CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Richard Childress believes Tyler Reddick is ticketed for the Cup Series next season, but he isn’t sure if it’ll be with his team.
The owner of Richard Childress Racing shed some light Tuesday on what the future might hold for Reddick, the defending Xfinity series champion who has three victories this season in RCR’s No. 2 Chevrolet.
“He’s going to be a superstar,” Childress said Tuesday when asked about Reddick during a Bristol Motor Speedway event at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “We hope to be able to keep him, but you know how this sport is. It boils down to dollars. We want to keep him here if there’s any way. If not, I want to see him in a good situation.”
Childress said his team has talked with Reddick only about being in a Cup ride for 2020. He essentially ruled out a third consecutive season in Xfinity for the 23-year-old, who recently announced he will become a father.
“That’s our goal right now is to try to put him in a Cup car,” Childress said. “That’s what he wants to do. That’s the reason he came to RCR because he knew we had Cup cars and Cup experience.
“He’ll win some Cup races if you put him in a Cup car. That’s where he wants to be, and I think he deserves it. He’s ready for Cup right now.”
RCR fields Chevys in Cup for Austin Dillon, Childress’ grandson, and rookie Daniel Hemric, who is ranked 25th in the points standings with two top 10s (including a seventh Sunday at Pocono). It has run as many as four Cup cars in the past, depending on sponsorship.
Reddick has made two Cup starts for RCR this year, finishing ninth at Kansas Speedway two months ago, and he has said the team wants to add more Cup races to his schedule.
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Reddick said his contract with RCR was “just this year right now, but I think there’s options here and there, but I don’t need to get into those details. We’re working hard. We want to win a championship on the Xfinity side. There’s a lot of other distractions out there.
“You want to be interested and see the potential of this and that and what can we piece together. Right now it’s just trying to get the next Cup race going. That other stuff, it’ll work out. You just run the best you can and hopefully the right people come along in the door to make something possible on the Cup side.”
Reddick has six career victories in Xfinity and captured the 2018 title by winning the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also has three wins in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
“I think Tyler has that never give up attitude,” Childress said. “If you pass him, he’s going to try to pass you back. He’s not going to give up. He’s just a hard racer. He has the car control. He has the talent it takes to put behind it to win, and he’s definitely a winner.”