NASCAR News: Reddick overcomes adversity to win at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C.— It’s almost impossible to keep a good man down — especially when he’s on the kind of roll Tyler Reddick (pictured)  is enjoying right now.

Overcoming a cascade of problems inside his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Reddick delivered a commanding victory in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, beating runner-up Brad Keselowski by 5.847 seconds.

It was Reddick’s fourth win in just six races this season, following his record-setting sweep of the first three events. Only Dale Earnhardt (1987) and Bill Elliott (1992) have previously won four of the first six Cup races in a season.

The 30-year-old from Corning, California, had to fight through adversity all afternoon. A malfunctioning alternator forced the team to disable non-essential electrical systems, leaving Reddick without a cool suit in the South Carolina heat. A battery change during a pit stop dropped him to the rear of the field, and trouble with the right-front tire on their first green-flag stop produced a sluggish 16.3-second stop that cost six positions.

A late-race incident with Chris Buescher on Lap 242 of 293 added another hurdle.

Yet after his final pit stop on Lap 246, Reddick erased a seven-second gap to Keselowski — who led a race-high 142 laps — and took the lead for good on Lap 266.

“I’m pretty sure it’s frustrating for him because he had an unbelievable car,” 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan said. “The key was just keeping his head… Billy [Scott] did a good job keeping him calm. He kept his composure and did an unbelievable job.”

Reddick, who started from pole and led 77 laps, called it a fitting first win at the Track Too Tough to Tame.

“I know never to give up,” he said. “We’ve been so close so many times here. Lap 1 we had the charging problem… All day long, just no fans. Sweat my tail off inside the race car. Really worn out, but I guess I don’t need as much of that cooling stuff as I normally have.”

Keselowski, running a tribute paint scheme for the late Greg Biffle, finished second.

“We didn’t have the best car today. Not compared to Tyler,” he said. “Tyler drove a hell of a race, and he’s driving a rocket, and he’s making it count right now. We scored a lot of stage points, second place, first place loser — but that’s OK. We’re doing the things we need to do.”

Ryan Blaney finished third, Carson Hocevar rallied to fourth after starting at the rear, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five. Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Chris Buescher and Erik Jones completed the top 10.

The Cup Series heads next to Martinsville Speedway on March 29 for the Cook Out 400.

Post-Race Quotes

Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick with family in tow is going to run up here to grab the checkered flag in front of Darlington Raceway after what was an absolutely incredible performance. Tyler, the stat sheet is going to say you started first and finished first today, but there was a whole lot more than that in the middle of this race. When you’re on pit road changing the battery about 50 laps in, did you think it was going to be possible?

TYLER REDDICK: I know never to give up. I think it’s very fitting that when we finally get our first win here at Darlington that the lady in black would test us like that. We’ve been so close so many times. I mean, lap one we had the charging problem where the battery wasn’t charging at all. All day long just not running fans. Sweat my tail off inside the race car, and we knew it was going to be physical.

Yeah, I don’t know. Really wore out, but I guess I don’t need as much of that cooling stuff as I normally have.

I’d be careful saying that too loud. Billy Scott might not let you have it next week. You’ve been runner-up three times at Darlington. I know how much you wanted this one. You mentioned how much it means to you. Darlington, this is the place that’s too tough to tame, and you’ve finally done it.

TYLER REDDICK: Yeah, I mean, ever since I made my first lap here in an O’Reilly Auto Parts car, there’s just something about this racetrack that’s so special, so challenging. It’s been really fun for my evolution as a driver over the years, my time in O’Reilly Auto Parts car, my time at RCR and what we’ve perfected, my time here at 23XI.

Just really proud of everybody, and it’s cool to get boss man his fourth win on the year.

Michael Jordan

MJ just needs to show up to the racetrack and his driver overcomes everything. I don’t even know where to begin. All the issues for him that he overcame, MJ. What was that like watching from your perspective?

MICHAEL JORDAN: I’m pretty sure it’s frustrating for him because he had an unbelievable car. You know, you never know what’s going to happen, especially at Darlington. I think that the key to him winning was just keeping his head.

I think Billy did a good job of trying to keep him calm. We knew we had a fast car. We knew on a 30-lap run we were real good, on a short-lap run we were real good. We just had to get the car right. And he kept his composure, and he did an unbelievable job.

I know you’re so competitive. How fun is that when you know he’s down and out and watching him come through the field?

MICHAEL JORDAN: I wanted everything to be good. Once he gets back out there, I feel like his competitive juices are going to carry him all the way to the end. Those are the longest 18 to 20 laps that I can even imagine. I just didn’t want to see a caution. The caution would have changed everything. But he did the job. He earned it all week, and I’m real proud of the team.

Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski comes up in the runner-up position. Led 106 laps, a big-time points day for you as well, 55 points. I heard you guys say it on the radio, it felt like you might have had the best car on the day. How do you process this?

BRAD KESELOWSKI: We didn’t have the best car today. Not compared to Tyler. Tyler drove a hell of a race, and he’s driving a rocket, and he’s making it count right now.

I think we got the most out of the day we were getting to get, honest, but we scored a lot of stage points, second place, first place loser, but that’s okay. We’re doing the things we need to do and making the most of the days we have.

It’s really cool to have the great group of cars running up front. I put a nice right-sided stripe on the car. I think that would make Greg proud. If you know Greg, you’ll understand that one. A good day for Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang.

Ryan Blaney

What a drive for Ryan Blaney. Talk about overcoming issues. Two on pit road. It was like Phoenix all over again. You came up just two spots short, but you passed 48 cars again, Ryan. Take me through the emotions of your day.

RYAN BLANEY: I felt less at Phoenix. Yeah, solid car all day. I thought we had good speed. Especially long run speed. Yeah, just stuff we got to work on, pit road. Hopefully we’ll get better at that, address the issues that we got, and go forward. But that’s really all we can do.

Really proud of the 12 guys for bringing me a good car and getting it better all day and kind of adjusting to where we were in the pack. That’s kind of a tough way to do it, but appreciate Menards, Delta, Ford, Ford Racing, Dent Wizard, Wabash, BODYARMOR, Advanced Auto Parts, DEX Imaging, everything, for what everybody does on this program, Worth, The Worth Group.

Good showing. A lot of fun today sliding around. I thought the package was really fun. You could kind of make it angry, and you were going to pay the price, and that stuff is pretty good. I think it was the first time in my Cup career that I have let guys go on a restart or on a green flag cycle, and I said to myself, I’m going to see you in about 20. That happened multiple times.

I think we’re making progress on that, so we’ll keep going. Like I said, proud of the fight by the 12 guys.

Darlington 400 Race Results

Aerage Speed of Race Winner:  129.854 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 4 Mins, 56 Secs. Margin of Victory:  5.847 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  4 for 26 laps.

Lead Changes:  16 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick 1-45;B. Keselowski 46-95;K. Larson 96-112;B. Keselowski 113;K. Larson 114-116;B. Keselowski 117-145;C. Elliott 146-151;B. Keselowski 152-194;C. Briscoe 195-198;C. Buescher 199-201;T. Gibbs 202;C. Buescher 203-240;B. Keselowski 241;T. Reddick 242-245;C. Hocevar 246-247;B. Keselowski 248-265;T. Reddick 266-293.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Brad Keselowski 6 times for 142 laps; Tyler Reddick 3 times for 77 laps; Chris Buescher 2 times for 41 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 20 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 6 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 4 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 2 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 6,45,12,23,5,17,9,2,7,24

Stage #2 Top Ten: 6,17,5,19,45,60,24,2,54,7