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via Imago

via Imago

Even though the race wasn’t under the stars, a bunch of folks still showed up. And well, if the action we saw at Bristol keeps up, that place will be packed to the gills real soon. Denny Hamlin blew past everyone to snag the win and managed to keep his comments on the down low, steering clear of stirring the pot. On the flip side, Tyler Reddick, the 23XI driver, had a rough start and just couldn’t shake it off till the very end. But, it looks like Reddick’s got a good reason for his tough day. He spilled the beans on the Door Bumper Clear podcast recently.

Tyler Reddick on his ‘fun’ Bristol outing

At the beginning of the race, things got dicey when William Byron hit the wall after his car’s toe link gave out, causing everyone to dive into the pits for a quick tire check and swap. But Tyler stayed out, rocketing from 20th place to the front. With Josh Berry snagging the lead out of the pits with a two-tire gamble, Tyler took charge at the restart from the high side, Berry to his inside. But then, disaster struck for Reddick. On lap 31, while fighting for the lead, he spun out near the finish line.

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Caught in a tight three-way tussle with Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry, Tyler lost control, triggering a pile-up. Zoom ahead to the race’s closing stages, and Tyler’s five laps down. From leading 4 laps at the start to trailing so far behind, it was a twist Tyler himself probably didn’t see coming. Despite the rollercoaster, he said he had a blast racing.

Chatting with the folks on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, when Freddie Kraft joked that Reddick bombed at Bristol, Reddick came back with, I still had fun I mean I was five laps down but I didn’t care I was racing everyone from 20th on back like I was a lead lap car I was having blast knocking them out of the way everything. I was uh I was hoping at some point right like maybe I’d somehow get back to front it didn’t happen.

Tyler Reddick even fessed up to getting in the way of the frontrunners, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr, even when Hamlin tried to shove him aside. But despite all that, it looks like he really enjoyed the show Bristol Motor Speedway put on, despite the fact that he only crossed the finish line in 30th place.

And get this, he didn’t even realize how trashed his car was until he hopped out at the end. It wasn’t about the aerodynamics or anything technical. Nope, his ride was just beat up from the early pile-up.

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The 23XI driver spilled the beans that the wreck in the first stage 

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Tyler Reddick lost control and brought out the second caution flag of the race, messing up his car so badly that he couldn’t compete for the top spots later on. He opened up about it to the Door Bumper Clear crew, sharing how he’s kicked himself before for early mistakes that left him just going through the motions. But he really wished he could’ve been in the thick of it this time. According to him, that race at Bristol was the most fun he’s had in ages. Everyone’s always going on about how aerodynamics and short tracks affect the car, but this time it was different.

Read More: Michael Jordan’s Multi-Million Dollar Dominance Gets Overlooked, Thanks to Tyler Reddick’s $75K Gen 4 Gem

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Reddick knew his car had taken a hit, but he didn’t realize it was practically totaled in the front until after. Racing around, he couldn’t figure out why everyone seemed so annoyed with him. Then he caught a glimpse of his ride post-race and it clicked – his car was a goner. Yet, there he was, still mixing it up in the race, proving aerodynamics wasn’t the end-all-be-all.

It’s kind of wild, thinking about how these drivers, even finishing way back in 25th or 30th place, were still all smiles. Makes you wonder, could this mix of concrete and tires be the magic fix for short-track racing woes?