Tyler Reddick on altercation with Chris Buescher: ‘I completely understand where he’s coming from’

Tyler Reddick is feeling remorse for what he did to Chris Buescher during the final laps of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. After the race, Reddick spoke to Fox NASCAR reporter Jamie Little about his car running into Buescher’s, which led to an altercation.

“I completely understand where he’s coming from,” Reddick said. “He’s run the top, run his own race, run his own line, keeping me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and I was hoping I was going to clear him. When I realized I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up and not slide up into him.”

Reddick continued: “I wish I wouldn’t have done that, unfortunately. I completely understand why he’s that mad. He did nothing wrong. Just trying to win the race. Take myself out, that’s one thing I can live with that. I’m just disappointed it played out the way that it did and took him out of the race as well. That was not the goal there. If I was going to go for it, I was hoping I was going to clear him. If I hit the wall, pop a tire, I take myself out, I can live with that.”

Reddick also said, “It’s tough to use someone up and took their chance away of winning the race that’s raced me really cleanly.” He added that he needs to “make some better decisions going forward.”

Tyler Reddick came close to winning the Goodyear 400

Reddick was battling with Goodyear 400 winner Brad Keselowski and Buescher with 33 laps remaining. Buescher took the lead after Reddick and Keselowski battled side-by-side for multiple laps. With 10 laps to go, Reddick slid high and put Buescher into the outside wall. The contact cut Reddick’s right-rear tire, and both drivers were sent to pit road. This incident happened one week after Buescher lost to Kyle Larson at Kansas by 0.001 seconds.

“We got wrecked,” Buescher said after the race. “That one’s clear as day. … We’ve raced each other clean through the years, try to be respectful about it and we get used up. It’s just something that you know is not gonna work. Just really pi--ed off about it right now. We had a chance to win another one. … Felt we got used up and he knows he messed up, he said it. But it doesn’t change anything for us.”

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this story.