Tyler Reddick shared a lighthearted reaction to his odds of winning at Martinsville next week. The 23XI driver is on a roll after capturing his fourth win of the season on Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
Reddick is the first driver since Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott to win four out of the six opening races. Notably, the record comes after a winless season last year.
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The No.45 driver had a pole start, but his run up to the checkered flag was far from clean. The Californian had to overcome a malfunctioning alternator that turned off his AC and cool suit. Two prolonged pit stops derailed his momentum as well.
Nonetheless, Reddick beat a dominant Brad Keselowski to take home the trophy. During his post-race press conference, Reddick addressed his chances at Martinsville next weekend.
“If I can win there, oh my gosh, the world’s gonna end,” he said via X/Steven Taranto.
Tyler Reddick is yet to score a top-5 at Martinsville. He has two top-10s in 12 starts at the track. Furthermore, Reddick finished outside the top-10 in both the Martinsville races last year.
Michael Jordan praises Tyler Reddick’s tenacity after Darlington win
NBA Hall of Famer and 23XI Racing co-owner, Michael Jordan, was once again at victory lane after Sunday’s race. Jordan praised Tyler Reddick’s unyielding effort to chase the win despite multiple issues plaguing his race.
“I’m pretty sure it’s frustrating for him (Reddick) because he had an unbelievable car,” Jordan said,”You know, you never know what’s going to happen, especially at Darlington. I think that the key to him winning was just keeping his head.”
“I think Billy (Scott, crew chief) did a good job of trying to keep him calm. We knew we had a fast car. We knew on a 30-lap run we were real good, on a short-lap run we were real good. We just had to get the car right. And he kept his composure, and he did an unbelievable job,” he added.
Tyler Reddick currently leads the field by 95 points. His nearest rivals are Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace, with the latter sitting 120 points adrift. Wallace also posted the fastest lap of the race at 30 seconds flat.
The result marks Toyota’s sixth win in seven races. The carmaker seem to be the most dominant OEM at the moment. Chevrolet is yet to reach victory lane, while Blaney helped Ford with a win at Phoenix. Moreover, Ford nabbed three out of the top-5 positions at Darlington.
The most remarkable of all was Brad Keselowski’s return to form with a runner-up finish. The 42-year-old last had a top-5 at Daytona, and has now led 142 laps at the Track too Tough to Tame.
Edited by Vignesh Kanna
