NASCAR: Possible Tyler Reddick replacement emerges for Atlanta
By Asher Fair
With Tyler Reddick not feeling well, John Hunter Nemechek is ready to go if he needs to compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Tyler Reddick is still expected to compete in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but with him not feeling well, 23XI Racing have a potential replacement ready to go.
John Hunter Nemechek would drive the No. 45 Toyota in today’s 260-lap Ambetter Health 400 around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia oval if Reddick is unable to compete.
Nemechek competes full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing, which have a technical alliance with 23XI Racing, in the Xfinity Series this year.
Tyler Reddick wasn’t feeling well this morning and the team has John Hunter Nemechek in the car right now to make sure he will be ok if needed. Reddick right now still slated to start the race.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 19, 2023
John Hunter Nemechek gets out of the Tyler Reddick car as they did some slight adjustments so both Reddick and Nemechek could drive it if need be. Reddick not feeling well but hopeful to start race. Shouldn’t have to go to the rear. pic.twitter.com/ZMhLLMmN50
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 19, 2023
Nemechek competed for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series last year and remained with Toyota when Kyle Busch’s team switched to Chevrolet amid Busch’s Cup Series move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing.
Interestingly, Nemechek was 23XI Racing’s designated replacement driver last year, but Ty Gibbs got the nod to replace Kurt Busch when Busch was sidelined with the head injury he suffered in a single-car qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway.
Nemecheck, who competed full-time in the Cup Series for Front Row Motorsports and Ford back in 2020, did get the chance to make his Cup Series return last October, when Bubba Wallace was suspended for one race after intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Tyler Reddick qualified 16th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
He is expected to start there, but if Nemechek ends up starting the race, he would have to drop to the tail end of the pack and start 36th (last).
Should Reddick not be able to compete, he would likely be granted a playoff waiver, keeping him eligible to qualify for the playoffs, despite missing a race.
There is, of course, always a possibility that Reddick starts the race and Nemechek finishes it.
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Fox is set to broadcast the Ambetter Health 400 live from Atlanta Motor Speedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. If you haven’t yet started a free trial of FuboTV, do so now!