On Thursday at Phoenix Raceway, Tyler Reddick began one of the biggest weekends of his career: his first true shot at a NASCAR Cup Series championship. Forty drivers showed up to Phoenix, yet all but the Championship Four — Reddick, William Byron, and past Cup champions Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney — were eliminated from title contention. The highest Champ Four finisher in the race on Sunday would win the title.
Reddick’s title hunt came at the end of a tense week. He was the only Toyota left, since his 23XI team owner, Denny Hamlin, got eliminated on points at Martinsville Speedway, and his manufacturer teammate, Christopher Bell, was in the Championship Four for 27 minutes before getting removed for a safety violation. Byron took his place, despite allegations of race manipulation in favor of both of them. All the while, 23XI was in court with NASCAR, leaving the team’s future in jeopardy.
After doing race promotion all afternoon, Reddick walked over to me for an interview about the championship. We got derailed, as we usually do, and spent 10 minutes talking about JDM cars instead. I ask about his season, he tells me about a recent meme he saw that said movie critics use “slow burn” when they mean “boring” (I saw it too), and I eventually get to my last interview question.
“Don’t jinx yourself,” I said. “But how do you feel about Sunday?”
Reddick sat back, exhaled, and visibly relaxed.
“Really good,” he responded. “I feel really good about it.”
The making of a champion(ship contender)
NASCAR’s modern championship format for all of its national series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck) is an elimination playoff. In the Cup Series, the playoffs begin with 16 drivers. They span 10 races and four rounds; the first three elimination rounds have three races each, and the final round comes down to four drivers and one race. For this year, that race is Phoenix, and the highest finisher from the Championship Four there wins the title. A win in one round automatically sends a driver to the next, and the other spots are filled by points.
Reddick made the eight-driver round this year and wrecked himself in its first race in Las Vegas. It tanked his points position and almost killed his chance at the title. But these days, Reddick told me he’s better at separating his home life from his performance on track.
“I feel like when I was a lot younger, I wouldn’t turn that off,” Reddick said….
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