited his crew chief, Billy Scott, for making the right calls ever since the season started. He had a major role in getting the #45 team to the top of the table.

Even though Reddick seems a bit skeptical about his performance so far, there is no doubt that four race wins right at the start of the season have increased his odds of contending for the title. In fact, a seasoned NASCAR veteran declared the #45 team as the favorites for the championship this year, as Toyota’s dominance shook Chevrolet.

NASCAR veteran labels No. 45 team as championship favorites

Kevin Harvick has been around the sport for over three decades at this point. Having raced through multiple championship formats, it is safe to say that he has a strong idea of who has the best odds of winning, and as of now, his fingers point towards Tyler Reddick.

“You’ve got to be in that top six to win this championship when the points reset. So right now, Tyler Reddick’s put him in, himself in a fairly good position to be one of those six cars,” he said.

The main aspect of this is that 23XI Racing’s performance was boosted at the same time as Chevrolet began struggling. They haven’t won a single race in the season so far; meanwhile, Ford won at Phoenix (the only time a Toyota hasn’t won this year). Although the likes of Hendrick Motorsports and Chevy will certainly catch up with Toyota, it might be too late by the time, considering the Chase format.

“When you see the mistakes that are being made, and the finish is not being taken advantage of for guys that are running good and having catastrophic failure at the end of stages or at the end of the race like we saw with Kyle Larson this week again, it adds up,” Harvick added. “You might make the top 16, but you’re not winning this championship if you’re not in those top six.”

The Chase format will certainly reward Reddick and the rest of his crew. However, they will have to start working on the issues they’re currently facing. Although they have still won races, even the smallest of those issues recurring at a later stage during the season could hamper their chances of a title win.