Richard Childress Racing announced Wednesday afternoon that reigning Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick will replace Daniel Hemric as driver of the team’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning with the 2020 Daytona 500.
Reddick will carry sponsorship from long-time RCR partner Caterpillar and other partners to be announced at a later date.
A crew chief for Reddick was not announced. RCR who will celebrate its 51st season of Cup competition in 2020 will compete alongside Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
“I’m beyond grateful to everyone at Richard Childress Racing for their support throughout this entire year and continued support into next year,” said Reddick.
“It means a lot to me that Richard, his team, and Caterpillar believe in my ability to represent them both on and off the racetrack. My goal was always to get to race on Sundays, and I’m so excited to achieve that next year with RCR, ECR, and Caterpillar.”
RCR announced on Sept. 17 that the six-time Cup championship team would not retain its option on Hemric next season. Hemric was elevated to the Cup Series this season and has been competed for Rookie of the Year honors. He has earned a season-high fifth place at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April and is 25th in the series standings with seven races remaining.
Sources tell CATCHFENCE.com that Hemric is the leading candidate to replace Chris Buescher at JTG-Daugherty Racing next year.
Before the 23-year-old advances to the Cup Series full-time, Reddick is chasing back-to-back Xfinity Series titles after joining RCR’s Xfinity Series program at the beginning of the season.
The Corning, Calif. native has won an impressive five races and the regular-season championship. Last year driving for JR Motorsports, he won just two races, including the season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway awarding him his first series title.
Following this past Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250, Reddick is third in the championship standings, 29 points behind Christopher Bell.
“I’m excited to take this next step in my career with their support, but also realize I’ve still got a lot of work to do this year with my No. 2 team to bring home the Xfinity Series championship,” added Reddick. “I can’t think of a better way to end RCR’s 50th celebration and kick off next year than by capturing that trophy.”
Earlier this year, Reddick made two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts in a third RCR entry. Reddick finished 27th in the season-opening Daytona 500 and ninth at Kansas Speedway, the highest among the organization.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
