“I did it for Austin,” Tyler Reddick on why he played as the “blocker for the rest of the field” in Daytona
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Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick in Daytona.
Austin Dillon marched his way to the 2022 playoff after winning the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, upsetting a whole set of drivers who had the same playoff ambitions. The No:3 Chevy Camaro ZL1 entry to the victory lane cost JGR veteran Martin Truex Jr. his playoff spot and also marked history as it’s the first time since 2017 that two of the RCR cars are in the playoffs.
Austin Dillon for sure was the luckiest driver in the field on Sunday, and it’s Daytona; one needs more than just a bit of luck to get to the playoff. The No:3 driver didn’t have just a chance with him as he had his teammate Tyler Reddick in the back running P2 behind him, blocking the entire field and making sure none got passed him on, challenging his teammate for the win.
Tyler Reddick is helping his teammate for the win at the time when he is on the wrong side of RCR, and team owner Richard Childress as the RCR youngster announced his move to 23X1 Racing mid-season with allegedly little conversation with the team. The lack of proper communication and the distaste for him for the untimely announcement can at least be gotten for a short period by the team following his Daytona master class.
Find out what Tyler Reddick has to say about Austin Dillon’s win
Tyler Reddick acknowledged that it might be hard to believe. Still, he had no intention to pass his teammate for the win and added that Dillon knew the No:8 cars would be riding behind him, blocking the entire field, saying, “I know that may be hard to believe. But certainly, I had no interest, and he knew that. I wasn’t going to pass him. I was going to be playing blocker for the rest of the field,”.
Tyler Reddick went on to say that he did what he did for Austin Dillon, who is his friend and teammate, and pointed out that the entire RCR group deserves the playoff entry. He added that everyone at RCR worked really hard on both the cars to ensure a playoff spot, which they have successfully achieved right now.
“That’s not why I did it. I did it for Austin. It wasn’t even on my mind, honestly. It was trying to get my friend, my teammate, and fellow driver at RCR in the playoffs because it’s not just my group of guys that deserve it. It’s everybody at RCR that works really hard on these cars, and now both of [them] are in the playoffs,” Austin Dillon added.
Tyler Reddick went on to say that he and Austin Dillon in the No:3 car has been helping each other throughout this season to ensure that they overcome when they are faced with struggles. He pointed out that they along with Trackhouse and HMs having all their cars in the playoff will really help them in the championship run.
“We have been doing that all year long. The No. 8’s had some struggles this year, and the No. 3’s been there to help us and vice versa. It’s really good that many Chevrolets — whether it’s Trackhouse, Hendrick, ourselves — all of our cars are in the playoffs, so we’re able to really work together in a lot of key races coming up,” Austin Dillon explained.
Should Reddick have gone for the win at Daytona?
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Justin P Joy
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