Getty NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Circuit of the Americas on May 23, showcasing stock cars on a very different road course. Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing will celebrate the trip with a special patriotic paint scheme that honors the veteran community. Specifically, he will highlight those that are employees of one of his sponsors.
RCR unveiled the special paint scheme on Tuesday, showcasing a design based on the American flag. The car featured the stars on the front fenders and hood, as well as some croissants. Red and white stripes covered the sides of the race car. To make the design more special, the paint scheme listed the names of more than 40 veterans that work for Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen.
NEWS: @TylerReddick will drive this patriotic No. 8 @cheddarskitchen Chevy at @COTA.
Featured on the car are names of employees at Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen that are also veterans. 🇺🇸
“Huge shoutout to [Cheddar’s Kitchen] for putting the names of 40+ veterans that are Cheddar’s team members on this car! I can’t wait to give all of them everything I’ve got and more at [COTA]” Reddick tweeted after the big reveal.
NASCAR drivers will continue to honor military members in May
GettyNASCAR drivers compete in the Coca-Cola 600
With the Coca-Cola 600 taking place on Memorial Day Weekend, NASCAR drivers are spending the remaining weeks honoring military members in a variety of ways. For example, Kurt Busch recently unveiled the paint scheme that he will run during the Coca-Cola 600, as well as the name of the fallen service member that will be on his car.
All of the Cup Series drivers will feature the name of a late military member while driving the 600 Miles of Remembrance, but Busch was the first to hold a special ceremony. He met with members of the military at Naval Station Mayport in Florida and revealed that he will honor U.S. Marine Corporal (Cpl.) Jason Dunham, a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient.
Similarly, multiple drivers from the Coca-Cola family spent time with members of the United States Armed Forces. Dillon and his pit crew conducted a virtual workout with U.S. Army soldiers while Daniel Suarez virtually toured U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder. Ryan Newman is the most recent to join in as he spent Wednesday with Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Joey Logano will be the next up as he visits with Air Force Network Japan.
The RCR driver is making progress after a rough start to 2021
Heading toward the Daytona 500, Reddick faced extra attention due to his performance in 2020. He posted three top-five finishes and nine top-10s, a stat line that includes his second-place finish behind teammate Austin Dillon at Texas Motor Speedway. However, 2021 started off poorly for the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro.
Big fire for Tyler Reddick (he’s out and okay).
Reddick dealt with issues during the season-opening Daytona 500, finishing 27th overall in a wreck-filled race. His trip to Florida took a turn for the worse the following week as a crash led to a 38th-place finish. Though Reddick rebounded at Homestead-Miami, finishing second behind William Byron.
Since the opening trip to Florida, Reddick has mixed top-10 finishes with ones outside of the top-20. A few of the 1.5-mile ovals, in particular, served as the sites of struggles for the two-time Xfinity Series champion. For example, he finished 22nd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while Kyle Larson raced to Victory Lane.
The next track on the schedule is Dover International Speedway, a track where Reddick has only made two starts. He was active for both races at the Monster Mile in 2020, finishing 13th in one and 18th in the other. Now he will aim for a better finish after starting near the front of the pack. Reddick will begin the race on the sixth row next to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.
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