Tyler Reddick on his regular season championship, Future of 23XI, and Scott Bloomquist's mentorship!

Intro Scott really took me under his wing in in a way that no one had really seen um him him do for others and so it just it just meant a lot it really did right there the man welcome to Kevin Harvick's happy hour presented by NASCAR on Fox and this week for our conversation um we have Tyler reic we gave him a week off because he had so many issues in the car uh that we didn't want to bother him after after Darlington so we gave him a week off uh but we really wanted to have the conversation about his progression at at at 2311 his relationship with Michael Jordan obviously we we've heard him talk about his relationship with with Scott Bloomquist and I was uh super excited that he agreed to do it a week later so that we could ask all those questions so here's the interview we encourage you to follow us anywhere you can on social media and subscribe anywhere you can but we hope you enjoy the time we spent with Tyler well Tyler thanks for taking the time uh we gave you a week off since you had so many so many issues at at Darlington that we figured we' just we'd just wait a week but um you know I I think for for me when I look back at at your regular season I think back to Vegas and the and that frustration that you had not winning that race at the beginning of the year and there's been a couple other instances like that but the thing that that that has struck me about your season is the regular season is the consistency that you guys have found to Importance of Consistency be able to finish in the top 10 happened again yesterday at Atlanta so I know you got frustrated with not winning races but that's going to be like that for for a long time explain to the the folks that are that are listening just how important that consistency is uh to to find to be able to be competitive week in and week out and build your progr yeah I think on that front you know it's something we knew we need to improve um last year it really hurt us in the regular season uh one year ago I think we were coming out of Charlotte last year 30 points out of the lead and by the time we got to Daytona we were like 130 or 40 so we just uh we got really caught up in winning races and and not necessarily getting the finishes um the best finish out of the day and it just didn't really allow our team to really build the way that we needed to um I think we got that somewhat corrected for the playoffs last year um but again it was just a huge point of emphasis for us um going into this year and so just when we're able to do that and and get consistent finishes you know I I don't know if necessarily we need to bring back the car in one piece every time kind of like you used to you know um these cars are coming completely apart anyways but um certainly I think it helps the morale you know it and for us it gives us something it gave us something to Chase um in the regular season just trying to claw our way closer to the lead um I think just all around for our team in general um that mindset just been better and for me too I feel like in in the past in my career when I've had that little nugget out there that's within reach that I can chase it kind of helps me um think big picture a little bit um it's very easy uh I feel like in these cars and just anywhere you go to get so caught up in winning races and not really caring about the consequences of of throwing away a a top 10 or a top five so yeah it's been nice to um I don't know just just have a little bit of a different approach than I've had in years past well I think that that also comes with just being in the car and having the same team and being around all the people I I I feel like the the consistency in the old car was was very necessary I think it's it's obviously the goal in this car I I I feel like watching and being in the driver's seat for a couple years in this car I still had to air a little bit to the the more aggressive side than I did um the conservative side like I used to in the old car because of the fact that the track position's hard to get it's it's a little bit it's you know everything's so much closer together is that how you feel I mean I know that we're talking about consistency but I still feel like with this car you have to air on the side of being too aggressive is that is that how you feel to an extent yeah more so than the old car I think it's just the way this car likes to be driven too though um it it likes you know it it seems like the more aggressive you can drive it the better off you're going to be um you know we kind of found that at Michigan right we were we were a little bit on the loose side so I thought in the beginning of the race and you know in some ways with the old car that balance that we had is kind of what you would want and uh we decided to tighten it up take it chance of maybe getting it too tight and you know you just it worked out so I think yes this this car definitely likes to be driven harder little counterintuitive though to what I think uh I definitely thought coming into this car with just how edgy uh it can be in the back you know there's no you don't build side Force when you when you get in yaw with this car um it loses down Force when you get the when you get it sideways it just shuts air off to the diffuser so some of that stuff was was not what I was expecting coming into it but um definitely as you mentioned you know uh if you get side by side with somebody you can pretty much win the battle if you out drive them into the corner and get clear so certainly it does seem like uh you do have to be a lot more aggressive with this car but all that comes with a line right when you cross it you can't really save it like you used to right when you when you went to 2311 and you made the change from from RCR I know that you probably had expectations of you know going in there