Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
DAYTONA BEACH (February 15, 2023) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to media prior to the Daytona 500 Wednesday morning:
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
What’s the biggest difference you’ve experienced thus far with the move to 23XI Racing?
“Honestly, I would say it’s Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and how they interact with the drivers. The support that 23XI and Joe Gibbs Racing gets from them is really, really incredible. I’d say that for me has been the biggest thing. Obviously, I changed teams too for sure and how the teams operates is different. But the overwhelming support and all the great people at Toyota is the biggest thing for me.”
Has the biggest difference been on the technical side?
“Just all categories, it’s been great. It’s been a really nice, a nice surprise and I’ve enjoyed the transition.”
Did you and Kyle Busch ever talk or give each other advice when you basically swapped teams?
“I wouldn’t say we gave each other advice. I just said, ‘Hey, you’ve got a great group of people, take care of them. They’re really passionate and they’ll do a lot of good for you.’ That was pretty much the extent of it. We didn’t share notes or anything like that. So far it seems like he’s fitting in really good with those guys over there so I’m happy that a team that I’ve been with for so long and have done so much with, they’re getting that. I didn’t know when the end was going to be or if it was going to happen, looking years back, but for whatever reason if I wasn’t going to be driving for those guys or that group, I wanted them to have the best driver out there and I feel like Kyle’s (Busch) one of those drivers.”
Has your shoe game been increased since joining 23XI Racing?
“Incredibly. I had a couple, but certainly yeah. The more the merrier. I can setup my outfits around them now. It’s been cool.”
Have you had much interaction with Travis Pastrana yet?
“We’ve had a few meetings in preparation, qualifying and all of this. I’ve got to be around him a little bit at the shop, which is nice. I don’t know how he does it. He stays really, really busy. He’s been bouncing back and forth between North Carolina and here running the Modifieds and doing other things. He’s just been staying really busy. He’s probably been in the car more than any of us so far to start the year. So far, it’s gone really well. He’s in a tough spot for sure. The first time he’ll be in the car really making any sort of time in the car will be launching off pit road for his qualifying lap, which will be really important.”
How did Clash weekend go for you in getting up to speed with the race team?
“I thought it went really well honestly. Balance-wise, we didn’t hit it exactly perfect on the head, but Bubba (Wallace) did, and they were really strong and we were a little off on the balance, but we still had a really strong race car. Feel like it went really well. We had a few mistakes on the choose lap with just not choosing the right lane and lost a lot of spots there, but we were able to get some of them back by the end of the race. For the most part, I think we could have done a couple things better, but for the first real weekend and attempt out, a lot of things that me and Billy (Scott, crew chief) and my spotter could control, we did pretty good.”
How will it feel to race the two-mile oval at Fontana for the last time next weekend and does NASCAR need more short tracks?
“I’m definitely really going to soak in this last time that we’re at Fontana on the two-mile configuration if this is truly going to be it. I’m going to get to run the Xfinity car there and I’m excited to make the final Cup start there. I’ve always wanted to win there at the two-mile oval and it’s going to be high on the list for me this year. I really want to win on that track before it changes or goes away.”
What’s the relationship been like with Billy Scott?
“Billy’s (Scott, crew chief) definitely a very structured, on time, methodical person and I feel like I’m the exact opposite. We balance each other out pretty good. I don’t think I’ve gotten under his skin too much yet. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Maybe this week I’ll be able to. I think it’s going pretty good so far. I think we have the potential to mesh really well together. We’re just going to keep learning and growing as we go.”
How can your past experiences influence your progress at 23XI Racing?
“I think just finding common ground like me and Randall, you know he grew up in St. Louis, but I basically spent seven or eight years of my life in the Southern Illinois area growing up and traveling to a lot of those race tracks so we shared the same passion. We started off on the right foot I would say. Me and Billy (Scott) have our similarities too, he really likes to exercise and stay active too. I think we’ll have our things that will work really well for us. One thing, he’s always really good about being 15 to 20 minutes early and just for him, I’ve been trying to do better at that and so far, I feel like I’ve been doing a better job of that so I think we’re off to a good start.”
Should they wait to see if the short track package is better before they change the Fontana race track?
