Tyler Reddick Inching Closer to First Career Cup Win

Chase Briscoe's triumph in Phoenix was a memorable one for sure. They say you never forget your first win, and for good reason. The closing laps of the race featured three drivers that were all eager for their first taste of victory in the Cup Series, but this one belongs to Briscoe, who finally got Stewart Haas Racing back to their winning ways.

Two of the four races this season have been first-time winners, with Austin Cindric claiming the ultimate prize by winning the Daytona 500 last month. This could be a trend that continues well into the season, with so many drivers performing well each weekend. Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Harrison Burton all have a realistic shot to follow in their footsteps this year.

The one driver that really stands out among that group is Reddick. After a fantastic sophomore season last year, the Richard Childress Racing driver is proving once again that he has the talent to become a consistent race winner in the Cup Series. Coming into this weekend's event at Phoenix, Reddick had led the most laps of any driver this season.

After crashing out of the Daytona 500, Reddick led 90 laps at Fontana before a cut tire ruined his day. Last weekend he scored a 7th place finish and did even better this weekend at Phoenix with a 3rd place result in his Chevrolet.

The battle for the checkered flag between Briscoe, Chastain, and Reddick was intense. Reddick compared the situation to being cut off on the highway. "It’s like, ‘Who is going to lift off the throttle first going off into Turn 1?’" he said. "It was a lot of fun. I wish I could have been able to drive it in deeper, but that was all I had. I couldn't go any further. I would have fenced it. I knew some ridiculous, crazy move wasn’t going to win the race for me.”

It was still another positive day for the No. 8 team. “Those type of situations are the ones you work all week to put yourself in, the end of the race, a restart or a long green-flag run, whatever it might be,” Reddick explained. “You have those moments, all the work you put in in the offseason, whatever it may be, however long it may be. That’s what it is all for, so you have the good payoff. Not first. Third is not bad. We’ll learn from it.”

While Reddick has been one of the fastest guys behind the wheel this season, he has had some well-documented trouble inside the car. The 26-year old has been battling leg numbness with the NextGen car, but did not appear to have any issues on Sunday. It has been a problem that the team has been trying to eradicate the past couple of weeks.

"I didn't know where the gas pedal was that well, and I could not feel the brake at all. So I actually made it worse, which is not good," Reddick said last week. "I left the race absolutely just dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that it got worse, we made it worse."

Reddick's crew chief Randall Burnett stated that BSCI, a company that specializes in seat pours for NASCAR drivers, was coming to their race shop to help fit Reddick in his Phoenix car. "It's been a little bit of an ongoing battle, and Tyler's fought a little bit of this previous to this new car," Burnett said. "But it's certainly been magnified here in the past couple of weeks."

It has been difficult to diagnose the leg problems because they can't simulate racing conditions in the garage. With that issue hopefully in the rearview mirror, Tyler and the team can focus on their car setup and strategy going into the race weekend.

Reddick scored points in both stages on Sunday and averaged a running position of sixth. He was no lower than 13th throughout the afternoon. He has been a major factor in the resurgence that RCR has experienced over the last couple of years. He took the final playoff spot from his teammate Austin Dillon last year, and is ready to get back into the postseason again. A race win would get that done, and it could come very soon.

The next stop on the schedule is a trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway for 500 miles of action around the 1.5-mile oval. Reddick has performed well there, finishing 16th in his first start in 2020 and earning a 6th place finish there in the Fall race last year. The next first-time winner could come next weekend, and it could very well be Reddick this time.