Entering Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway 10 points below the current cutoff for the Championship 4, Tyler Reddick’s path to the title race is arguably more complex than that of any other competitor.
Stage points could play an important role in Reddick’s fortunes as he tries to overtake Ryan Blaney, who holds the last Playoff-eligible position. Then again, a variety of circumstances could force Reddick to win the event in order to advance.
Initially, Reddick expects to approach the race the way he would any other.
“It’s straightforward,” Reddick said. “It’s a normal race weekend, honestly. Our (purpose) here in practice is to get a good feel in our race car and understand what we need to do, if anything. Hopefully, we don’t have to do anything to it for qualifying and just go out there and execute the qualifying lap just like any weekend.”
If a must-win situation develops, however, Reddick needs to be prepared to make adjustments.
“Typically, the way this race plays out, there’s really only been a couple guys that have gotten really crazy with strategy to flip their track position,” Reddick said. “I don’t anticipate a lot of odd-placed cautions, but if they do happen, it’s something we’ll have to weigh in our minds.
“But if we’re at the front of the field like we plan on being, like we’re shooting for, we’re at the front of whatever strategy we want to be on. It’ll just give us more options if that arises. If it comes down to the end of the race, and you’ve got to get a couple spots, you’ve got to be aggressive.
“Your whole year’s on the line, right?”
Qualifying, however, didn’t work out the way Reddick had hoped. He spun in Turn 4 on his second lap in the first round and will start 19th on Sunday—with lot of work to do to keep his championship aspirations alive.
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