GT
Tyler Reddick earned his first Cup Series win at Road America.
Tyler Reddick captured the Cup Series race at Road America on July 3. It was his first career win at the top level, and he broke two historic winless streaks dating back to the 2006 Cup Series season.
The first streak goes back to the 2006 season when Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 8 Chevrolet. The Hall of Famer won the spring race at Richmond Raceway, his last race before heading to Hendrik Motorsports. Fast-forward to the 2022 season, and Riddick returned the #8 Chevrolet to Victory Lane after a four-second lead over Chase Elliott.
“I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but man, this year was one step, one mistake away from greatness all year,” Two-time Xfinity Series Champion Riddick told NBC Sports After getting out of his car. “Finally we did it today.”
Riddick is now the 13th Cup Series driver to arrive at Victory Lane in the 2022 season. He also continues the next generation streak by becoming the third driver to win his first career race on a road track. Ross Chastain scored his first Circuit of the Americas victory while Daniel Suarez took his first win at the Sonoma Circuit.
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The last closest tracing path was captured
GTTyler Riddick picked up a no-win streak dating back to Kevin Harvick.
Riddick’s second unsuccessful streak includes Kevin Harvick. The Closer began his Cup Series career with Richard Childress Racing, winning 23 races for the organization before leaving for Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2013 season.
One such gain, which occurred in 2006, was at Watkins Glen International. Harvick started seventh overall and advanced 28 laps before cutting a fast track on the road at Tony Stewart in the closing laps. He reached Victory Lane for the second time in the first 22 races.
Several other RCR drivers tried to win a road race for the organization, but they all failed until the 2022 season. Riddick stopped the new road course king and earned his first race in the Cup Series. It also broke the 16-year winning streak.
This win greatly affected Harvick’s season
GTKevin Harvick (front) needs to hit Victory Lane to reach the playoffs.
There were many Cup Series drivers who were happy to see Riddick score his first win of his career. The list includes Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson. Harvick may have a different opinion after seeing the playoff standings.
The No. 4 seeded driver entered the weekend on the road to America with the last transition place. He was bettering his teammate Eric Almerola, and was in a position to reach the playoffs on points for the second consecutive season. The 10th place on July 3 only added more points to his season total.
Riddick’s win completely changed the situation. Harvick had a good day on points, but he’s no longer over the limit. The win shocked Reddick over the cut-off line and dropped the 2014 Cup Series champions by one point. Harvick is now 20 points clear of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, who is in the last transfer position.
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