Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) came up just a bit short in his bid to win his way in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase Friday night at Chicagoland (Joliet, Ill.) Speedway. The driver of the No. 29 Cooper Standard team ran well but saw his chances for victory evaporate on the final restart when he was boxed in on the final restart of the race.
Reddick qualified fourth during time trials Friday afternoon and moved up to second place during the opening laps of the race. The first caution slowed the race on lap 5. Traffic stacked three-wide around Reddick on the following restart, shuffling him outside the top 10. He was running 12th at the time of the second caution on lap 47.
Reddick pitted one lap later for four tires and adjustments. Speedy service by the Cooper Standard team moved Reddick up to eighth-place when the race went green on lap 50. He picked off four positions on the restart and was third by lap 71. He grabbed second place on lap 78 and was in hot pursuit of the race leader at the time of the third caution on lap 84. Reddick made a four-tire stop on lap 85 and lined up second when the race went green on lap 89. He was third when the fourth yellow waved on lap 106. Reddick made a four-tire stop on lap 107 and restarted fifth on lap 110.
The complexion of the race turned for Reddick on lap 113. He was running eighth when Ben Kennedy spun off Turn 2. Reddick cut hard to the left to miss him but still made contact with Kennedy’s truck. The team made two pit stops during the following caution period for repairs to the right-rear of his Ford F-150. Reddick restarted 21st on lap 118 and promptly picked off eight positions.
Two more cautions came in rapid fire sequence, (laps 118 and 125) but Reddick continued to move up through the field, climbing up to fourth-place by lap 133. He restarted fourth following the ninth caution on lap 142 and was racing hard with John Wes Townley when the two made contact at the entrance to Turn 1, bringing out the 10th and final yellow of the race and setting up a NASCAR overtime finish.
Reddick restarted fourth for the final two-lap dash. He dove to the inside of Cameron Hayley, racing for third-place at the entrance to Turn 1, but couldn’t clear his rival off Turn 2. The lost momentum allowed oncoming traffic to shuffle Reddick back through the field over the course of the final lap. He was credited with a 10th-place finish – his eighth top 10 of the season – and ranks 11th in the series championship standings.
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