How Brickyard 400 pole sitter Tyler Reddick could make IMS history
SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) — Tyler Reddick has been a dominant force all weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the Brickyard 400.
The 23XI Racing driver maintained his pace from practice to qualifying — staying the fastest on Friday and Saturday and winning his eighth Cup series pole in his career.
“It’s a big deal,” Reddick said. “This is a race where I think where we’ve seen throughout its history where you have to qualify good to set yourself up to have a successful day on Sunday. It’s really nice to see the trend continue from practice into qualifying today.”
Reddick posted a fast lap of 181.932 miles per hour to beat out Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin for the top position on the grid. This is Reddick’s second pole of the season — first at IMS. Both of those drivers have yet to win a Brickyard 400.
The return to the oval has been an adjustment for the drivers — most of whom have never driven the Cup series on the IMS oval, and all of whom are doing it for the first time in the Next Gen car.
“It did definitely seem like it was pretty tricky out there. A lot of drivers having issues in Turn 4 and some other places around this lap,” Reddick said. “We’re not as fast as the IndyCars by any means but it does still feel like you’re pushing the absolute limit around this race track.”
Reddick is no stranger to success at IMS. He won the NASCAR Cup Series race on the road course back in 2022. But he knows winning on the oval is a whole different kind of special. He could be the NASCAR Cup Series driver ever to win on the IMS oval and road course if he can carry the speed into Sunday.
“I mean, it would be really, really awesome,” Reddick said. “It would be a great opportunity to win on the road course here and then have the opportunity to hopefully win the Brickyard tomorrow.”
Reddick kissed the bricks with his family back in 2022, but he says he’ll have a “nice little make-out session” with the Yards of Bricks if he wins his first Brickyard 400 Sunday.
Sunday’s green flag is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. as the crown jewel race returns for the first time since 2019.