23XI Duo Produces Strong Showing At Richmond

Tyler Reddick (45) and Bubba Wallace finished in the top five at Richmond Raceway. (Matthew Thacker/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

RICHMOND, Va. – Both Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace netted top-five finishes in the Cook Out 400 Sunday night, capitalizing on a shakeup in the playoff picture in the process.

The 23XI Racing teammates ran stellar races, with Wallace moving above the playoff cutline and Reddick zeroing in on the regular season point lead.

Four weeks ago, after the Chicago (Ill.) Street Race, Wallace was 45 points back of Ross Chastain for the 16th and final playoff spot. Now, leaving Richmond, he’s leap-frogged both Chastain and then-15th-place Chris Buescher.

However, with an upset victory by Austin Dillon – who was 32nd in points – Wallace went from what would’ve been 15th to now 16th in points. He holds the final playoff spot ahead of 17th-ranked Chastain and Buescher in 18th.

“We knew we had to work coming in here, obviously being below [the cut line] and our team did just that. We fought hard,” said Wallace after the race. “We did not have the best day on pit road. Not from a lack of effort; I appreciate them getting better all night. They showed up when it mattered on the last stop – kept us in it. Just [came down to] execution.”

During the end of the pit stop at the first stage break, Wallace’s pit crew took off the right front tire, but mishandled it during the exchange when putting on the new tire. This caused the old tire to slightly roll away, interrupting the crew’s routine and leading to a slow stop.

Because of all that, Wallace entered pit road fifth, but exited 12th to begin stage two.

However, that didn’t stop Wallace and his No. 23 team. They rebounded, and the 30-year-old ultimately collected his best career Cup Series finish at Richmond in fourth, besting his previous career high of 12th from last year’s summer race.

“Our Leidos Toyota Camry was way too loose. I tried to bite my tongue from the start of practice [on Saturday]. It was a handful, and it definitely bit us in the race, but we kept making it better and better – [I was] trying to give the best feedback that I could,” Wallace said, speaking to his car’s performance.

Wallace now has four top 10s in his last five races, including back-to-back top fives going back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Mobile, Ala. native is aware he isn’t safe from the postseason cut line, but is on pace for a career year. Wallace has already tied his personal high-water mark in top fives with five, and is one top 10 away from tying that stat as well.

“[We] just executed all night. I appreciate the effort from my team. Nice to walk out of here with a top-five finish, [but] we have a long way to go,” Wallace said of the upcoming three weeks. “We just have to keep fighting.”

The same fight from Wallace extended to his teammate Tyler Reddick. Like his teammate, the Corning, Calif., native is putting together his best season to-date.

Reddick narrowed down his regular season points deficit from 15 to just five behind series leader Kyle Larson, moving into second ahead of Chase Elliott.

When asked if he had a car capable of winning at Richmond, Reddick was admittedly unsure.

“I don’t know. I feel like a year ago when we were here, we were really strong. We had pace capable of winning the race. The handling was there,” he said. “Tonight, our handling wasn’t as great in our Mobil 1 Toyota Camry. We fought through it. We stayed in the mix.

“[Crew chief] Billy Scott and everybody on this No. 45 team did a good job with [pit] strategy.”

On Sunday, Reddick earned six stage points and led eight laps. With 13 weeks remaining in the season, Reddick has already tied most of his statistical totals from last year, with 10 top fives, 16 top 10s, and two poles. He’s also bettered his average finishing position from 15.7 to 10.9.

Reddick leads the Cup Series in both top five and top 10 totals this year.

“Overall, a good night for 23XI [Racing]. I know Bubba is hating the way that ended, because he has been working really hard to get above the bubble,” said Reddick. “The way that went down, he is plus three, so he’s still in decent shape, but [it was] a wild way to end the night.”

With three races left in the regular season, the Cup Series heads next to Michigan Int’l Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 18. Broadcast coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.