Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 20, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Saturday after earning the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is Reddick’s second pole position of the season (Darlington) and eighth overall. Reddick also won the pole on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in 2022, before winning the race that same season.
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Can you tell us more about that lap and what it means to be racing on the oval this weekend?
“I was one of the last cars to go in Group B, so I watched a lot of drivers in round one have issues in turn four and a couple of other areas on the race track. It definitely seemed like it was easy to overstep the boundaries. I wanted to put down a good lap in that first round – and it was a very solid lap. We knew we had a solid car, and it was going to be important to make the right adjustments and back it up in round two. We had a little bit of pace fall off in round two from round one at first, but nevertheless, I thought we did a good job with the adjustments, and we were able to lay a lap down good enough to claim the pole.”
How excited are you to race on the oval this season?
“I have been excited to return and race on this oval, but I’ve been torn, naturally, because we’ve ran the road course here and have been very strong. I got my second career win here, so I was a little conflicted, but certainly I could see it in my team and at the shop – a lot of individuals that have ran the Brickyard for a lot of years, on the team, are really excited to return. You could see it in the fans, and in some ways, myself. It was a different feeling coming here and running the road course than it is when you run the oval, so I’m glad we are able to come back and give it another shot, especially on the 30th year of running here. There is a lot of huge moments that have happened here, so I’m glad to be back on the oval and excited for what the day may hold for us tomorrow.”
Would it be different for you to win on the oval?
“I feel like I celebrated pretty hard when I won here in 2022, so I just hope to match it again.”
Are you expecting to be able to pass tomorrow or not?
“I think when cars have kind of stacked up with one another – there will be opportunities to pass, but what we had in practice was cars were pretty strung out, and not really running in tight traffic for long periods of time. The tires hold on better. These tires have shown more to be sensitive to heat more so than wear. It is kind of a peak of what it could look like, but I expect when we are more packed up – like we saw in qualifying today – it is easy to make mistakes, when those mistakes happen, drivers will have opportunities to pass. That’s how I’m looking at, but certainly, if you take five of the strongest cars and line them up, it will be really hard for the guy in fifth to make a charge to get through all of them. You are really counting on somebody to make a mistake and get too aggressive, lose the nose or get loose to really be able to make a move.”
How important is it to start on the pole?
“It’s a big deal. Just starting towards the front is huge, but any additional spots we can get, once we got inside the seventh/eighth window is going to be huge for stage points in the beginning if it plays out, somewhat naturally, but also pit road here is narrow. These cars are wider than the gen 6 car, and the gen 6 race here that I was a part of, pit road was sketchy already, so expect pit road to be pretty chaotic already for the majority of the field and us having the option to choose first is going to really help us, I feel.”
When Denny Hamlin is starting next to you, does it make you race any differently?
“Well, if I tear it up, he’s paying for it (laughs). It’s his car. I try not to use that against him. I honestly feel like we race each other very fair, but hard. I’ve learned a lot about racing from him as well. I feel like we have a good level of trust and respect for one another, but obviously, when we come to a place like this (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), I know how badly he wants to win here. And I know how bad I want to win here. It’ll just be something we’ll have to manage throughout the day, and we’ll just see how it goes. Obviously, he and the 11 team are stout. The 5 (Kyle Larson), the 9 (Chase Elliott), those are guys that have been good all year long. But yeah, I wonder if that’s something he thinks about while we’re racing. Like ‘man, if he uses me up?’ Is he thinking about fixing up his race car or worried about his race?”
Did you know you had the pole at the end of the lap?
“Yeah, the last I heard is we needed to run a 49.50 at least, so I don’t know what Chase (Elliott)’s exact time was, but that was our target. I knew turn one was pretty bad on my behalf and knew I was going to have to hit it perfect the remainder of the lap and we did.”
How does this pole compare to the pole you earned on the road course in 2022?
“I feel like it’s equal of importance, for sure. But it certainly felt like in 2022, we were very strong and the margin of error to lose the pole was greater. So, I knew we had to be close to perfect today. I still wasn’t, honestly. But we did a good enough job in the rest of the three corners to be able to capture it. I feel like both are just as important as the other in regard to your race the following day. It’s just a great thing we were able to accomplish today.”
After being the fastest in practice and today, what perspective do you have going into the race tomorrow?
“Yeah, we have a good opportunity in front of us. But we know a lot of the guys right there behind us are really good at making overnight adjustments and doing what they need to do. I mean you look at guys like the 12 (Ryan Blaney) and what they did at Pocono this past weekend. Jumping under a different strategy put him in position to be able to win the race at Pocono. So, we have to be mindful of all potentials for how the race unfolds tomorrow. But certainly, having track position in the beginning can get you stage points.”
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 26 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
