What started as a typical Toyota Racing media call, turned into a stunning reveal of the future for one of NASCAR’s rising stars.
Tyler Reddick popped into the video conference with TRD President David Wilson, along with 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin and 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta.
Reddick left the virtual meeting and promptly walked into Hamlin’s camera frame.
“I would like to formally announce Tyler Reddick is a future member of the 23XI and Toyota Racing family starting in 2024,” Hamlin said. “Surprised?”
“Surprise,” Reddick chimed in.
Reddick is scheduled to leave Richard Childress Racing, the team with which he won his first NASCAR Cup Series race less than two weeks ago, at the end of the 2023 season, and drive for 23XI Racing.
Though, the move surprised many, Hamlin said it has been in the works for some time.
“These conversations started a long time ago,” Hamlin began, “just very causal, in the sense of, really Tyler reaching out when we started the team, saying, ‘Love what you’re doing. It looks like you guys are really pushing the limits, and doing things a little differently, and it’s good to see.’
“From that point, you just start some conversations, and obviously I believed in his talents for a very long time,” Hamlin continued. “After a while, I started asking those kind of important questions about his future. Then I asked, obviously, permission from the OEM (Toyota), ‘Can I pursue this individual?’ They whole-heartedly agreed that this is a good direction for us.”
Moments after the announcement, Richard Childress Racing, issued the following statement: “We’re proud of the success Tyler Reddick has found at Richard Childress Racing. We’re focused on winning a championship in 2022 and 2023, although timing of this announcement could not be any worse.”
Reddick won the NASCAR Xfinity Series title with JR Motorsports in 2018 and joined RCR the following season, capturing a second Xfinity title. He graduated to the Cup Series with RCR in 2020.
“It shouldn’t have been a total shock to RCR,” Reddick said. “As we were navigating what the future would look like, awhile ago, we said that after the option was up in ’23, and ’24 and on, we were not sure if we were going to return, that we were going to figure out what lied ahead. So, it shouldn’t have been a true shock to them. It’s out there, and everyone has the information now. Now we all collectively figure out what do we do from here?”
With the shock waves circulating within the RCR organization, how awkward will it be for the next two years?
“It’s a challenging thing, but the one nice thing about it is, I feel really strongly about the group that I work with,” Reddick said. “Everyone on that 8 team, we’re a very close group. Our bond, and the way we work together as a team is unlike anything I’ve had anywhere else.”
The 26-year-old compared the situation to when he left JR Motorsports for RCR after the 2018 season.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be coming back,” Reddick recalled. “Richard (Childress) brought me in, and we were able to go out there and win a championship with Dave (Elenz, Crew Chief) and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.). So, I’ve been through this before, and I believed a lot in that team. I believe that much and more in the team that I currently have. So certainly, it’s not an easy thing to navigate. But we all believe in each other and we’re still going to go out there and do everything we can to win. I believe in my team, and that’s what our mindset and goals are going to be.”
Sitting 14th in points with one victory and the playoffs approaching, the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet feels there’s additional pressure for himself to perform in the midst of this announcement
“For me, nothing changes. My commitment to the team is as strong as it’s ever been,” Reddick said. “I’d almost argue that now that I know the window that I have with them has an end, I feel like I have even more pressure on myself to give them everything I have with the time that we have left, and that lies ahead. We have two opportunities to go out and have great years.”
Reddick reflected on the opportunities that RCR has provided him, and how appreciative he is to the organization.
“For me, my biggest thing with RCR is I got my first opportunity in a Cup car with Richard and that team. It’s been great to grow with them. For me, it was really important to finish what I had started there,” Reddick explained. “See it through to its end. They’ve given me so many opportunities. Opportunities to win, opportunities to be a two-time Xfinity champion. Giving me the door to get into the Cup Series. I’m extremely grateful for that, and will continue to be.”