The 2023 Cup Series season opener is just three days away, and drivers are banking on every type of strategy to pull off a magnificent race. One strategy is taking a page out of the books of other drivers. That is what Tyler Reddick, driving the No. 45 Toyota under 23XI Racing, plans to do. William Byron is the fellow racer Reddick is hoping to get inspired by before burning rubber this season. And with good reason, too.

Byron delivered his career-best performance last year, earning a third place in the 2023 Cup Series. He earned six wins, 15 top-five finishes, and 21 top-tens. With these impressive stats under his name, Byron was also the youngest of the final four championship contenders. Tyler Reddick, ranking 6th in 2023, plans to use Byron’s on-track strategy to push up his position in 2024.

Tyler Reddick is going for a Byron-style showdown this year

William Byron has done a lot in 2023 to prove that he is championship-worthy. That is why, despite the age gap, Tyler Reddick has decided to learn from his younger fellow racer. In a recent interview with Frontstretch, Reddick elaborated on how he plans to carve out a possible ‘breakout’ year this season.

On being asked whether he would opt for an approach quite like Byron’s, Reddick agreed. “That’s what we’re aiming for. Do I expect that to come easily? No…so walking into the year’s expectations, I’ve to work really hard.” 

Further, he talked about how he is focusing on a faster race this year. “But I’m excited about the potential in this new car. A lot of things that we were able to do last year, a lot of signs of speed. So I know we would be able to come back, and should be able to do a lot of those same things…capitalize on those days that we weren’t that fast.”

William Byron may have outshone his competitors in 2023, but there were times when he could not get the better of Reddick. At the Circuit of the Americas road course, Reddick delivered an early-season victory to his team. The race turned out to be a tense battle between Reddick and Byron, who kept trading the lead lap for most of the race. They led 69 of the race’s 75 laps. In the end, Reddick emerged victorious after overtaking two-time series champion Kyle Busch by a 1.411-second gap.

Both Reddick and Byron have been identified as some of the most talented drivers with a lot of promise in racing.

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Reddick and Byron are the Next Gen rising stars

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NBC Sports journalist Dustin Long recently analyzed five drivers who bring great potential in 2024. Both William Byron and Tyle Reddick stand proudly on the list. Byron, basking in the glory of his breakthrough year in 2023, has had a steady rise. Since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, he has earned eight victories. And Tyler Reddick is not far behind, holding five wins to his name in the Next Gen car.

Tyler Reddick shared his thoughts on the new car, “I feel like for a long time in the Cup Series, I had to race really, really hard for every spot, even if it’s on Lap 5. And I still have the drive to do that, but it’s nice knowing we have a car that’s capable of overcoming track position. … It makes me feel good that if things don’t go right at some point in the race, I know what to do to get back to the front too.”

Tyler Reddick had two wins last year, one at COTA and the other at the playoff race in Kansas. He is working hard to enhance that figure in 2024, and fans will hope to see a stellar performance by him on the track.

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