HAMPTON, Ga.: With John Hunter Nemechek on standby in case of relief, Tyler Reddick wasn’t sure if he could go the full distance in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
But, Reddick, not only successfully completed all 260 laps in the fifth NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, the driver of the No. 45 Xfinity 10G Network Toyota Camry wrestled the field for a strong fifth place showing for 23XI Racing.
Starting in the 16th position the multi-time Cup Series winner would have a uneventful Stage 1 and finish 21st in the 60-lap shootout.
During his first pit stop of the afternoon, Reddick would get serviced for four tires, fuel and an adjustment for the start of Stage 2.
Working his way through the field, the Corning, Calif.-native maneuvered his way through the field and survived green flag pit stops with strategy to hustle his way to fourth at the end of Stage 3.
At the end of the Stage, Reddick would have to pit twice as the 23XI Racing team was unable to get enough fuel in his race car.
Mired at the back of the field, Reddick would once again have to prowl his way through a competitive superspeedway-like field.
Hovering inside the top-five, Reddick would find himself slightly involved in the Lap 210 caution when leader Aric Almirola blew a tire and caused a five-car accident.
Reddick though – stayed on the race track and over the course of the final 50 laps attempted to work his Toyota teammate of Christopher Bell to try and dethrone the Ford brigade – but the formation never fully materialized leaving Reddick with back-to-back top-five finishes.
“We had Toyotas lined up there and I didn’t know if that was our move there with all three together or Christopher (Bell) was going to do it on his own. We’ll talk about it for sure,” Reddick explained.
“I don’t know, maybe if we all would have went it would have worked out for one of us. I’m not really sure. It didn’t really work for one of us so it’s definitely something for us to think about so that one of us can win the race there.”
Even with his second top-five finish of the season, Reddick believed his team may have left his fourth Cup victory on the table.
“It’s a bummer that we let someone else get it done,” sounded Reddick. “All in all, it was an okay day.”
Exiting Atlanta, Reddick stands 15th in the championship standings, 66 points behind leader Joey Logano heading to Circuit of the America (COTA) for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sun., Mar. 26, 2023.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @grace3140 or email [email protected]
