Reddick Notches Number Four at Darlington
Despite early issues, Reddick delivers at one of the series’ most challenging ovals.
Tyler Reddick has scored his fourth victory of the season, and we’re only six races in. He’s won at a superspeedway, a road course, and arguably the toughest oval on the schedule – Darlington.
While fans of other drivers may be miffed that their favorite hasn’t won yet, it’s impressive to watch a dominant driver in a dominant car show their skills off week in and week out. We’re eager to see how the 23XI crew performs at short tracks and intermediates this season as well – they’ve proven unequivocally that they’re fast everywhere else. The Toyotas are doing great overall, with all three teams performing well – but it’s clear that 23XI is the fastest of the bunch.
Brad Keselowski deserves recognition as well for an impressive run despite a broken leg sustained during the offseason. Keselowski says it hurts, but he’s comfortable once he’s in the car. That much is obvious from his runner-up finish.
Reddick himself fought some adversity, with a failing battery and a bad pit stop putting him behind the eight ball early. Reddick and his teammate Bubba Wallace both started on the front row, but a shunt from team owner Denny Hamlin ruined Wallace’s chance for a good finish.
Reddick’s ability to conserve his tires paid dividends, however. He was able to drive more laps on old tires without losing as much time at a track known for eating tires like potato chips. Smooth driving and economical steering inputs made up for the bad pit stop, while careful battery management mitigated what could have been a much larger issue. Reddick eschewed his cool suit, opting to sweat it out in the literal sense. It was worth it.
Regardless of the cool suit situation, Reddick looks composed and calm out on the track. He demonstrates impeccable racecraft and maturity at a level that belies the fact that a third of his career wins have come since February. Next Sunday, the series heads to Martinsville – and we’ll finally get to see how those bad fast 23XI cars behave at a short track.
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