After a pair of consecutive top-five results at Phoenix and Atlanta, Tyler Reddick has completely turned-around his dismal start to the NASCAR Cup Series season.
Now, the newest member of the Toyota Racing family will look to secure his first victory of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season this weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
Reddick, driving the Monster Energy-sponsored No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD, led the series' sole practice session from the 3.41-mile road course on Friday, with a time of 132.016 seconds (92.988mph).
Running more laps than any other driver in Friday's 50-minute practice session, Reddick was able to put down a lap half a second quicker than the second-quickest on the speed charts, Kyle Larson.
Ross Chastain, who won last season's event at Circuit of The Americas, was third quickest in the session, while fellow Chevrolet drivers Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez completed the top-five.
Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Jordan Taylor, serving as the interim driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend for Chase Elliott, completed the top-10.
Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen, both of which have been successful in capturing World Drivers Championships in Formula One, struggled in their first laps in the Cup Series car at COTA, ranking 28th and 32nd, respectively.
Jimmie Johnson, making his second start of the year in the No. 84 for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, ranked 36th of 39 in the session, only beating out Josh Bilicki, Cody Ware, and Conor Daly - who returns for another race with TMT Racing.
Next for the NASCAR Cup Series will be qualifying for Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, which will take place on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events.
Image: Matthew T. Thacker, LAT Images, Courtesy of Toyota Racing
