With the NASCAR Cup Series‘ EchoPark Texas Grand Prix marking NASCAR’s first time racing at Circuit of the Americas, Tyler Reddick hopes to gain some extra track time in advance. On Saturday, Jordan Anderson Racing announced Reddick will drive the #31 Chevrolet Camaro in Saturday’s Pit Boss 250.
Reddick’s last Xfinity race on a road course was during his championship-winning campaign in 2019 when he finished runner-up to A.J. Allmendinger at the Charlotte Roval. In eight career Xfinity RC starts, he has five top-ten finishes, four top fives, and the 2019 Roval race as his best run.
The two-time Xfinity champion is currently in his second full season of Cup racing for Richard Childress Racing. After twelve races, he is sixteenth in points with five top tens and a best finish of second at Homestead.
“I am hopeful that we will be able to have a great run in the Pit Boss 250 at COTA and build some solid momentum moving forward,” Reddick said. “Between the pairing of the Richard Childress Racing chassis and ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing) motors they have – it will be great to get back behind the wheel of a familiar race car in the Xfinity Series.”
After not running any Xfinity races in 2020, Reddick returned to the series in 2021. He entered the season opener at Daytona in a newly-opened #03 car for Our Motorsports, but qualifying was rained out and a lack of owner points meant he missed the race. Our eventually allied with the #23 of RSS Racing and placed Reddick in it for Homestead, where he finished second but was disqualified. The #23 was fully taken over by Our a week later at Las Vegas, where Reddick finished twelfth.
Ironically, the #31 was in the same boat as the #03 to start the season. Team owner Jordan Anderson had hoped to run the full schedule as a rookie, but the #31 was locked out of the next nine races—which did not have qualifying—as it did not have any points. COTA will be the Xfinity Series’ first race with practice and qualifying, finally giving the #31 and #03 a chance to see the track.
“Our entire organisation is looking forward to the opportunity to finally get back on track next weekend at COTA with Tyler behind the wheel, and show the effort everyone has invested in preparing these race cars,” commented Anderson.
It is not uncommon for Cup drivers to dabble in the lower series for additional exposure to a track, which will be at a premium for COTA as a new addition to the NASCAR schedule. Cole Custer, a fellow Cup Series sophomore, is also running the Xfinity event. Reddick has yet to score a Cup RC top ten in three tries, with a twelfth at the Charlotte Roval in 2020 being his highest finish. He crashed out of the first of seven Cup road races in 2021, finishing thirty-eighth at the Daytona Road Course.
During the ten-race stretch of DNQs, JAR primarily focused on the Camping World Truck Series, where the #3 races on a full-time basis with multiple drivers. Roger Reuse will pilot the #3 in the Truck race at COTA on Saturday before the Pit Boss 250.
“Tyler brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table that will not only elevate our programme, but help us build for the future and accomplish the goals we have set internally,” Anderson added. “I am incredibly thankful to each and every one of our team partners that have stuck behind us this season and kept their belief in the long-term vision we have. It has been a blessing to experience the support from all the amazing people that have stood behind us on this journey. It will be a great feeling to see both the #3 Chevrolet Silverado and #31 Chevrolet Camaro SS competing next weekend.”
