The math is very simple for everyone below the cutoff
There are many things that are much bigger than racing and Tyler Reddick is competing with a heavy heart this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval -- making his pole run on Saturday all the more impressive from a purely racing specific standpoint.
Reddick, who is also racing to advance into the Round of 8 this weekend, has spent time in the hospital this past month as four-month-old son Rookie has a tumor affecting a kidney that has caused other complications.
He and wife Alexa have been very transparent publicly about the matter and he provided an update before his pole setting run in Concord.
“Healthier is probably not the right word, but I’ve never seen him happier. His color looks good. He’s gained weight. A lot of things are going well. All that being said, some of the the tougher moments are definitely ahead. We’re definitely not in the clear. There are some things we need to get through first.
“So, on one hand, I’m really happy and it makes me feel great that he’s doing much better right now, but certainly we have some hurdles we have to get through first before we’re even thinking about leaving the hospital or thinking about what comes next.”
Again, recognizing that this is bigger and more important than racing makes him nearly winning last week at Kansas and winning the pole on Saturday at least a testament to his resolve.
“I agree with my wife this is the hardest thing that I’ve had to go through. … Certainly being away (last week) wasn’t ideal.
“That was a decision me and her came to a conclusion on when I was in Kansas. He was going in the right direction. Yes, like I said, big things ahead that we have to fix, but for that past weekend he was stable and going in the right direction. It was difficult to stay and race on Sunday, but we were on the same page about it. I just wanted to get off that plane so bad on Sunday night and get back to the hospital.”
Reddick enters this Round of 12 cutoff race 29 points below the elimination cutline and realistically must win to advance.
“For me, this weekend where we’re at in points, it just is what it is,” Reddick said. “I’m going to go out there and give it my best effort while I’m here certainly. For me, this week, the elimination, everything that is happening in the racing world is taking a back seat as it should.”
However, beyond that, there is a race to be run and he will share the front row with expected favorite Shane Van Gisbergen. In other words, a best case realistic scenario might be second place by the checkered flag and that simply isn’t good enough.
“I believe he was the standout in that regard, on long run pace, so, I will try to look at what I'm doing with the car,” Reddick said. “We'll try to look at what we can change on the car to see what more we can kind of do to help that. Outside of that, I thought my car handled pretty well over the course of the long run. We just have to just look through everything and see if there's anything more there that we can find to help us.
“I mean, I think we're okay when you look at the field minus the 88 but yeah, Shane's obviously very good at what he does, he's proven that this year in other years with this car. For us, we've got to kind of figure out how we can close that gap. It's a pretty big one, but we're up for that challenge.”
Updated Grid
Chase Elliott Adv.
Ryan Blaney Adv.
Kyle Larson +54
Denny Hamlin +48
Christopher Bell +44
William Byron +40
Chase Briscoe +21
Joey Logano +13
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Ross Chastain -13
Bubba Wallace -26
Tyler Reddick -29
Austin Cindric -48
The race to advance
For the bottom three in points, the math is really simple, in that winning is the only option.
Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric must win this race to advance.
For Ross Chastain, the odds are higher but more convoluted. He doesn’t have to win. He could race his way in by simply outscoring in points one of Chase Briscoe or Joey Logano, even if that will also take a little bit of fortune.
But Chastain does have a secret weapon of sorts in his road course racing game as Shane Van Gisbergen is sharing what he knows in exchange on oval racing skills.
"He's helped me a ton, so much, and I wouldn't have qualified 10th today if it weren't for Shane being my teammate," Chastain said. "He puts in the time at the sim. I take the early sessions and he doesn't want to be there that early but he shows up.
"I can look at the data at any time and it's a big help. I would not be as fast as I am without him."
What if they are running one-two on the final lap?
"I have no idea how that will work out," he said. "Guess you will have to tune in and see."
This is kind of unfamiliar territory for Briscoe.
“I’ve never been above the cutline coming into this race,” he said. “This race is so tough whether you are 20 above or 20 below. At some point, no matter where you are going to qualify, you are going to get cycled deep into the field.
“I have confidence because I have won here in Xfinity but there are nerves because I have been the guy that knocked someone out that was 25 points up. Anything can happen this weekend.”
At 13 points up, Logano wants to know exactly where everyone is.
“Absolutely. I want to know it all,” Logano said. “I want everything, all the information I can possibly get said to me. I think everybody knows you make better decisions when you have all the data and we’re asked to make decisions in the heat of the battle live. There’s no time to talk it through in a boardroom.
“We’ve got to make the decision at that moment, so the more prepared we can be the better, but also understanding what the situation is, what’s going on around me and what I have to do inside the race car.”
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Category: General Sports