and being where you are this year talk about just the dynamic of learning a new team learning a new manufacturer crew chief or you know all the different scenarios that that went in because we're here today talking about your your regular season championship and the things that that that you guys have done what's that process been like for you mentally and inside the company to be able to get to this point of of winning a regular season Championship but also kind of starting over because it's it's never the same because there's there's quirks of of every company what's what's been some of the things that you've had to learn about Toyota and the thought process of of where you are now to to really kind of hone in on on what has led to success this year yeah I mean that's I mean you you you nailed it it was starting over um you know the routine that i' had had for the last couple years just um how the whole week looks uh certainly completely changed going over to 2311 um you know just how you know how how Denny and all the leadership here uh does does the meetings throughout the week just the schedule was completely different so it is there was a learning curve to that um you know getting familiar with with with Toyota what TRD brings to the table the assets they have um the assets that that 20111 has been able to bring in um over the past year and a half just getting used to all those things then kind of figuring out um you know between myself and Bubba what works for both of our schedules um it's definitely been a learning curve but I think it's been a good one um definitely have a good sense of uh consistency throughout the week and and in the routine that we have I think that was the biggest thing for me was just kind of finding what my routine was going to be last year it was hard to really nail one down and um you know I think that's something we did a really good job of this year is every week looking very much if not identical it uh just allows me to be in a good routine allows me to have the confidence that I need uh doing the things that I'm doing here at the shop going into the race weekend so um I think it helps it helps everybody but it certainly help me a lot what's your relationship like with Billy obviously we we know it's good but I I I think you know for for me with with Rodney when you talk about that that consistency of of routine and being able to do the same things it's boring to people U when you tell them that answer I always found that that exact same thing if I if I could do it over and over and over and over I could Race Championship for him from week one until week you know 36 and and I think that that is just the structure that you have to have how how involved was Billy and is he pretty Bond with Crew Chief Billy Scott honest with you and saying hey you need to do this different or I'd like you to do this what's that relationship like between you guys and from from that aspect of of him pointing out hey you're not doing a good job because I I I was never offended when Rodney told me I sucked or or told me that I you know shouldn't have done this or shouldn't have done that and I think that's that's part of the key to success in in my opinion yeah they can definitely see a lot more than than we can in the driver's seat we we know what our cars are doing we can kind of see what the cars around us are doing but we don't fully I I don't anyways I don't fully understand the big picture on strategy or or what we kind of have to do to you know in each stage or in each cycle um so certainly I really rely on Billy for all that stuff but but yeah you know for for our relationship it it took a little bit to kind of understand what he likes and for him to understand what I like we had a a good starting point I feel like because he was uh at RCR while I was at RCR as well so we were familiar with one another but certainly um you know Billy and me have a pretty good relationship when it comes to you know he's he's very brutally honest with me and and most of the time he's right um there's very few times but it does happen where you know he's he's trying to get me off the bottom like in I think stage one or stage two in the race at Atlanta he's like you're getting loose because of where you're at I'm like man I'm telling you this thing is just it's it's not the time to to to go there yet so uh there's there's a little bit of that you know he um he definitely really pushes me to try certain things that I normally wouldn't and it has success most of the time um but he does he does listen and understand when um you know even all the facts May line up and say hey we need to try this or go this way on the track um it may not like hearing it but I do say hey this this is something I can't do in this moment but uh I think we have a good understanding well I think it's and I tell kelen this all the time and you know he gets frustrated with me criticizing him I said look bud if you don't want to be criticized you are in the wrong sport because the way that this sport has evolved is is it is so much different than the driver telling the team what to do with all the data and all the things that happen now you better be willing to take some criticism week in and week out and so it's it's important to the process and and all the all the information that you have and uh before we get into Atlanta I I just I want to stick to the the team aspect and and the things that you guys have it's well noted of of what Denny does for for you guys with his experience and and and with the team and and resources that you have and you know I think that the the one interesting thing to me this year is I feel like Michael has been much more um visual uh much it seems like he's more comfortable being in the pit stall around the guys uh and and I know he was around before but it from the outside looking in it looks like he's much more uh comfortable being