Tyler Reddick 2020 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
Tyler Reddick 2019 Xfinity Series Stats: Points Finish 1st, 6 Wins, 24 Top Fives, 27 Top Tens, 6.3 Average Finish, 568 Laps Led
In 2020, two-time Xfinity Series champion, Tyler Reddick is being promoted up to NASCAR’s top series and he’ll be driving the Richard Childress Racing #8.
Making the move up to the top series along with him will be his Xfinity Series championship crew chief, Randall Burnett. They’ve proven themselves to be a successful duo, so keeping them together is a smart move on RCR’s part IMO.
The biggest question I have about Tyler Reddick in regards to what we should expect from him in 2020 is his equipment. “Performance Wise”, among fully funded teams RCR is mid-pack at best, and drivers for the organization need to rely on consistency to have a good season because outright speed isn’t there. In 2019, teammate Austin Dillon had his first full-time season without a top five and he only had 6 results in the top ten. I will note I view Reddick as an equal/ perhaps slightly better driver.
Strengths:
Tyler Reddick is essentially a driver without a track record, but in 2020 I would look for him to be at his best at intermediate tracks and plate tracks. I think he also will have some dark horse potential at shorter-flat tracks.
Weaknesses:
I think equipment is a weakness for Reddick, and among the upcoming crop of rookie drivers he’ll be finding himself in the least competitive situation. Driving in mid to high-teens quality equipment will greatly increase his level of difficulty across the board.
Intermediate Track Fantasy Value – B-
In 2020 at intermediate tracks, I think Reddick will sneak in some good results and get a top ten or two, but a good day for him will likely be a low double-digit to mid-teens day. I think a typical day will likely result in a finish between the mid-teens to about 20th.
In 2019, Reddick made one Cup start at an intermediate track and it was a good one. At Kansas in the spring he finished 9th, earned the 14th best driver rating and had a 16th place average running position. That’s extremely encouraging, but I wouldn’t view that as being a norm for him this upcoming season in anyway.
Last year in the lower series at intermediate tracks, Reddick was often at his best at intermediate tracks and he was able to race his way to victory lane at Charlotte, Michigan, Las Vegas and Homestead.
Flat Track Fantasy Value – B-
I have some doubts about Tyler Reddick at flat tracks. My concerns are mostly centered around the equipment he’ll be driving on this track type.
Last season at flat tracks, teammate Austin Dillon only had two good results. One he earned, and the other was in a mass attrition race so I wouldn’t really read too much into the result. In the other six races he finished 21st or worse. That’s not exactly confidence inspiring.
In 2019 at big flat tracks in the lower series, Reddick finished 2nd at Pocono and crashed at Indy.
At the shorter-flat tracks in 2019 in the lower series, Reddick had a great season and over the combined events he finished in the top ten every race and had a 4.8 average finish.
In 2020 at these venues, he might be able to sneak in a good result, but I would play it safe and view him as a high-teens driver.
Short Track Fantasy Value – B-
Tyler Reddick has had a steady level of fantasy production at short tracks in the lower series and over the last two seasons on this track type he’s finished in the top 11 every race and has an 6.4 average finish.
In 2019, Reddick had a stellar season at short tracks. He raced his way to victory lane at Bristol and had a 4.25 average finish. In 2018, all of his results were between 7th to 11th and he had an 8.5 average finish.
In 2020, I think it’s reasonable to view Reddick as a mid-teens driver. Last year his teammate, Austin Dillon was respectable and in the spring tour of these venues (stunk it up in the second trip) he had a 10.3 average finish, so RCR certainly has potential to put a good car on the track.
Superspeedway Fantasy Value – B
RCR builds quality superspeedway cars, so don’t overlook this rookie on this track type. He’s definitely worthy of fantasy consideration in 2020.
In the lower series, Reddick has run well at these venues so he might just have a knack for this form of racing. Over the last two years on this track type he’s won one race a year, has four top tens and a 7th place average finish (minus a crash at Daytona in summer 2018).
Last year in the Daytona 500, Reddick made a pre-rookie start and finished 27th. I’ll note his race wasn’t incident free because he wrecked with 42 laps to go during a pit road accident. Just prior to his accident he was running in the high-teens, which was about as high as he ran all afternoon.
Road Course Fantasy Value – B-
Last year in the lower series, Tyler Reddick had a great season at road courses. At these serpentine tracks in 2019 he swept the top five and had results of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th.
The level of competition in the lower series is of course nowhere near as high as he’ll face in 2020, but I’m not going to diminish the quality of those results. This upcoming season at road courses I’m going to view him as a mid to high-teens driver.
The level of cars RCR puts out on this track type is questionable. Since 2018 at road courses between Austin Dillon, Daniel Hemric and former driver Ryan Newman (2018 season only) they have zero top tens and a 24.75 average finish. When you take away their results in the 30’s assuming they had some sort of problem in those races, their average finish was 19.8.
