The Watkins Glen race was a mess, with cars getting wrecked all over the place. The bus stop became the hotspot for contact, and there was more than one wreck there. Starting from the first lap, which took out Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., drivers were charging into the turn, and one driver spoke out about it after the race.

The regular season champion and Michael Jordan’s ace, Tyler Reddick, went on record to discuss how drivers were making contact at The Glen. The 23XI Racing driver made it into the playoffs, sits sixth on the playoffs chart, and is safe from the first round of elimination. However, that didn’t stop him from voicing his concerns about how others were driving.

Tyler Reddick’s problem with the way Watkins Glen went down

At The Glen, Tyler Reddick had a disappointing finish at P27 after spinning out multiple times on the track. He started sixteenth and made his way up to seventh, gaining stage points while he was at it. After pitting during the stage break, he rolled back onto the track with new tires.

The feeling of new tires puts a driver in a good mood, but that is until they make contact and spin out. Daniel Suarez‘s No. 99 Chevy made contact with Reddick’s Toyota, and the 23XI Racing driver spun out. Between the spin-out and the pit stop towards the end of the stage, Reddick found himself 31st.

Following the race, Reddick spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and shared his thoughts about the collision. He started off strong by saying, “There is no more driver code. It’s gone.” Reddick went home after the race and reflected on Martin Truex Jr.’s comment calling the nature of racing “ridiculous,” as he couldn’t help but agree.

The No. 45 Toyota driver then explained his main problem with what happened at The Glen, saying, “You go back to watch some cars, and lots of people are driving into the corner on a restart, just using the car ahead as a brake pedal. It sucks.”

Now, Reddick knows that he has not always been the cleanest racer, and he took the blame. That soon came with him explaining, “Running someone a little wide while battling for position is one thing, but running them off the track? I just don’t like racing that way.” 

This led to comments about the next-gen cars being different from the previous generation, so let’s dive into what he had to say.

What Tyler Reddick has to say about the next-gen race cars

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Fortunately, on road course races, Reddick has been ahead of most cars, and that helped him avoid the commotion on the track. But he explained that Watkins Glen was a difficult race from the start. After finding himself in the middle of the wreckage, he admitted, “It just is what it is. I hope it changes.” But this did not come without him explaining how this was not possible with the older cars.

Reddick revealed, “With the old car, you could bump a little, but you’d knock the radiator out. With this car, it feels like you can just use the front bumper and the padding around you to just knock people out of the way if you want to.” As a NASCAR driver, he understands that there is a lot of contact among the cars, and pushing is a part of racing.

But one thing he stood by was the fact that pushing someone while going “bumper to bumper” is fair, but using other cars as brakes while speeding into corners is something he does not like.

The next-gen cars are made to be sturdier compared to the older ones. This gives drivers a chance to drive more aggressively, and while this is okay at times, Reddick believes it is situational. Although the cars were made stronger for the safety of drivers, they are being used as an offensive tactic.

Considering all that went down at The Glen, do you think we need stricter rules in NASCAR? Let us know what you think in the comments below.