NASCAR Crew Chief Allays Fears After Chase Elliott & Tyler Reddick Accidents

Earlier this month, there was a pre-season test at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It mostly went by without a hitch, but there were a few teething issues. A fair number of drivers spun off the track, and some of them did it multiple times. One of them was Richard Petty Motorsports driver Tyler Reddick. In the team debrief, crew chief Jerame Donley addressed fan concerns about the unpredictable cars.

He said, “I think everyone is trying to find the edge right now. Some drivers are trying to drive them to the limit, find out where that edge is. When they get to the race, they can know how close they can get to it. Also, there’s a lot where we’re running the aero balance of the cars right now. You have to run them one way by themselves, and when you get into traffic, they run a lot different. Due to the turbulence from the other cars, the way they’re side-drafting, it’s a completely different animal. In terms of aero and mechanical balance. We’ve been used to the Gen 6 stuff, so it’s just something we all have to learn together.”

Tyler Reddick will be hoping for a good campaign

For the upcoming season, everyone will try to adjust quickly to the Next Gen cars. Surprisingly, Reddick was quite happy with the Next Gen cars, despite his control issues. Both he and Brad Keselowski were glad that the cars were unpredictable to drive, as that made things more exciting.

One of Reddick’s spins resulted in some damage to himself, Chase Elliott, and Ty Dillon. On the bright side, he did enjoy a Top 5 position in the second session. The incident occurred in the third session of the day, but all three drivers were able to pit for repairs and continue. Admittedly, it was a bit of a setback, but the Richard Petty Motorsports team will be aiming to bounce back.

READ MORE: Brad Keselowski and Tyler Reddick in Agreement Over Their ‘Favorite Thing’ About the NASCAR Next Gen Car