in in in those scenarios when I look back at Darlington and and you look at his emotion and and just with a everything that was going on with Bubba and then you look afterwards and you see him sitting on the sidelines just looking at the trophy and and the and the guys and you standing in Victory Lane and just kind of taking it all in Relationship with Michael Jordan what's that been like to be around a super superar of of that magnitude and and watch him try to be you know an asset to the team and be involved and and take all that in from your perspective yeah it's it's it's it's really really cool honestly it's it's something that's hard to put into words right um many of us right grew up well a lot of what he did was before my time but certainly um you know everyone knows who he is what he's accomplished um it's just really really cool to see how passionate he is about about racing um and just see how much he cares about this race team and and watching it go in the right direction um I go back to um Daytona going into that race he was sitting there where we were all standing around talking before the race and I mean he's he's he I swear he goes back and watches watches film um you know he he had a pretty good idea of how Daytona was going to play out and I kid you not it played out kind of like he said it was going to um he he really does love this sport um you know just just hearing his his knowledge the technical knowledge is growing day by day um you know coming into it he only had access to what he did right which was TV and just you know what what a normal fan would have access to and uh just seeing him just sponge all the information up that that uh you know me and Bubba give to him that the crew chiefs give to him the leadership uh this company gives to him um it's just really really cool to see how B bought in he is into this whole process and um yeah it's been great to have him around certainly when he's there uh we do feel the pressure but we I I welcome it honestly um but having him in the in the holler Before the Race cutting it up with all the guys is is some of the best best things you can ask for um you can't put a price on that so he certainly um really helps motivate us to go out and do our best when I was at Bristol last year we had a terrible day and I'm walking out of the tunnel and I'm by myself with the myself and and PR guy and walking down the tunnel and I feel this big hand just grab the back of my neck and I'm like oh God and I turn around and it's Michael and and he and he says buddy he's like don't sweat today you've had a you've had a great run at it and he went into this long spill of you know just how he had watched and the things and he was referencing races and moment and and I'm like my God this guy actually does watch the races and and he he walked with me all the way out of the tunnel talked to me and we went our separate ways what's the I I just I I was kind of caught off guard by that moment has there been a moment with Michael where he's just said hey you know you need to do this or I think this or this will help that that really stuck with you uh like like that moment in time that that I had with him that that he's said okay you did a great job but you need to do this or what is the best advice that that you've felt like he's kind of shot out for you yeah we haven't really had a moment like that but I think back to the very beginning um you know I got the chance to meet with him um before uh before this my first year started um spent some time with them but we were down in Daytona before uh the 500 year and a half ago and uh I don't know me him and Bubba were talking something about Speedy racing and I can't remember what I said but he turned to me and said man I don't you don't have any room to talk you're terrible at Speedway racing and um he just kind of took a shot at me and I wasn't expecting it and him and Bubba you know love going back and forth you know just know Michael loves uh I don't know cutting it up if you will so for me um I wasn't expecting that and um you know it was it was a nice thing I I took it the right way and I'm like all right well I have some work to do you know I have some extra motivation I was already motivated to get better at spe racing uh when when MJ calls you out about not being very good at it um you know it's it's easy to find motivation to get better so we tried our best that year and it didn't really work out but um we went into the offseason this past year and uh me and Nick Payne Billy we spent a lot of time kind of watching how these races would play out and I feel like our our strategy this year on the speedway has been much better certainly Daytona you know we we kind of got caught on the wrong side of strategy this the second the second race um and then this the the the 500 we were in a wreck but um having the the duels play out like it did having Talladega One play out like it did um and and kind of all day long here at Atlanta I mean we we got boxed in with the 99 and the 22 and and cycling to the back of the field we had to drive our way back to the front just about every single time so it's been nice to um improve our uh performances and our capability of getting good finishes on the on the Speedways well you talk about Speedway racing and and I guess that's a that's a great path into um into yesterday it looks like you're driving around in Mercedes with that paint Scheme I as as I watch I think it's a Mercedes every time that that you go by it it's from a distance you can always pick out your car but it but it's um you know it's it definitely it definitely looks like the Mercedes logo the the the jump logo but um Atlanta is yeah Atlanta Atlanta to me is is I I I feel like it's one of the most breath taking tracks from inside the driver's seat because the cars are are so on edge how nervous were you going into Atlanta um just with everything that