A Hall of Fame driver has just issued some major praise for the most recent NASCAR winner. Mark Martin has called Tyler Reddick the catalyst that could turn Richard Childress Racing back into a championship contender.
The longtime NASCAR driver made the comments during the July 8 episode of the “Mark, Mamba & The Mayor” podcast. Martin said that he fully understands how winning the first race removes a massive weight from Reddick’s shoulders based on his own experience in NASCAR. Martin then explained that the driver of the No. 8 could spearhead a massive turnaround.
“I’m a huge fan of Tyler Reddick,” Martin said during the episode. “It really felt like that when he went to RCR and managed to pull off another Xfinity championship and then moved him to Cup, that he could be sort of the catalyst to turn that organization back into championship-contending form.
“That’s not easy to do, but I felt like he’s the key catalyst to that. And it’s really cool to see RCR back in Victory Lane. It means so much to me. I knew Richard when he was still driving. I’ve seen all that, them going through their glory years. Maybe this is the beginning of another glory era for RCR.”
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Jeff Burton Had High Praise of His Own
GettyJeff Burton (right) believes Tyler Reddick will become a superstar.
Martin is not the only former driver that weighed in about Reddick’s recent win. Driver-turned-analyst Jeff Burton also provided some strong comments of his own while discussing the effect that this win will have on the California native’s future.
As Burton explained, he had doubts back in 2018 that Reddick would win his first Xfinity Series championship. He expected the young driver to make a mistake during the final race. However, Reddick pulled through and then won his second title one year later. Now Reddick has made even more strides while gaining maturity.
“He is only going to get better,” Burton said. “He is a future superstar, and I am not exaggerating. He is a future superstar in this sport, and it’s gonna be… he is going to be an extremely highly valuable commodity. He is going to name his price in the future because it will be hard for Richard to keep him because everybody is going to be going for him. And he is going to be an extremely valuable guy because what he can do on the race track.”
This Contract Discussion Could Begin in 2023
Burton’s comments about Reddick’s future are strong, especially when he mentions the possibility of other teams trying to woo him away from Richard Childress Racing. Whether Burton is correct remains unclear, but there will be potential answers sometime in 2023.
According to a recent update provided by Reddick, he is back at RCR for the 2023 season after the team picked up his option. However, he explained to media members that he does not yet have a deal for the 2024 season and that he has to “give as much” as he can in the present to set up his future.
With Reddick winning his first career Cup Series race, he is poised to turn some heads. There is a scenario where he adds multiple wins to his resume before negotiations begin for his next deal, which would only drive up the price and prove Burton to be correct.
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Mark Martin Has Major Praise for Young NASCAR Driver