Denny Hamlin reveals advice he'll give Tyler Reddick ahead of Championship 4
Denny Hamlin didn't make it to the Championship 4, but his 23XI Racing driver in Tyler Reddick will be racing for a title this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin tried to get inside Reddick's head a bit, wondering if he'll look for some advice from this spring's winner at Phoenix in Toyota teammate Christopher Bell , and if that could help Reddick become a Cup Series champion on Sunday evening.
"He should, if he's smart, he does," Hamlin said , regarding whether Reddick should have a conversation with Bell prior to Phoenix. "Tyler's really good about that. He's certainly very good about asking questions to a given driver on whatever track they might be good at to try to find out what he needs to look for. The No. 20 car, obviously they had a dominating race car in the spring. Came from 20th to first on the last restart to win it. So, you know, I thought the No. 45 probably was the next best car. So, they're in the ballpark.
"They just, you know, they've got to find whatever that No. 20 had in the spring for a balance, because that seemed to be the best."
As for what advice Hamlin would give Reddick, as a former participant in the Championship 4, the veteran wheelman simply wants his driver to enjoy the moment and all of the spoils, because you never know if you'll have another opportunity to do so.
"There is. I won't say it on here. I'll say it to him privately, but certainly, yeah, there's some experience that, you know, I can lend to him on how to really treat the week," Hamlin added . "So much of it is about just having fun and enjoying this process and this week, and understanding that, you know, making the (Championship) Four is most of the drivers' goals.
"What happens in a one race, winner take all? You know, some things are going to be out of your control there, but just, you know, making sure you spend the week, you know, having fun, enjoying it, enjoying the process. That would be my advice."
Denny Hamlin won't be able to win the 2024 Cup Series title himself, but Tyler Reddick will have the team owner's heart in his throat as he races for his shot at becoming immortal. Time will tell if he's able to get the job done, but the drama should be at an all-time high in Arizona this weekend.
