It seems as though the reigning champion of Phoenix is back to his original form and it can be quite detrimental for the other three contenders. While the road is topsy-turvy, Tyler Reddick seems to be having a hard time adjusting to the glory of Ryan Blaney and consequently surpassing the same as well. 

While the practice sessions necessarily don’t have to be a precursor, Ryan Blaney has indeed instilled a ray of skepticism amongst the drivers. Making way to the ultimate battle for Sunday, the four drivers took to the Phoenix Speedway to establish their prowess on the tracks and it was indeed a practice session to witness! 

Blaney Climbs to the Top With the Fastest Speed Among All

The Team Penske star driver, Blaney, ensured that his practice session at the Phoenix Raceway was nothing short of an actual run. He placed top 1 throughout the first 15 laps of the practice run and it seemed as though he had the entire run just at his fingertips. What adds to his prowess more is that Blaney maintained his dominance across consecutive laps and has recorded the best speed as well. If he can mark the same kind of vigor moving into Phoenix Speedway on Sunday, there are high chances that he will emerge victorious. Through the practice session, Blaney paced the lap with an average of about 132.480 mph in his No. 12. Ford Mustang. 

While Blaney was able to make his mark and claim his dominance on the field, it seemed as though Tyler Reddick was falling short of the speed. The results at Phoenix were not quite in favor of Reddick either. This could be alarming given that the other two drivers, Joey Logano and William Byron, fared much better when it came to practice performance. Tyler Reddick ended up finishing the practice session in the 21st place. It won’t be a great confidence booster for his debut Championship Race. While Reddick did not manage to crack the speed game, Blaney recorded his fastest speed at 27.174 seconds per lap. The final results of the practice session ended with the following results, “Just arriving to Phoenix and getting in the media center. Cup Series practice has wrapped up. Champ 4 drivers practice results:1.@Blaney, 4.@WilliamByron, 9.@joeylogano and 21. @TylerReddick”.

Reacting to the same, Reddick’s crew chief Billy Scott mentioned that he would not “overthink” on the same, given that this session only required the drivers to be more familiar with the tracks. Scott further added that the sheer presence of NBA legend and Team 23XI owner Michael Jordan adds to the excitement levels. He said, “His presence in itself is very inspiring — obviously, he’s one of the most competitive people you’d ever meet in anything he does, so just having them there, we certainly want to make him proud”. Reddick has made it to the Top 4 after he won the regular season title and a thrilling win at the Homestead Miami Speedway. 

As the final day arrives, fans are waiting with bated breath to witness the one that can claim the trophy for 2024. Ryan Blaney‘s impressive performance in practice sets high expectations for a dominating run, especially if he sustains the speed and precision shown on his No. 12 Ford Mustang. Although Tyler Reddick has not been able to put up an impressive show during the practice session, one cannot be completely wary of his potential. The shaky start has made both the team and the driver more aware of how to improvise the drive and make it to the victory line on Sunday. 

Can Tyler Reddick turn his fortune around for the race?

On the shoulder of Tyler Reddick are the hopes and dreams of the 23XI Racing family. While their lawsuit against NASCAR took a hit with the latest ruling, Reddick has the chance to lift the team’s spirits with his performance at Phoenix. Although the practice session wasn’t the start the team needed, the battle wasn’t lost just yet. Tyler Reddick has a few positive results on the Phoenix Raceway, with two 3rd place finishes.

The bad news for Reddick fans is the other occasions he raced at the track ended in disappointing finishes, with just one Top 10 performance apart from the 3rd place finishes. Reddick is getting all the help he can, as another Toyota team pitched in to help 23XI. It was none other than Joe Gibbs Racing, a team that knows the pressure of a Championship race.

Speaking to the media ahead of the Phoenix finale, Tyler Reddick took a moment to highlight all the work that went into the car. It was a combined effort since JGR jumped in with advice. He said, “Knowing we’re in, knowing that this car right here that we’re working on is going to be a Championship 4 car, just gave us extra time to really focus on that car and understand what the work going into that car, what it means, what it’s going to be racing for. It’s been really cool over, I’d say, the last week to see everyone from JGR chipping in and helping and coming by the shop, going over the car with our folks at Airspeed. It just feels like everyone has really banded together and made sure we have everything we need on the car, that it’s as fast as it can be when we get here.” 

With hours to go before the finale kicks off at Phoenix, do you think Tyler Reddick can win his first championship? Or will it be Ryan Blaney becoming back-to-back champion? Let us know in the comments below.