Dejected Kyle Busch Could Serve as Tyler Reddick’s Biggest Texas Roadblock

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series will enter its round of 12 stage on Sunday at the Texas Motor Speedway. One of the drivers who will be positive going into Sunday will be 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick. While the team is not being touted as a championship contender, Reddick shocked the world at Kansas when he won the second round of 16 race to cement his place in the next round. However, Reddick might have a wily veteran to contend with.

Kyle Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing after 15 years at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023. His start with the team was perfect as he won three races in the first half of the regular season. However, things have not gone to plan of late as Busch has faced a number of challenges ever since. Going into Texas, however, Rowdy has some confidence that his car will be up to the mark.

Kyle Busch could repeat Tyler Reddick’s feat from last year

For Tyler Reddick, his first season as a 23XI Racing driver can be seen as a success. The 27-year-old shocked the world when he took a cheeky victory at Kansas a few weeks ago and he will be looking to do the same at a track that he likes.

Reddick has started seven races at the Texas Motor Speedway so far in his Cup Series career and has already won once. That win came last season. He would have been confident going into Texas regardless of what happened in the other races, but the Kansas victory can only boost his confidence even further.

When asked about the race by Steve Letarte on NASCAR MRN, Reddick had an air of self-belief about him as he said that it was a track where he had enjoyed success in the past. “I look at Texas, a place that has been a success last year. It was a crazy race for sure a lot of people fought adversity,” he had said.

But winning at Texas is never an easy task and Reddick will have the two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch to contend with among others.

The last time Kyle Busch won a race at Kansas was in 2020, with Joe Gibbs Racing. Since then, Rowdy has fallen short at the mile-and-a-half track, but Sunday provides him with a rare opportunity.

Remember, Reddick might have won at Texas last year but he did it in a Richard Childress Racing car, the same team Busch drives for today. Rowdy recently admitted that the Texas track is their strong suit.

According to WSFA, when asked about the Texas race, Busch said, “Yeah, I mean, to us, I feel like the mile-and-a-half stuff has kind of been a little bit more of our strong suit than the short track stuff. So I think that kind of bodes well for us. The eight-car won there last year with Tyler Reddick. So I feel like that’s kind of a bonus.

“The #8 car ended up out on top, so hopefully, we can take some of that stuff that they had last year and work towards a comfortable driving car for me and a good feeling to where, you know, we’ll have a fast 3 CHI, Chevy, this weekend,” he added.

But things have not been great at RCR for Busch of late. After ending the race in P20, Rowdy went on a rant about how difficult it was to drive the car as he complained about the tires not having any grip and issues with his brakes. This was not a one-off. Busch and RCR have been plagued with issues for a number of weeks now, but Rowdy will have to keep his calm at Texas.

If one looks at the stats, Kyle Busch obviously has the upper hand over Tyler Reddick. He has competed in more races than Reddick, hence his numbers are higher. However, if we look at the last five races in Texas, there is not much to separate the two.

Read More: Kyle Busch Gets Schooled by His 8-Year-Old as He Learns How To Race Hours Before His Redemption Change at Texas

Recent numbers put Busch and Reddick on an even keel

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In his last five races at the Texas Motor Speedway, Tyler Reddick has managed to win once and finish in the top 10 twice. His race finishes from these races are 1st, 12th, 9th, 16th, and 19th. He has consistently finished in the top 20 despite being one of the younger drivers on track and he will be looking to keep up his form and hopefully win for the second straight year.

Kyle Busch, on the other hand, has had three top-10 finishes in Texas in the last five races, including a race win. His victory came in 2020 followed by a 9th and an 8th place finish. However, unlike Reddick, he has not been consistent. The last two races at Texas saw Busch finishing 21st (despite starting from pole) and 36th.

Reddick has the upper hand when it comes to recent form as he finished 1st in Kansas and 2nd in Darlington in the round of 16 of the playoffs. Busch has been dealing with issues with his car of late but despite those challenges, he has been able to get decent finishes like P7 in Kansas despite starting from 35th.

The two might not have any great history or rivalry, but when push comes to shove, they won’t leave an inch for the other to take advantage. Busch vs. Reddick will be an interesting battle if it comes to pass at Texas. Who do you think will come out on top?

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