could happen and we saw it happen to Larson yesterday uh with just that that slight step out and boom you're in in the fence and and the Carnage that we had at the first race on lap two um are you glad that's over because now you have a 30 plus 30 some point advantage and you can just kind of go to Watkins Glenn and put together what I feel like should be a good weekend for you with with the way that you guys have have run on the road races how did you approach that that first race going in into the weekend yeah we we wanted to I mean nothing new for us you know I think that was the nice thing about where we are um with the playoff points that we had going into it we just I basically had the approach and I feel like my team did of going and just you know nothing's changed yeah we're in the playoffs but our mindset doesn't have to change um certainly yet and so yeah I kind of just went into it trying to hoping we get stage points in the first two stages that obviously didn't work out so I knew that you know we need to try and aim for somewhere around fifth uh to have a decent Point day but yes it um you know going into it I don't know I I I always know that first run is super sketchy and I kind of just didn't worry about it as much as I probably should have um but yeah man I feel like in those first 30 laps um I should have batted it up about 10 times so it was it was an absolute handful it was very sketchy um I do not like sliding a car around a a racetrack that much as much as others would seem to believe otherwise um it's just it's so sketchy off a turn two off of turn four uh when you get a car on your on your left rear exiting four or two the thing gets tight and then it just snaps so fast um it's just not a good feeling so um yeah that's just something that Atlanta has and it's something that always seems to get some people but uh it was certainly very on edge for us most of the day I we normally we've been really really good at Atlanta um I didn't really get to feel it out at all in the in the first race this year um Bubba had damage too so I was very surprised by our our capability in the car um but I was glad we were able to get a six out of it I felt like we we didn't even really have a top 10 car to be honest um it just the B was very disconnected all day long just really really tied out of nowhere and then um you know we kind of wash you up into a bad Arrow spot and it would snap and I mean when you get loose to a place like in Atlanta running two and three wide there's just not a lot of room for error and uh it's not a good feeling yeah well I can tell you one thing I felt much better about sitting up there watching this year than I did uh when I was sitting in the car because it is it is it has become one of the most stressful situations that you can possibly go through as a driver and being the first round of the playoffs is I'm glad it I'm glad I'm glad for you that it's over so I I want to go back and I want to talk about the the Michigan win and I mainly want to talk about that because of everything that happened with Scott Bloomquist and and uh I guess I guess I wasn't really aware of of uh the relationship that that you guys kind of had tell us about Scott Bloomquist’s Mentorship that relationship that you had with Scott what that was and and you know when when what period that was I know your dad made you move around in a lot of different things pretty quickly and you did a lot of different racing along the way but talk to me about that relationship with with u with Scott yeah you know I I think I got RAC in light models I was around 11 years old or so um and we were running Rocket Chassis as a start and uh me and my dad were kind of figuring it out or trying to uh I wouldn't say we were figuring it out it it it it was a big big jump for us we were going for uh we're running Sprint car nwing sprint cars at the time and I really loved it it was a lot of fun but my dad was just I don't blame him but he was absolutely terrified I was going to get hurt we' saw a lot of young drivers um young teenagers get get I mean having life altering crashes and so uh my dad was just super worried about that and I don't I don't blame him as a as a dad myself now I I I understand where he's coming from so uh we kind of got out of that we I don't know my dad wanted me to give it 80% in the car we just we weren't taking the right um approach to it so we jumped into the late models and I already knew who Scott was but just the more and more that we would go to the track um I just got to know him a little bit um and it just I think there was one day we were testing or um Scott was staying over to test at I think it was I think they called it Blu gry or Bluegrass in Kentucky Speedway and and Scott said hey you should stick around and test with us try some stuff out because we me and my dad really really struggled on the Slick racetracks we could we could run okay and qualifying in the Heats if there was a cushion or the bottom had some grip if it was tacky down there but slick racetracks I was just terrible at so um I was CAU off guard by that me and my dad didn't expect it but but Scott asked us to hang out and test with him normally when when Scott tests no one no one can even be at the track it's just him and his guys so um just got to know him a little bit there um he wanted to help us out and that just kind of started the process of me eventually me and my dad and our family just eventually moving over and getting some Bloomquist cars and then and it didn't even that's it didn't it didn't stop there I mean it turned into Sky um asking us to come over and stay at his shop his compound if you will he had he had the two shops where they build the cars and and store some stuff and just kind of turned into you know wherever Scott went we went we'd run the same series and and um you know Scott Tommy Hicks all the people that uh that he had Bruce