Tyler Reddick Eyes Dover Breakthrough Amid NASCAR’s Best Season Yet

With the All-Star race at Dover coming up, Tyler Reddick has his eyes on the prize as he looks to win his sixth race in his best-ever NASCAR season.

The 23XI driver has been on a roll this season, as he currently leads the championship with over 100 points over Denny Hamlin in second place. 

However, despite his impressive run and winning the ‘Monster Mile’ during his time in the Truck Series, the #45 driver has found it difficult to break through at Dover in the Cup. In his seven starts over there, he just has two top-10s.

While talking to NASCAR recently, the 30-year-old opened up about how the track might suit his driving style a bit better, even though it presents difficult challenges in the form of difficult pit entry and the lack of grip on the concrete surface.

“Whether it’s been an O’Reilly Auto Parts car or truck, it’s the track that, of the concrete tracks that we go to, it’s the one that makes the most sense for me that I like the most,” Reddick said. 

“So yeah, I mean, I think just the nature of what Dover has become as we’ve moved on from Gen 6 to Gen 7, it just takes the entire weekend, takes having a good practice, having confidence in qualifying, and maintaining the track position all day.”

He further pointed out how he has never led a lap at the oval and that it is something that he is keen on getting right.

The 1-mile concrete oval requires good throttle control, tire management, and finding good grip on the track. Given the momentum is on his side for this season, the $1 million prize could be in the cards for the 23XI driver. 

Tyler Reddick opens up about signing with 23XI

Earlier in April, the 30-year-old driver signed a multiyear contract with 23XI. He announced the same during NASCAR’s pre-race program ahead of the Talladega race. 

“It’s been pretty surreal to start the year off the way that we have. Checked off a number of things you want to do as a driver in your career in one year, so that part’s been pretty cool, so it’s already been, win-side of things and consistency side of things, best year I’ve had in the Cup Series. So we just add to what is already up to this point the best year I’ve ever had,” he said. 

And the statistics of this season back this. Besides the five wins, he has 9 top 10s and 8 top fives to his name this season. It will be interesting to see if he can add another trophy to his name.