CONCORD, N.C. — In Sunday’s round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Tyler Reddick did what no other driver below the playoff cutline could do.
He advanced.
Of the four contenders at risk of elimination — including Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace — Reddick had the best odds of moving on, as he entered the Bank of America ROVAL 400 only two points below the cutline.
But despite his sixth-place finish, which provided him a coveted berth in the round of eight, the 23XI Racing driver had a strained smile on his face in the moments following the event.
“I’m not even thinking about relief, honestly. I mean, the mindset is already moved on to getting ready for Vegas,” Reddick said. “Our motivation is going to be at an all-time high. It was there this weekend, this week preparing and it’s gonna be even higher getting ready for the next one.”
Momentum has been the keyword for the No. 45 driver the past two days, as he started the weekend by claiming the pole and simply continued to ride the wave throughout the 109-lap race. He led 27 laps and earned one playoff point by winning stage one.
But the feeling of security didn’t descend on Reddick until the checkered flag finally flew.
“The job isn’t done until it’s over,” Reddick said. “But yeah, in the closing six, seven laps, it was more about just being smart and not taking ourselves out of it.”
The 27-year-old will be the sole 23XI Racing driver in the round of eight, as teammate Wallace was eliminated after his 16th-place finish. However, Reddick stands firm in his belief that the team has what it takes to contend for a title.
“We show week-in and week-out, we have the speed that can get us through these playoff rounds,” Reddick said. “We’ve shown flashes of potential, right? We haven’t put it all together, but we certainly had a pretty unusual string of races in this round.”
Prior to the ROVAL, Reddick’s best finish in the round of 12 was 25th at Texas Motor Speedway.
“Really, I feel like the three races we have coming up are good ones for us, so I’m excited about it,” Reddick said. “The cherry on top too is that we got the 45 in on the owners (championship) as well.”