(Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — 23XI Racing drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace took advantage of an early caution by electing to pit for fresh tires, influential decisions that led to top-three finishes in Sunday’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
While nearly everyone stayed out during a yellow for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the 23XI duo pitted for four new Goodyears alongside eventual winner Kyle Larson on Lap 18 to gain a massive tire advantage. They needed a long run for the strategy to pan out, which happened. Within 35 laps, Larson drove from the rear of the 23-car field to the lead and Wallace and Reddick followed suit. By the Lap 100 competition break, all three had catapulted into the top three.
The final 89 laps of NASCAR’s return to Wilkes County stayed green and the 23XI drivers never threatened Larson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver finished 4.537 seconds ahead of Wallace, who said that despite efforts to save tires, never had enough to threaten Larson at the end.
“I just didn’t have what [Larson] had. I thought we could close the gap a lot more than we did, but just didn’t have it,” Wallace said about the closing laps. “He could attack hard and have something there in the end. If this was a normal race, something to be excited about – but this was for a million dollars, and you come up short and walk away with nothing.”
Though he started 10th after finishing fifth in his heat race on Saturday, Wallace said that he was unsure how his car would handle in the main show. He dropped back several positions before the early caution, using the fresh tires to get his No. 23 car to come to life.
On the other hand, Reddick noticed the speed and handling of his No. 45 car earlier in the weekend and felt confident about his chances on Sunday. He, however, blamed himself for allowing Larson to get ahead of him in the first segment of the race.
(Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
“Just needed a little bit on the balance, but The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry TRD was really fast,” Reddick said. “I made a mistake earlier in the race in the first 100 laps and let Kyle (Larson) squeeze by and he really mowed through the traffic. We lined up behind him on that restart and could kind of stay in touch, but he was able to keep just far enough away.
“I was trying to figure out how much to push and how much to save. I had an opportunity to get around [Wallace] with about 40 to go, and I just made a mistake – one of the few all night – and put us behind … I thought the 14 (Chase Briscoe) and the 9 (Chase Elliott) were going to beat us out. We really started to push there in the end, and I had more in the tank than I thought. I wish I could have that back, but a solid effort by our guys and our team.”
Reddick has a win this season and is locked into the Playoffs as long as 16 or fewer drivers win a race. Wallace, however, is 15th in points and still hungry for a win to secure an inaugural appearance.
Including the last two points-paying races, Wallace has three consecutive top-fives. He views it as momentum ahead of the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season.
“All-in-all, just continue to ride the momentum train. I want to get Columbia in victory lane,” Wallace said. “We just have to keep going. Now we show up to our home turf. We have to keep the momentum rolling there and get ourselves deeper into the Playoffs. I’m excited to be where we are at right now – just came up one spot short.”
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is set for May 28 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX. Wallace and Reddick’s boss, Denny Hamlin, won last year.
