“We Weren’t Really Ourselves” – Dejected Tyler Reddick Slams Michael Jordan’s Lackluster Team

Tyler Reddick was hoping to defend his title at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Alas, he couldn’t take the plan to fruition. Qualifying second behind Daniel Suarez, he had a great chance to secure back-to-back wins at the iconic venue, but at times things don’t work out.

After a disappointing finish in Michigan, Reddick shrugged off the despair and produced a solid performance on Saturday. It showed that the #45 car can win more races throughout the season but has lacked somewhere that has hurt them. Explaining their shortcomings as a team, the 27-year-old NASCAR sensation speaks about what could’ve gone better for them at IMS.

Tyler Reddick says he ‘couldn’t go anywhere at Indianapolis

The 23XI Racing Camrys are one of the fastest cars on the grid with some immaculate raw pace. Reddick has also shown compatibility with the car’s speed and has adjusted accordingly since moving from Richard Childress Racing. Despite that, one area which they need to focus on is their strategy. A 4th-place finish isn’t sour at all, but settling for it when they had every chance to win the race is what upset Reddick.

“Honestly, at the beginning of the race, we weren’t really ourselves, unfortunately,” said Reddick, speaking to NBC Sports in a post-race interview. Similar to the IMS race, the one in Michigan could have also been another win for him until the catastrophic pit stop which rendered the right rear wheel of his #45 loose.

He added, “Our SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD just didn’t take off good the first I’d say 15–20 laps of the race and we lost some track position. Up from that and I know from that point on we kind of got better by stage two on and started to go right back in the right direction. But I could get right up to Suarez and I would kind of stall out, I couldn’t really… I could actually get within one and a half and dive bomb it in there and try and pass him but he’d have a preferred groove for the next corner so it just didn’t really work out.

“Better than him, but couldn’t really go anywhere once we were at his back bumper.”

After 23 races, Reddick sat in the 13th position with one win, 6 top 5s, and 9 top 10s. His playoff spot is secure and he can avoid a bubble battle unlike his teammate Bubba Wallace. Previously he has also indicated at the difference in their qualifying race performances and their main race performances which add a new dimension to their problem.

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“It’s been frustrating”: Reddick acknowledges their problems in the #45 this season

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Reddick has an average starting position of 10.739 and an average finish of 17.522. This statistic shows a stark contrast between their approach in the two races. While in qualifying sessions, Tyler has managed to bring out the best of the 23XI cars, the same pace has not been allowed much room on Sundays.

“Well, honestly, our average finishing position and our average running position, that’s where it gets frustrating. I don’t feel like we’ve brought a 15th place car to the racetrack once this year. We’ve been much better than that every single week and we’ve just not capitalized on it. It’s been tough. It’s been frustrating,” said the COTA winner speaking to Racer.

Talking about his problem with not being able to make full use of their raw pace, he added,  “The hard part is having the speed. We have the speed, which is awesome. It’s just hard. It’s hard to live with, honestly. It’s tough. It’s hard on everybody when we just continue to not capitalize on the speed that we bring to the racetrack.”

One positive thing to jot down from his performances in the two road courses will be his improved performances on tracks of this sort. Tyler Reddick had struggled with road courses for a major part of his career but has slowly leaned into the essence of it. Building confidence on the back of consecutive road course wins at Road America and Indianapolis last season, he has shown his talent to the community on every variety of asphalt.

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