While he is adapting to his new team, Tyler Reddick still has some connection to his past time, Richard Childress Racing.
The two-time Xfinity Cup Series champion left RCR to join 23XI Racing. He replaced Kurt Busch in the No. 45 Toyota. RCR brought in Kyle Busch as his replacement after the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver left his long-time team.
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Busch’s season could not have gone better as he already has one win in the three races so far. So, seeing his former team win the race already, Reddick admitted that he feels a bit torn but nonetheless wishes the team well. Speaking on the Dale Jr. Download, Reddick said:
“You are kinda like torn, I mean, it was the same thing when I went from here [JR Motorsports] to RCR; I and Dave were so really, really close. And I want to see that whole team still do well because all the people on that team meant a lot to me, a lot of people in this building meant a lot to me, and still mean a lot to me. So you are kinda conflicted a little bit.
“Never once in my mind, watching Kyle at Fontana win that race, never once crossed my mind, ‘Man I hope something happens.’ But certainly, I feel like a sense of motivation, kind of like you wanna outrun them.”
Reddick had a very good 2022 season, as he had 3 wins and 10 top finishes. While he doesn’t wish anything bad for his old team, he is also looking to beat them for his new team.
“You know your competitor, you kind of do better than them. So kind of like caught in this middle ground like you don’t wish anything ill-will on them. But you wanna go out there and beat them, and in competition, you know you are somewhere else now.”
Reddick’s 2023 season hasn’t started really well as he finished outside the top 20 for the first two races and managed a 15th-place finish for the last race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.