It is safe to say that the pit area is not particularly safe in NASCAR these days. Last weekend, Ty Gibbs became the public enemy once again, when he attempted to side-swipe a rival in the pit lane. Then, earlier this weekend, there was a close call for one of Hailie Deegan’s crew members. Now, during the Cup Series qualifying, Tyler Reddick was the latest one to have an incident.
Glad that @NASCAR official is ok after this incident with Reddick pic.twitter.com/CAXDccUSYj
— Boycott Goodyear (@Jr_G_Man) October 1, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
As he was entering the pit box, he braked to slow down, or he tried to. To everyone’s horror, his car slid forward and into the pit wall. What made things even worse, was the fact that there was a NASCAR official right in his path. Unfortunately, she got hit and nearly pinned between the car and the wall.
What happened to Tyler Reddick during that incident?
As it turned out, it was completely accidental, because Reddick’s brakes had failed. In light of the incident, many NASCAR fans were quick to criticize the sport for using smaller brakes. Others believed that the official could have stood a little to the side and not put herself in danger. One thing is for sure, the main argument boiled down to the need for better brakes.
Why nascar even continues to allow teams to run small brakes, or different superspeedways is kinda absurd. It's like indybcar still not having starters on their car. That is such a primitive way of removing weight for speed lmao. If it was mandatory too everyone would have it.
— Muscan/ Alexandra Raptopoulou fv. (@__muscan__) October 1, 2022
It’s never smart to stand in between a moving vehicle and a concrete wall.. she could’ve stood two feet to either direction and still have been able to hold her hand up to tell him to stop while not being in a vulnerable position.
— Dan De Lion (@MyManDanDeLion) October 1, 2022
Weird 💩 happening this weekend. They you little to no brakes at superspeedway. Especially when the brakes are warm.
— Jeff (@Jefffister7575) October 1, 2022
If anything, these tracks should have the best brakes possible, and who cares if it slows them down a mph or 2. It's not the 60s. Never really understood it other then we are continuing a tradition they figured out years and years ago for speed.
— Muscan/ Alexandra Raptopoulou fv. (@__muscan__) October 1, 2022
This is especially true for superspeedways, where the speeds will be a lot faster. Nobody understood why NASCAR decided to compromise on safety in favor of going even faster. One thing is for sure, Tyler Reddick was absolved of any blame for the accident since he was helpless to stop the car.
Brake failure. Didn’t mean to do but I say she should’ve watched what she was doing
— RowdyBurns51 (@Rowdy51racer) October 1, 2022
Glad she’s ok. But if I was her Id not be standing right in front of an incoming racecar. He was trying to stop already so get behind the wall. That’s what it’s there for.
— Darla S. (@darlas29) October 2, 2022
Lost his brakes. Glad she’s alright
— Ian ✌🏾 (@GRoddy3x) October 1, 2022
ARCA brakes, he had no brakes or something? 😬
— Ty Gibbs for 2022 Xfinity title? (@quentindiaz3) October 1, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
And this will be called an accident and warrant no penalty unlike Ty Gibbs making zero contact and getting $75k and owner points
— KLG NobleWarrior88#MediaKitsPartner (@NGaming88) October 1, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Oddly enough, some people even tried to compare this incident and Ty Gibbs’ incident last weekend. On that occasion, the 23XI Racing substitute driver was slapped with a $75,000 fine. To further drive the point home, 23XI Racing also lost some owner points for the accident. Especially since Gibbs’ incident clearly looked deliberate, while Reddick’s was pretty much unavoidable, and an accident.
WATCH STORY: Richard Childress Gives All Important Update on the NASCAR Future of Tyler Reddick
