Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
WATKINS GLEN N.Y. (August 19, 2023) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Watkins Glen International on Saturday:
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Toyota SmartPath Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Can the success you and Toyota have had on road courses this year translate this weekend at Watkins Glen?
“We definitely had good speed in Indy. We just were a little off at the beginning of the race, but really the final half of the race we were solid. I gave Daniel (Suarez) everything I had, and I just couldn’t get around him. We were just stuck behind him getting held up quite a bit. That was frustrating for sure. Certainly, I didn’t think we were at our best in Indy and hopefully the lessons learned from there can help us maybe be a little bit more on top of whatever it was that we were lacking. I know Indy to Watkins Glen is quite a bit different, but hopefully the speed is there. We’re going to find out pretty quick. Typically, we’re pretty solid right, but we aren’t really happy unless we’re as strong as we are at places like COTA. That’s what we’ll be searching for.”
What is your mindset going to Daytona next week? Is it a relief having clinched a spot in the Playoffs?
“We don’t go into that weekend thinking ‘Oh man, it is a relief.’ But certainly, it definitely is. I’ve been in a different situation in the past a few times where that race, everything is on the line, and we get there and it’s very stressful for sure. Yeah, hopefully everything pans out in a good place to where we’re able to go into that race without a lot to worry about other than trying to win stages and win the race. Because, for a lot of teams it gets really crazy and with that normally a lot of carnage happens as well.”
How do you think your season has gone so far?
“A lot of potential. A lot of potential there. We just have not quite capitalized on it every single moment unfortunately. Like I said, a lot of speed, we just unfortunately have not taken advantage of that every weekend that we’ve had it. So, hopefully between this weekend and next we can do more of that and go into the Playoffs in a good place.”
How have you improved your road course driving and where do you think you are now?
“I enjoy them a lot now. I never would’ve thought that. Six, seven years ago trying to make my way in NASCAR I never thought it would be something I like, but I’ve really grown to like it quite a lot. There’s just a lot that the driver can do right or wrong. Setup still matters a lot, and there’s a lot of time and effort that goes into that like every other weekend. Just the amount of corners you have to nail in a lap and all the things that kind of go into it – the braking, the shifting, the tools that you have in the car, the things you can do with the car. I really enjoy it, a lot more than I ever thought. I grew up racing on dirt and racing ovals so road course racing on asphalt was just something I didn’t know about really until I got into NASCAR.”
What did you learn from the experience of being on the bubble for the Playoffs in 2021?
“Our year was on the line really and we almost didn’t make it through. I got caught up in a wreck and I remember the team having to do some ridiculous work to the car just to make laps and we barely squeaked in. Unfortunately, a few weeks later we managed to not make it through the round of 16 but still making the Playoffs is huge for a team. That whole hype physically takes years off your life. It’s just so stressful. There’s so much happening out of your control, and it just seems like if things happen the penalty is just so massive whether getting caught up in an accident or making a mistake on pit road or whatever it is. That final race there’s a lot on the line whether you’re on the bubble or a driver that has to win to get into the Playoffs.”
What was the week like leading into the final race before the Playoffs when you’re in a bubble situation?
“With stage breaks you treated the race totally differently. You pretty much forgo the chance to try and win the race on your own. Just go for stage points. 2021 was frustrating for me because obviously I hadn’t won on a road course yet, but we got the pole at COTA earlier in the year and we had good speed at road courses that year. We were kind of having to throw our race away just to get stage points. I think for a lot of teams now it’s a little bit more difficult. You have to get creative with your strategy and staying out and running to try and get those points. It’s nice not having to worry about that. I think the speed is definitely good enough for us to be in that mix but like I said we really haven’t executed a lot. Over the course of the summer, we let a lot of wins get away so it’s a good thing we won earlier in the year.”
Have you shared any advice with Bubba Wallace on how to handle the next couple weeks?
“It’s definitely stressful. It’s just I always try to do everything I can to have our car as good as it can be for road courses. That doesn’t just apply to me. That applies to where they start and what they bring to the race track too. We prepare, especially at Indy and here — I’m not just preparing my car and trying to get it right, I’m trying to get it as close as I can for Bubba (Wallace) too. The pressure is certainly on as we prepare for these weekends trying to make sure we’re getting the most out of the setup and the car is as close as it can be. It’s definitely a difficult thing but if it comes down to it, I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again to help my teammate if it comes down to it.”
How much are you looking at how tight the current points situation is? How important are those five points?
“It’d be huge, honestly. Earlier in the year, before things really went off the rails for us, we were right around fifth, sixth and had a shot on closing on the lead and things kind of just blew apart. Obviously, watching a points battle I guess a lot of that but certainly understanding if we go out and have a good solid week here and avoid having a catastrophic day at Daytona hopefully, we’re in reach of getting those points right now. I think we’re strong enough at the road courses to get that and when we go to Daytona we need to survive and try to win the race anyways. It would definitely be nice to get back kind of in that points standing order we probably should’ve been in anyway. Hopefully, in this race and the next we can take a big chunk of that out. Ideally, it would be awesome to jump from where we’re at to sixth, but even just getting a couple would be great.”
What have you learned about your 45 team that can be applied during the Playoffs?
“For sure. The one thing that’s probably the most difficult part of it is showing up to the race track every weekend with a shot to win and we’ve been doing that for the majority of the year. We’ve got a lot of speed. That is the difficult part, but where it gets frustrating is when we don’t capitalize on it and get the finishes that we probably should be getting. The speed is there, right? And, how we’re getting it has been consistent so we’re just going to keep pushing on that front and hopefully the things that have been mistakes, the lessons along the way stick and we can just execute when it matters.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.
