Tyler Reddick hopes to find speed near the wall at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS - MAY 14: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 BetMGM Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 14, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The consensus among NASCAR Cup Series drivers is that Kansas Speedway bears greatest similarity to Las Vegas when it comes to comparisons between 1.5-mile intermediate track.

Second-place qualifier Tyler Reddick, on the other hand, sees a kinship between Kansas and Homestead-Miami Speedway, and that suits him just fine. After all, Reddick won both his NASCAR Xfinity Series championships (2018 and 2019) by winning the season finale at Homestead.

And, like Homestead, Kansas affords Reddick the opportunity to run the line he prefers—up against the wall.

“In a lot of ways, with how much grip that this place has throughout the run and the lack of fall-off, you need to be comfortable running the wall like you do at Homestead,” Reddick said before Saturday’s practice for the AdventHealth 400. “I feel like you don’t have to be quite as close to the wall to still get some of the aero effects and be running a good lap and a good time.

“It is a lot like Vegas in some ways, too. The temperatures (at Kansas) are going to kind of warmer than we had at Vegas. Who knows what happens Sunday, weather-wise and everything like that? As it cools off, maybe more lanes open up, and the bottom catches up and the middle catches up.”

But Reddick will be content if the top lane continues to be the dominant one on Sunday.

Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service
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