Kevin Harvick 'wasn't surprised' by Tyler Reddick's performance at Phoenix

Of all the Championship 4 drivers, it never felt like Tyler Reddick was much of a threat at Phoenix Raceway this past weekend, but that’s not a surprise to Kevin Harvick.

The 23XI Racing wheelman proved his mettle in 2024, winning the regular season title and getting to the Championship 4 via an incredible last-lap pass at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, it was evident from the get-go he didn’t have anything for Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and William Byron, and Harvick tried to make sense of why this past Sunday shook out that way.

“I was not surprised,” Harvick said, regarding Reddick’s less-than-stellar showing at Phoenix, via the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “I think that all four of these guys are capable of showing up with something that could be dominant. But when the No. 45 was a 10th place car, it didn’t surprise me. It’s kind of the same as the William Byron argument. We talked about this, ‘How can Tyler Reddick perform at the level that he did at Homestead? How can William Byron perform at the level that he was at when he was winning races at the beginning of the year?’ Because, in my opinion, these guys and these teams can’t dot the I’s and cross the T’s and motivate themselves like Joey Logano.

“Joey Logano can find another gear. He can find another way to succeed, other than being the fastest car. He just beats him by moving the pieces around the board better than everybody else and, you know, having that high level intensity of focus is something that those two guys need to find, and need to be capable of making their cars faster. Crew guys, you know, as well. I mean, they gotta be able to know that, you know, you need to go to this level. But if you’re gonna win, you’ve gotta go up here. You’ve gotta go off the charts, because if not, you’re gonna get beat by Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, when they’re given the chance.

“So I just, you know, that Tyler Reddick that was at Homestead at the end of that race, and trying to make something happen. I mean, he did try to make something happen on a couple of restarts, but I think a lot of that comes down to having a faster car and the team getting more out of the car, so that he can do the things that he did at Homestead. So, they’ve gotta figure out how to find another gear, compared to Joey Logano.”

Even though the title-deciding race at Phoenix didn’t go the way Reddick had hoped, he has nothing to hang his head about going into the offseason. The 28-year-old wheelman has plenty of bites at the apple left, and he looks like he’s established himself as a true championship contender.

The future is bright for Tyler Reddick, and Kevin Harvick has laid out the blueprint for him to take the next step in his career. Time will tell if he takes the former champion’s advice, or if the Toyota star remains close, but no cigar.