A few more laps and Tyler Reddick might have done it. A day after his second-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity race was taken away after the car failed post-race inspection, Reddick finished second once again.
The Richard Childress Racing driver started the day 35th and like several in the field struggled during the daylight.
But when the sun set, Reddick began a march towards the front. He didn’t score any stage points, but in the closing laps had the fastest car in the field running dangerously along the wall were others feared to tread.
He moved into fourth place past Kevin Harvick on Lap 254 of 267 but was nine seconds behind leader William Byron. A battle with Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson slowed his progress at the wrong time and Reddick finished second, 2.7 seconds behind
“Once I really saw how fast we were in clean air, when I saw how fast we were catching everybody, it’s beyond frustrating,” said Reddick, who matched his career-best finish. “Three different decisions on restarts would have put me miles ahead, and I would have been within reach.
“Second’s great, but I saw how much faster I was than those guys at the end, so naturally, it’s frustrating.”
“I thought we would be better in the day and everyone would catch up at night, but it was the opposite of that,” Reddick said. “We learned a lot. You have to win these races by being very consistent and making the right calls as a driver and as a team. I’m proud of how fast we were at the end of the race.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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