um he had a lot of lot of really smart really great people and just Scott pretty much just took took my family under his wing and um taught me so much about these about these light models man I I didn't really know anything and between him Scott and Tommy their whole group you know they taught me how to maintenance the car taught me what to look for what what these adjustments would mean just um Scott really took me under his wing in in a way that no one had really seen um him him do for others and so it just it just meant a lot it really did um hanging out with with a legend of the sport um him doing everything he could to help me learn he would certainly get frustrated with me but I mean I was a dumb kid I would make a lot of stupid mistakes on the racetrack sometimes my mind wasn't where it needed to be sometimes I was worried about uh the women run around the pits instead of working on the race car and being my head being in the race so um yeah it was it was a big learning process but but Scott did so much for me and my family man um I just he was a Hu he played a huge part like like others did in get in me getting to where I am today well I think as as you look back at at everything that that Scott has done and and just you know the impact that he had on on the sport and you being able to kind of get into that Circle that that not too many people got to that got to be um in is intriguing uh interesting and I'm sure you learned a lot of uh I'm sure you cultured yourself you got cultured along the way as as you uh as you went on the road because he was a he was a fun person to be around well you you you've had um you've had a great season you you've you've done a lot of things great on the racetrack but I would I would assume that the most stressful thing that that you did was plan a wedding have a wedding in in the middle of the season but I got to know who was the who was the one person you were like man you need to just chill out this who was the guy at the wedding or Tyler on Planning his Wedding the gal at the wedding that was just a little bit uh having a little bit too much fun I don't know if they're having well I wouldn't say okay I guess that there's there's there's two different answers here uh the person who's having too much fun uh or the group of people having too much fun was uh my whole group the groomsmen myself uh we uh we we drank a lot of uh Synchro tequila before the ceremony we uh we had a little too much fun my best man Lombardy Matt Lombardi he's the engine tuner on the eight car um he gave a a hell of a speech but we we all collectively had a little bit too much fun um and directly connected to that um was my father just absolutely stressed out worried about my well-being at all times so I kind of I kind of screwed it up a little bit but uh I had a I guess a once in a-lifetime recovery uh for the rest of the wedding and and bounce back so yeah I don't know it's stressful man um you you do all this planning all this buildup and you get there the day of and the day just goes by so fast it uh I just wish the night could last forever honestly um but it was really great to have all the family and friends there um but yeah just I just wish that day your wedding day could just be 48 Hours instead of the 24 uh just it really flies by well Tyler it's been um it's been a great start to the season you've had um you know some some great success this year you're off to a a good start in the playoffs um you know I think it's a it's a great it's been a it's been a great story to see you progress uh with 2311 and everything that that's gone on um but you know I think as as you go into the end of this year and you have all the charter talk and all the different things that you have going on how much of a distraction has does that become as you get towards the end of the year with with just having to deal with it you know I think it's you know it's it's it's unfortunate that that it took this long and I I think from the driver's standpoint I always got frustrated when I had to answer it do you just blow all that off and and and try to uh do what you do from a driver standpoint I know for for me I always felt like it was a bigger distraction with with the with the teams and and the guys in the shop not knowing what they were doing um how how do you deal with stuff like that I don't know I feel like I've always whether it's been publicly known or not I've I've always I don't know for a lot of large period of my life I was kind of a disaster so I just kind of got used to a lot of things happening at once and just being able to put it off to the side strap my helmet on and and go race um it always kind of seems like the more chaotic things might be outside the car um I don't know if I just pull when I put that helmet on it's a little bit tighter and I just do a better job in the car for what for whatever reason it is but uh yeah they'll um you know we it'll all sort out um I just let it let it play out and I focus on what I can control and um if we do everything right we'll be we'll be celebrating with some beast in in Victory Lane at the end of the year Well winning winning C's all problem that that definitely makes uh makes things better and I think as as you guys go through the through the rest of the season you guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with so thanks for taking the time we uh wish you luck and and appreciate uh appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today absolutely always Kevin thank you well we hope you enjoyed the show uh I thought that was a great conversation with with Tyler and gave us some pretty intriguing things to uh uh think about that we probably didn't didn't know about Tyler and his situation before so follow us uh anywhere that you can subscribe uh anywhere that you can and and we appreciate you following along and we'll see you next week [Music] [Applause] [Music]