NASCAR: 5 drivers who could replace Tyler Reddick
By Asher Fair
While it hasn’t formally been confirmed when, Tyler Reddick is indeed set to leave Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series team. Who will replace him when the time comes?
After spending the last 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota, Kyle Busch is set to replace Tyler Reddick behind the wheel of the #8 Chevrolet at Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Reddick signed with 23XI Racing and Toyota for 2024 back in July, the move that ultimately led to Richard Childress pursuing Busch, but remains under contract with his current team through next year.
Despite the team saying that they have added a third charter to allow him to drive a third car in 2023 alongside Busch and Austin Dillon in the #3 Chevrolet, there are some who believe that this is simply a bluff to force an expensive contract buyout to get him out of the organization a year early.
In fact, it has been reported that a buyout is currently being worked on.
While Childress had insisted that Reddick is under contract through 2023, his attitude about the way the Reddick to 23XI Racing situation unfolded was no secret. His response to a question about why the team chose to add a third charter instead of going the contract buyout route was also unconvincing.
Regardless of whether Reddick actually comes back to the team next year, there are, as it stands right now, three drivers under contract with Richard Childress Racing in 2023. So who will ultimately replace Reddick?
Possible Tyler Reddick replacements: No. 1 – Ty Dillon
Ty Dillon is set to lose his ride with Petty GMS Motorsports after just one season, and it isn’t likely that he will land anywhere else in the Cup Series in 2023, given how far behind teammate Erik Jones he has been this year.
However, the addition of a third car to Richard Childress Racing would give Childress the ultimate opportunity to create a family organization in 2024, adding Ty to a lineup that has already included his older brother Austin for the better part of the last decade.
Performance-wise, there aren’t many reasons to justify the move, but perhaps Dillon can land seat time in the Xfinity Series in 2023, much like he did in 2021 after being left without a Cup ride, to stay fresh.