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Tyler Reddick opened the season by sweeping the first three races, etching his name into the NASCAR record book as the first driver to accomplish the feat since 1949. However, at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, the win did not come as easily. He led 58 of the 95 laps in the event. Now, Reddick turns his focus to Phoenix, intent on keeping the streak alive.
The matter of concern with Phoenix is that the track has not yielded any wins for Reddick in 12 starts. His average finish at the track stands at 17.8, and he owns two top-five results there, including a sixth-place finish in the 2024 finale and a third-place run in the 2022 spring race, along with four top-10 finishes.
Still, with momentum at his back, expectations will travel with him to the desert. Though his career numbers at Phoenix trail those at other venues, Reddick and 23XI Racing have chipped away at the gap. He pointed to the progress made since the introduction of the current car.
“Well, I know the numbers don’t necessarily — well, my experience is in spring in Phoenix. A number of years, I think dating back to even the start of this car, we’ve been able to go there and be knocking on the door,” he said.
“In my opinion, we go to the spring Phoenix race, we’re typically, like, right there. For whatever reason, when we go in the fall, we’re a little bit off. But I feel like we’ve, again, kind of like we’ve done here, I’m really excited to see what we have for speed and pace over the next two weekends because we’ve worked really hard to improve things here,” the 23XI driver continued.
The No. 45 team has gone back to the drawing board on its Phoenix approach, doubling down on gains made at Las Vegas. Reddick views the next two weekends as a measuring stick for that work.
His recent attempts to Phoenix have been met with wrenches. Last season, a power steering failure knocked him out of the fight in the March race, even as he ran near the front for much of the day. Later, after falling out in the Round of 12, Reddick closed the year with a 26th-place finish in the finale race at Phoenix, capping his first winless season since 2021.
Yet in 2024, the #45 driver had made it to the Championship 4, competed at Phoenix for the Cup championship, and came home inside the top 10, showing he can hold his line when the heat turns up.
If he carries the streak through Phoenix, Reddick would edge toward a mark untouched since Jimmie Johnson strung together four straight wins in 2007. Many have taken a swing at that run. None have managed to bring it home.
The post “We’re A Little Bit Off”: Tyler Reddick Admits Continuing Winning Streak Will Be Tough At Phoenix appeared first on The SportsRush.