Tyler Reddick outduels Chase Elliott for Road America win

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports activities NASCAR Author 

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. — Tyler Reddick had led 322 laps in his Cup profession previous to Sunday and had completed within the top-10 in 32 of his 91 profession begins.

Sooner or later, he was going to win. 

And that time got here Sunday at Street America.

Reddick outdueled Chase Elliott — among the best drivers within the NASCAR Cup Collection on highway programs, with seven profession victories on these circuits — and led the ultimate 16 laps to seize the Kwik Journey 250.

“We obtained it achieved,” Reddick mentioned. “We gained a race.”

Tyler Reddick scores first profession NASCAR Cup Collection win

Tyler Reddick data his first profession NASCAR Cup Collection win on Sunday at Street America.

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The victory was the primary for Richard Childress Racing in its previous 72 begins and the primary win for Reddick crew chief Randall Burnett.

“I knew the Cup Collection was laborious, nevertheless it really blew my expectations away as how laborious I used to be going to need to work,” mentioned Reddick, a two-time Xfinity Collection champion.

Listed here are three takeaways from a wierd race, at which the one cautions got here on the stage breaks as drivers performed good with each other all through the day:

Reddick lastly closes it 

Reddick has come near wins; he had 5 profession runner-up finishes, together with two this yr. He appeared headed to the win in April on the Bristol Dust race, the place Chase Briscoe took an enormous gamble to make a transfer to win and ended up wrecking Reddick (and himself).

“I don’t obsess [over those finishes],” Reddick mentioned. “I’m going again and take a look at it, and I understand that there are issues I might have achieved in a different way.”

Not solely did he earn a win Sunday, however Reddick additionally gained on a highway course, and highway programs are the place he struggled early in his profession. Early on, he by no means thought he would win a road-course race.

“5 years in the past, I might have laughed and walked away as a result of there’s no means on this world that might have ever occurred,” he mentioned. “I used to be simply horrible at it.”

Playoff spots jumble 

With the victory, Reddick went from 52 factors under the playoff cutline to into the playoffs with the automated berth for a win.

Now that there are 13 winners, there are solely three playoff spots out there on factors, with eight races left within the common season.

The victory Sunday dropped Kevin Harvick from contained in the playoff cutoff to twenty factors exterior, with Christopher Bell now the final driver who would get in on factors. Ryan Blaney (114 factors forward of Harvick) and Martin Truex Jr. (plus-61) are the winless drivers additionally at the moment “in” — however one other winner from exterior the cutoff might make them nervous.

“It’s an enormous sense of aid,” Reddick mentioned. “We’ve tried to get the job achieved at quite a few locations all through this yr, and we’ve let one or two issues let that occur that take us out of that.

“At present was lastly the day I hoped for all yr lengthy, simply having a mistake-free race and see the way it shakes out. We did that right now, and we’re in victory lane due to it.”

Frustration for Elliott

Chase Elliott was pissed off that Reddick was capable of go him after Elliott dominated the race. As soon as Reddick was in clear air, Elliott often closed the hole however by no means obtained shut sufficient to be an actual menace.

“I did not do an excellent job there,” Reddick mentioned. “I simply let him keep shut sufficient to stress me there whereas we had respectable tires and by no means might get sufficient of a niche. [I] made a pair errors.

“I used to be gaining a niche there a pair instances and made a pair errors and let him get again shut sufficient to get me out of sync, after which after that simply began struggling.”

Elliott led 36 of the 62 laps.

Bob Pockrass has spent a long time protecting motorsports, together with the previous 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports activities in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seashore) Information-Journal. Comply with him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. In search of extra NASCAR content material? Join the FOX Sports activities NASCAR E-newsletter with Bob Pockrass!

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