“I’m Not Happy”- Tyler Reddick Publicly Defends Chris Buescher, Dissects Guilt Behind Darlington Drama

With just 10 laps left, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick were eyeing a top-5 finish at the Goodyear 400, but then chaos struck. The race took a wild turn—literally—on turn 3 when Tyler Reddick went for a bold slide job on Chris Buescher to snatch the lead. The move backfired, slamming Buescher into the wall and shredding the tires on both Buescher’s No. 17 and Reddick’s No. 45.

As Buescher and Reddick faltered, Brad Keselowski seized the moment. He zoomed past Reddick and then Buescher, who had to hit the pits with a flat tire. The move clinched Keselowski’s first win as both a driver and co-owner of RFK Racing (after Tony Stewart), breaking a 110-race winless streak. But Tyler Reddick, rather than simply snubbing what he did to the #17 driver, took full responsibility for the whole incident.

Tyler Reddick publicly apologized for his racing blunder

Leading a career-high 174 laps, Reddick was in hot pursuit of Brad Keselowski late in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Chris Buescher, coming off a near-win the previous week, made a bold move from third, initially pushing his RFK Racing teammate Keselowski before overtaking both leaders. It seemed Buescher was set for victory until a miscalculated move by Reddick sent both their cars into the wall.

Reflecting on the incident in a post-race interview, Reddick admitted, “It was too a little too late and I slid right into him and popped my tire popped his tire. It sucks. […] I said if it just would have took myself out of it I had a flat that’s a different story but yeah he was going to win that race um had I not tried that so that’s part of the stinks. […] I’m not happy about it. […] I hate that it took him out of the race too he should have won the race. Yeah if I take myself out going for it that I can live with that. But he didn’t deserve to get caught up in it too.”

Reddick continued, expressing remorse over his actions, “It’s tough to walk away knowing that I used someone up, took their chance away from winning the race that’s racing me really cleanly. I have to work on that and try and make some better decisions.” But the incident didn’t end on the track; post-race, Chris Buescher confronted Reddick, adding more drama to the day’s events.

Chris Buescher had a face-to-face with Tyler Reddick after narrowly missing out on a win again

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Just last week, Buescher was edged out by a mere 0.001 seconds by Kyle Larson at Kansas in NASCAR’s tightest finish ever. And then this time around at Darlington, his shot at victory in the Goodyear 400 was spoiled when Tyler Reddick attempted a risky pass for the lead. After the race, a heated Buescher approached Reddick right on pit road, unable to hide his frustration with the driver who had clinched a win at Talladega three weeks prior.

“I don’t have that (win) sticker on my door. This means more. I need you to be better. We’ve raced each other just fine for so long,” Buescher told Reddick, pleading for more caution in the future. Reddick responded, “I tried to back out. The last thing I wanted to do was wreck your car. I’m sorry.”

Later, speaking to FOX Sports, Buescher didn’t mince words: “We got wrecked. I mean, that one’s clear as day. Don’t need any cameras to tell us. I don’t know what to say. We’ve raced each other really clean through the years. Tried to be really respectful about it. … And we get used up. It’s something that you know is just not gonna work. Just really pissed off about it right now. Certainly had a chance to win another one.”

But in the cutthroat moments at the end of a race, drivers often make bold moves. So, was it really all on Reddick, or is this just part of racing?