Tyler Reddick is leaving Richard Childress Racing after next season and will join 23XI Racing — the team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
The move was announced Tuesday afternoon, just days ahead of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Loudon. That race will serve as the 20th race of the season, with six races to go until the regular season finale at Daytona and 16 races left before the Nov. 6 finale at Phoenix.
Reddick will then … as of today, at least … pilot the No. 8 RCR Chevy for one more season before heading over to 23XI beginning in 2024.
So, why does any of this matter in regards to Reddick’s RCR departure? Well, the timing isn’t great, according to a statement released by RCR shortly after the announcement.
“We’re proud of the success Tyler Reddick has found at Richard Childress Racing,” the statement says. “We’re focused on winning a championship in 2022 and 2023, although timing of this announcement could not be any worse.”
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Reddick is coming off his first career Cup Series win a few weeks ago at Road America, and is currently locked into the playoffs. The 26-year-old is in the midst of his best Cup season, with five top-5s, seven top-10s and the one win. He’s led 273 laps and finished second twice.
Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch currently drive the two cars in the 23XI stable, and both are signed through next season.
Busch already has a win this season while Wallace is currently below the playoff cutline. It is unknown at this time whether those two drivers will both be back at 23XI when Reddick joins in 2024.
What is known, however, is that Reddick’s timing ain’t great.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Richard Childress releases hilariously blunt statement about Tyler Reddick