As both RCR drivers currently sit within playoff contention, Tyler Reddick is looking to build momentum heading into the summer swing.
The California driver served as the best finishing RCR entry in the field, as Reddick brought his No. 8 Kalahari Resorts Camaro home in 11th position.
“My No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions team did a great job today coming up with a strategy that helped get us a good finish for the first race of the Pocono Raceway doubleheader weekend,” Reddick said post-race. “I fired off a bit too tight, but we were able to make the right adjustments to loosen up our car closer to where it needed to be throughout the race.”
Reddick and teammate Austin Dillon were both able to keep their cars clean throughout the first race of the Pocono double, a pivotal task for their starting position on Sunday.
Perhaps one of the unsuspecting keys to keeping the car clean, was the lack of ability to pass in dirty air, something that Reddick mentioned played a role in handling.
As Reddick explained, “It was like a light switch sometimes when the car would snap from loose to tight, so that’s good to be aware of for tomorrow’s race, especially with how hard it was to pass today.”
Comparing his finish to last season, Reddick left the Pocono double in 2020 with an abysmal best finish of 30th. Additionally, Reddick found himself within playoff contention during race one, and then on Sunday dropping two spots in the points to 18th.
Needless to say, the 2021 edition of the doubleheader is in the green for Driver No. 8. With a top 15 finish on Saturday, the team still has some work to do in getting the No. 8 Camaro handling properly for Reddick.
“We still need to do some work to figure out how to get over the bumps better since that was my other big issue today,” Reddick explained. “But overall, my team did a good job figuring out a pit strategy that got us up into a good spot when it mattered at the end.”
Thanks to the inversion for Sunday, Reddick will start in the 10th position, starting six spots better than his day on Saturday.
With the playoffs drawing closer each week, the 25-year-old is proving that he could join what would be his first playoff roster in his Cup career. With eight top tens and an average finish of 15.5 on the season, Reddick is a driver that the fans should keep their eye on.
Fans can see the Pocono Mountains 350 go green on Sunday, June 27th at 3:30 PM EST on NBCSN.
