NASCAR: Top 5 driver changes for the 2023 season
By Asher Fair
Top NASCAR driver moves for 2023: No. 2 – Tyler Reddick
As mentioned on the previous slide, Tyler Reddick seemingly left Richard Childress Racing in a surprised state when he announced over the summer that he would be joining 23XI Racing and Toyota in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Richard Childress Racing had just announced that they had picked up an option in Reddick’s contract to keep him behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet in 2023.
While signing with a new team over a year in advance isn’t a new concept, it was clear that this decision caused some tension, and there was always somewhat of a feeling that Reddick was going to be out after 2022.
The addition of Kyle Busch to the team’s lineup for 2023 only further fueled that speculation, though Richard Childress maintained that Reddick would be with the team next season, even though Busch was set to replace him behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet.
But with Kurt Busch, who had been sidelined with a head injury ever since his qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway in July, opting to retire from full-time competition, the No. 45 Toyota opened up at 23XI Racing for 2023.
Unsurprisingly, all parties involved — Busch, 23XI Racing, Reddick, and Richard Childress Racing — agreed to let Reddick make the move a year early.
The fact that a 2023 season which very well could have been a tension-filled season in Welcome, North Carolina is now set to see a complete turning of the page is a plus for everybody.
And the fact that Reddick is coming off a three-win season, the first winning season of his career, just makes the move to an up-and-coming 23XI Racing team even better.