Tyler Reddick wants you to know Tim Richmond before the success with Darlington throwback paint scheme

“I mean he was an absolute character, that’s for sure,” Reddick said in an interview with 5 GOATs. “That’s not really tapping into it, right? He lived life to the fullest. He had no shame in being exactly who he was and I think that’s an important thing to take away from it all, right?”

That zest and excitement for life is many times apparent in Reddick as well. His explosion of emotion and elation after winning at Talladega showed that. It isn’t hard to see why the 23XI Racing driver connects with Richmond’s personality.

“He knew who he was and he wasn’t going to change who he was as an individual for anybody, and he conveyed that in his driving style and how he conducted himself as an individual with his energy that he would bring to the race track,” Reddick explained. “I don’t think there was many times I [have seen] Tim Richmond frown, he was always smiling. He was always really enjoying life and enjoying what he did.”

While Richmond was gone for years before Tyler Reddick was born, his impact on NASCAR and racing in general is apparent.

Bringing a DNQ paint scheme back to life

Tyler Reddick has done the Old Milwaukee throwback, during his time in the Xfinity Series. But he wants fans to get to know Richmond before the wins, before Blue Max, and before Hendrick Motorsports. Richmond struggled to find his place in motorsports, let alone NASCAR.

It was obvious that Richmond had talent. He proved that time and again. What makes this 1982 paint scheme so special, is that it was right before his big break. The NASCAR driver only made two starts with Billie Harvey before Jim Stacy Racing picked him up starting at… Darlington. He would go on to win both Riverside races that season.

Tyler Reddick wanted a design that would fit his MoneyLion partners well but also be unique and highlight a part of Tim’s career many haven’t thought of much.

“You know I think because of, you know I’ve even ran his Old Milwaukee throwback years ago when I was at JR Motorsports,” said Reddick. “So, I feel like it fit really well with what MoneyLion’s normal, I guess, palette’s the right word? It just seemed like if I took that car and we were able to work it into a Toyota Camry and had MoneyLion on it, it’d look really good.

“A lot of the throwbacks that Tim’s had has been a nod to the Folgers car, the Old Milwaukee car, and his time at those two different teams. I think it’s a great opportunity to be able to talk about before he got to that point, the time that he spent in this car like we’re talking about and I think it’s a great way to talk about Tim, just talking about a little bit different part of his career.”

As for the Darlington race coming up, Tyler Reddick knows it isn’t just a fashion show. He has his eyes on conquering the Lady in Black for the first time in his NASCAR career.

Tyler Reddick focused on Darlington, summer stretch

In the last couple of seasons, Toyota has been amazing on intermediate tracks. This stretch that includes Kansas, Darlington, Charlotte, Nashville, and others is vital for 23XI Racing. Reddick knows if he wants to compete for a regular season championship and of course, the overall championship, he needs to perform.

Taking things one race at a time is easier said than done. Despite having a win already this season, Reddick is not satisfied.

“Still just as hungry. Winning, winning does feel good and it’s satisfying. Just like racing in itself, winning and racing are borderline addictions, know what I mean?” said Reddick. “So, you win once, that’s not good enough, you want to keep doing it, you want to do it again.

“When I look at tracks like Kansas or Darlington I know that we’re really strong at both of those places. [I’m] yet to win a NASCAR national level race at Darlington, but we’ve been right in the mix many many times at Darlington.”

As for that stretch after the Coca-Cola 600, Tyler Reddick wants to turn things around. He doesn’t want a repeat of last season from Gateway to Atlanta he had finishes of P35, P33, P30, P28, and P27.

 “Charlotte is unfortunately kind of the last good run we had until the playoffs got going. So, there’s a lot to learn from that. It wasn’t for a lack or effort or speed. You know, Nashville we were really really solid last year and let it slip away. Michigan, very similar fate.

“We’ve just got to take advantage of situations and win races. But on the days where it may not look like we’ll be fighting for the win, instead of going for broke and coming home with a wrecked race car or finishing outside of the lead lap – we’ve got to manage it, and we’ve been doing a good job the past five weeks, doing a good job of just getting out of it what’s available to us.”

Before our conversation ended, I had to ask Reddick about his boss, Michael Jordan. Specifically, if he thought winning a Cup Series championship would earn him his own shoe from the Jumpman himself.

“Huh… I don’t know. I’d rather not speculate, I’d rather just do it and find out.”