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Tyler Reddick's Drafting Track Record Worse Than It Looks
Tyler Reddick is last year's defending winner at Talladega, but he kind of backed into it as the crash that eliminated most of his fellow Toyotas after they had pitted but before anyone else had allowed Reddick to take the lead on the restart in a boxed-in 2X2 formation alongside Michael McDowell, who crashed coming to the checkered flag. While that's part of the game, it does suggest that Reddick isn't as strong a drafter as his results imply, but he's good at avoiding wrecks (as was also proved in the Daytona 500 where he finished second after running much worse because he missed the last lap Big One). His crash avoidance means he may stand a strong chance of gaining a lot of positions, but since there tend to be fewer crashes at Talladega than Daytona, he becomes less valuable. In a year when his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace is nearly matching him in speed, Wallace is a better option since he is better on this track type to begin with.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference
