MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 26, 2015) – Despite three weeks off for the Camping World Truck Series, Tyler Reddick drives his No. 19 truck into the Kroger 250 race at Martinsville Speedway carrying as much momentum as one can.
“We got to sit a month as the points leader,” Reddick said at a recent appearance at Martinsville Speedway. “I know it’s just two races, but we’ve got a win and we’re leading the points. That’s got to mean something to the guys at the shop, as it does to me.”
Reddick found himself in victory lane after the season opener in Daytona. While he followed that up with a fifth, he knows that Martinsville presents a set of challenges unlike any other in the sport.
Last season he finished 16th in the Kroger 250; his first start at the .526 mile oval. He improved to sixth last fall.
“I’ve always been a dirt racer my whole life, so coming to a place like this was totally new,” Reddick said. “This place is all about discipline, repetition and constantly hitting your marks. It was just so difficult for me to pick up on because I was a dirt racer where racing hard and as aggressive as you can each lap paid off and here you do the exact opposite.”
However, the 19-year-old does have some pretty good people who turn to when looking for advice. He drives for Brad Keselowski Racing and for this week will be teammates with Joey Logano. Reddick isn’t shy about going to the pair of Sprint Cup Series drivers for advice.
“I’m going to take advantage of having Joey here as a teammate this weekend. He’s probably not going to tell me everything, but he’ll be helpful for sure,” Reddick said.
While having that veteran ear to turn to during a practice session is nice, Reddick also knows that when the green flag drops it’s every driver for him or herself.
“At the end of the day we’re going to be racing against him for a win,” Reddick said. “This is just one race for him and I know he really wants to win that clock as badly as I do.”
And racing a mentor for the win is something Reddick would be okay with.
“It’d be awesome if it came down to two BKR trucks racing for the win,” Reddick said.
The Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series race is scheduled for 2:30 Saturday afternoon.
Adult tickets are $30 in advance and $35 on race day. Youth 12 and under are $5.
Tickets to the STP 500 on Sunday, the Kroger 250 on Saturday and the Virginia Lottery Pole Day on Friday can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