“Well I mean certainly once you rip it up, you can’t put it back down again. Certainly, I’m not the one that makes that decision. Fontana has put on really good racing for us for a number of years. It was one of the few tracks back when it was paved well, well back in 1996, it came in pretty early on and it’s raced really good for a number of years. Obviously, they’ll have their reasons if they do tear it down, but certainly as we’ve seen with a number of repaves or configurations, once you make that step, you’re kind of committed to it. Hopefully if they do make that step, the racing that we have on the new configuration is as good as what we had before.
Is there anything on the racing that you have learned from Bubba Wallace?
“Just how he approaches speedway racing is definitely different than mine. His comfort level to be able to just jump in and go – is something that I don’t have the same understanding for. I have picked his brain on what him and Freddie (Kraft, spotter) do – how they communicate throughout the race is something that Nick (Payne, spotter) and I have tried to learn from and will continue to learn from.”
Have you set down with Kurt Busch at all?
“In years prior, I’ve been able to spend time with him before 23XI and how he looks at racing. He incredibly smart about race cars and race craft and what he is feeling inside of a race car and trying to get an understanding of that has been beneficial. It has been really, really nice having him when we had the test in COTA – he was there. Every day, every minute, giving feedback. We would talk every time we could – in between runs. He went out to the Phoenix test. We had an engineer or two go too, but he went out there to try to pay attention to what was going on. He’s been a nice resource not only for me, but for Billy (Scott, crew chief) and our whole team. Just an extra set of eyeballs that can really pay attention to what is going on. He comes from a place with a massive amount of experience in this sport, so to have someone like him in our corner to guide me and the whole team has been great.”
How can your learnings as a test driver of the NextGen help you and 23XI?
“The setup of the NextGen car that I drove at the NextGen test is way different than the way it drives now. Almost no – there’s nothing that I can take from the Darlington test that I can apply to the way it drives now. I think Darlington we had like five seconds of fall off or something crazy in 25 laps. The car just drove so much different, where it drove platform wise. It is nowhere close to where it is today. There is not a lot that I can take from that but certainly, there is trends and things that we followed at RCR (Richard Childress Racing) that I remember and have note of and just trying to not make the same mistake twice.”
How well have you gotten to know Billy Scott over this offseason?
“I’ve got to know him a lot more over the offseason – whether he has wanted to know more about me or not – he’s gotten to know more about me for good and bad. I think our relationship is off to a good start. He’s very straight forward and serious and it goes well with how much of a character, arguably a clown, I can be. I think it is a good balance.”
Have you got to talk to Michael Jordan at all? What’s it like working for him?
“It’s a huge responsibility. That guy has done nothing but win, on and off the race track throughout his whole life. He has done really, really well. That is the tone and the precedence on how we are going to operate and go throughout our year here at 23XI. He has high expectations, and I knew that he was involved, but it is really cool to see as I’ve been getting integrated into the team on how much he does pay attention, even more so than I expected. It’s all been really good. I’m excited to drive for him and Denny (Hamlin) and continue to grow in the right direction that this team and Toyota want us to.”
What are conversations with him like?
“It just depends on the conversation itself. It can be about racing, sometimes it is about other things. He’s definitely locked in. It’s funny. I wasn’t feeling my best out at the Clash and somehow, he knew. I hadn’t told very many people, but he was in the loop and wanted to make sure I was all good. It’s great to know – I mean I know he cares about it; it is his team – but certainly he is really in the loop and pays attention to what is going on.”
Has he helped you out with competitiveness or spirit?
“I’m not going to lie when you sit down and talk with a guy like that and you talk about the future and him wanting you to drive for his team – if that doesn’t get you excited and find a way to take it to the next level, then I don’t know what will.”
Have you been able to share some of your road course knowledge with Bubba Wallace yet?
“We haven’t really dove into it much yet. I was the only driver in the car at COTA for the tire test, but COTA is not far away, honestly. I think it is the fifth or sixth race into the season, so as it gets closer and closer, more of that will take place, but certainly. I’ve always been an open book, even when we were aligned, when he was at Petty, and I was at RCR (Richard Childress Racing). I’m going to be there for him with all of the information that he wants whenever we are going through things on the simulator or whatever it may be. I want the whole team to do better, so whatever it is that he needs, I will be there for him whatever that is.”
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