The first NASCAR silly season bomb dropped on Tuesday (July 12) afternoon and it was a big one.
Tyler Reddick, considered by many as one of the top young drivers in the sport, is switching teams after the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Reddick will join the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing for the 2024 season.
The news came as a surprise to many, as many expected Reddick to remain at his current team, Richard Childress Racing for the near future. Even RCR was taken aback at the announcement.
— RCR (@RCRracing) July 12, 2022
Whatever your feelings are on the change, one thing is for sure: Reddick is out and RCR has to find a replacement for the 2024 season.
But who is in a better position moving forward?
Reddick with 23XI Racing or Richard Childress Racing? Michael Finley and Vito Pugliese debate who got the better deal for 2024.
Richard Childress Racing Isn’t Done Yet
I’m not going to sugarcoat things: it was definitely a loss for RCR to lose Reddick.
And if you’re Hamlin with a chance to sign Reddick, you sign him every time. Reddick is a special driver that has the potential to be a future Cup champion. But let’s not count out RCR just yet.
RCR is going to have an open seat for 2024, meaning it is almost certainly going to be able to get any driver who gets hot in the lower divisions. It’s got the inside track on Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill who drive the organization’s NASCAR Xfinity Series cars, and could very easily pursue names such as Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, or even somebody more off the radar right now like Zane Smith.
It may not be a complete disaster if that talent can pan out. And if they don’t? Childress can always just coat hanger them off the stage like he did Daniel Hemric.
It’s also beyond clear now that Austin Dillon is the undisputed No. 1 driver at RCR, instead of potentially playing second fiddle to Reddick. Of the two Dillon brothers and the hate they generate, as a driver, Austin has always been pretty unfairly linked to his brother. Austin Dillon has a better average finish than Reddick has this year and has a strong enough resume where it’s hard to argue he isn’t Cup caliber.
The other big question here is going to be how does Reddick even fit into 23XI Racing. If he’s replacing Kurt Busch, that’s a big loss because Busch only makes the people around him better now, and even last year was running pretty darn even to Ross Chastain when the two…
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