The NASCAR Cup Series is up to five first-time winners in 2022. Tyler Reddick became the latest driver to join that list on Sunday (July 3) at Road America. Reddick, along with everyone else, spent most of the afternoon trying to catch Chase Elliott. But after Reddick and Elliott both made their final pit stops with 19 laps to go, Reddick was able to close the gap and make the decisive pass.
Elliott tailed Reddick for several laps after that, but Reddick was able to slowly pull away as the race wound down. By taking the checkered flag, Reddick became the 13th different driver to win in 2022, giving him an edge in an increasingly tight race to make the playoffs.
Sunday was also a day of triumph for Richard Childress Racing. RCR ended a two-year winless drought in the Cup Series, one that stretched back to Austin Dillon’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway. Until Sunday, Dillon’s Texas win was the only Cup Series victory by RCR since he and the No. 3 team won the 2018 Daytona 500.
Clearly, RCR has not been winning races at the rate it used to. And it is likely for that reason that Reddick’s long-term future in the Cup Series often has an air of uncertainty. It seems like each year, Reddick’s name comes up as a possible replacement for whatever vacant seat is open with one of the large, multi-car organizations. The thought is that RCR, a team that has been noticeably declining for almost 10 years, cannot possibly be the permanent home for a driver like Reddick, who has shown enormous potential over the last few seasons.
But what if RCR is exactly where Reddick is supposed to be? Earlier this week, Reddick confirmed that he would be returning to RCR in 2023, with the team picking up the option year on his current contract. That still means Reddick and Childress would need to work out a long term deal if Reddick is to stay in the No. 8 beyond next year. After Sunday, it is hard to believe that Childress would rather have anyone else, or even that Reddick might want to leave. The Reddick-Childress pairing has the potential to make RCR a weekly contender in the Cup Series once again.
A driver who can regularly contend for wins is something that RCR has been missing for a long time. Ever since Kevin Harvick left the team at the end of 2013, Childress has struggled to find a suitable replacement. The team had a couple dependable veterans in Ryan Newman and Paul Menard, but the two of them won only one race each as RCR drivers.
Meanwhile, Dillon scored…
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